In the Genesis flood narrative, how many days did the rain fall on the earth?

In the Genesis flood narrative, rain fell on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.

Genesis 7:12 gives this duration after Noah, his family, and the animals entered the ark. The passage describes the rain as part of the beginning of the flood, while other verses give separate durations for the waters prevailing and the later drying of the ground.

The figure 40 is prominent in several biblical narratives and often marks an extended or testing period. In the flood account, it should not be confused with the 150 days during which the waters prevailed, or with the much longer overall process of the waters receding and the earth becoming dry.

Retellings sometimes shorten the answer to “40 days,” but the exact familiar wording is “40 days and 40 nights.” Genesis also says that the rain began in the six-hundredth year of Noah’s life, adding a chronological detail to the account.