For how many days and nights did rain fall during the Flood in Noah’s Ark?

In the Noah’s Ark narrative, rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights.

Genesis 7:12 states that rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. The number describes the period of rainfall, not the entire time Noah and his family remained inside the ark or the complete duration of the waters.

A common mix-up comes from another number in the same account. Genesis says the waters prevailed over the earth for 150 days, and the narrative later describes the ark coming to rest and the land gradually drying. Thus, 40 days refers to rain, while 150 days refers to a later measure of the floodwaters’ dominance.

Forty is also a recurring biblical period associated with testing, preparation, or transformation. The Flood account’s forty-day rain period is therefore both a chronological detail and part of a broader biblical pattern.