In Genesis's Noah's Ark story, what did Noah do seven days before the floodwaters came?

In Genesis's Noah's Ark story, Noah entered the ark seven days before the floodwaters came.

Genesis 7:7 says Noah entered the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives because of the coming flood. Genesis 7:10 then says that after seven days the floodwaters came upon the earth. The passage presents the interval as part of the final preparation period.

The animals are also brought into the ark in the surrounding verses, according to the categories and numbers described by Genesis. The narrative then moves directly to the flood's beginning and the closing of the ark.

This seven-day interval is easy to overlook because popular retellings often compress the boarding and the rain into one scene. It is separate from the later dated details, such as the seventeenth day of the second month when the flood began.