Dr Adequate writes:
The text says that "the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat", and that "in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen."
Which can only mean that the Ark grounded on the mountains of Ararat while they were still submerged. The draft of the Ark can't have been more than 30 cubits (that being its height) so it can't have grounded more than 30 cubits below the highest point of the mountains.
It certainly couldn't have run aground on the foothills while the tops of the mountains were still underwater.
You raise some valid points here, Dr Adequate. I checked my Hebrew Interlinear and the nearest English equivalent says "came to rest on the heights of Ararat."
The specific details are unknown but according to context, the tops of the mountains were still not visible when the ark
came to rest on the heights of Ararat. One possible explanation for this seeming discrepancy would be that the ark, which had been moving about in currents etc became still/rested over the heights/mountains of Ararat. Admittedly, it's a bit of a stretch to take on as meaning over, but the context appears to bear that out.
According to the context, a raven was sent out after the tops of the mountains were seen and came back, finding no place to rest
in the region where the ark had come to rest, indicative that the region in which the ark was resting over was too distant from the tops of the mountains for the raven non-stop flight nor were they a suitable place for it to stay, likely very high and cold for raven habitat.
Consider also that God was surely watching over this all along, he being the one who caused the animals to come and who closed the door before he rain commenced. Most likely Jehovah determined the resting place for the ark, most suitable for the departure of the animals, etc.
BUZSAW B 4 U 2 C Y BUZ SAW.
The immeasurable present eternally extends the infinite past and infinitely consumes the eternal future.