According to Genesis 7, how many days of rain fell during Noah’s Flood?

According to Genesis 7, rain fell for forty days and forty nights during Noah’s Flood. The passage says the rain began after Noah entered the ark and continued for forty days and forty nights.

The forty-day period is one part of the story’s longer chronology. Genesis also says the waters prevailed on the earth for 150 days, so “forty days and forty nights” does not describe the entire time Noah and the animals remained aboard. The narrative distinguishes the period of heavy rain from the later persistence and recession of the waters.

The number forty has recurring importance in biblical narratives, where it often marks an extended period of testing or transition. In the Noah story, it describes the rainfall itself. This distinction helps prevent the common mistake of treating forty days as the total duration of the Flood.