Actuallywhat the Bible says is that the earth was created as a dead and dry world...Then a mist came up from underground and watered the whole earth.
The verse I listed in *** 38 tells us that when the water that covered the earth in genesis came forth, it also wrapped the earth in thick darkness.
Genesis 1:1 and 2 differs with you. Was the darkness upon the face of the deep dust of your dry world, or was it the deep water that the spirit of God moved upon? As you say, stick to the text.

*** 38 is a description of how God arranged the water that covered the Earth into its place to reveal the dry land. Genesis 1:2 says the Earth was covered in water in the beginning and you say the opposite. I am staying with what the Bible states.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.



Notice that this is NOT talking about the story of the ark, but it tells us clearly that this is when God laid the foundations of the earth....(clearly the same moment in earth's history as the Creation story deals with)
It rained for 40 days (24 hour period) and the fountains of the deep poured water onto the face of the whole earth. Where did all that rain come from? Genesis 1:6 in the Amplified version give the answer to that. It came from the waters that were above the earth. This water above the earth is what *** 38 is referring to.

Genesis 8:2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;

Genesis 1:6 (AMP) And God said, Let there be a firmament [the expanse of the sky] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters [below] from the waters [above].



The Bible tells us that the water that covered the earth in genesis "Burst forth"...this is a very good description of what science tells us really happened when water vapor came out via volcanic activity
Water vapor from a volcano could hardly flood the whole earth in 40 years let alone 40 days. There was water from fountains bursting forth from the ground and rain from heaven (earth’s atmosphere). After the flood the water filter that kept out the radiation of the sun was depleted and the life time of man was greatly reduced. Stick to the text.

So science tells us what "really happened"? I guess that you think that God is not capable of telling us what "really" happened?