Noah's ark
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Noah's Ark was the immense vessel that God told Noah to build. The account is recorded in the book of Genesis beginning in chapter 6. The ark's purpose was to save Noah and his family from the coming global flood, and to preserve mating pairs of every kind of terrestrial animal.
Contents |
Construction
The book of Genesis describes Noah's Ark as a wooden vessel 300157.2 m
15,720 cm
515.748 ft
171.916 yd
707.312 span cubits long, 5026.2 m
2,620 cm
85.958 ft
28.653 yd
117.885 span cubits wide, and 3015.72 m
1,572 cm
51.575 ft
17.192 yd
70.731 span cubits high. Based on the shortest estimated length of the cubit, this means it was at least 450 feet (135 meters) long, 75 feet (22.5 meters) wide, and 45 feet (13.5 meters) high. (If long cubits are assumed, these dimensions increase to 516 ft by 86.0 ft by 51.6 ft, or 157 m by 26.2 m by 15.7 m.) These proportions are ideal to meet the demands of a ship's sea-keeping, hull strength and stability. The ark's size is equivalent to an average cargo vessel by today's standards, which is in line with the limits of timber construction. The account in Genesis Ch 6-8 is workable. Even simple requirements such as the height between decks make good sense.
The ark was made of "gopher wood," an unidentified hardwood, and was coated inside and out with a covering that is translated as "pitch."
The ark was not designed as a ship; there is no reason to expect it to have had any kind of propulsion or navigating systems, nor even anchors. Its purpose was to keep its passengers safe, while leaving their course and ultimate destination completely in the hands of God.
The Animals
Genesis tells us that every kind of animal came to the ark to be saved from the flood (one pair of each unclean animal, and seven pairs of each clean animal). The majority of the fossil record was laid down during the flood, so there were many more kinds of animals alive in Noah's time. These would include dinosaurs, mammoths, and giant sloths. Noah did not have to round up the animals, because God sent them to him (Genesis 6:20).
The capacity of the ark matches estimates of the number of animals kept by Noah that have since diversified into an apparently much larger number of species. For example, the variety of modern dogs are believed to have descended from a single ancestral pair.
Archaeology
Noah's Ark has not been found. According to Scripture, the ark came to rest in the mountains of Ararat, which are in Turkey. There have been numerous reports of sightings throughout history, but the region remains largely unexplored. Although the ark has probably decomposed since the flood, it remains a dream of Biblical archaeologists worldwide that the ark will be found. The ark's discovery would substantiate the Biblical account of a recent global flood and God's judgment. Discovering a vessel of that size in Turkey would lend credence to the Bible's account of the Earth's early history and the catastrophic interpretation of the fossil record.
Some believe that they have found the ark in northern Iran. A Christian archeological expedition has found a rock formation that seems to have the same dimmensions as the ark spoken of in the Bible. The formation was discovered in the Elburz mountain range on Mt. Suleiman. Scientists from the expedition have taken slices from the rocks and run tests on them. They figured out that there are wood cell structures within these samples. It is impossible for the expeditioners to ever know for sure whether or not it really was Noah's Ark, but they do know that it was a place of great importance to ancient peoples. Explorers have discovered an ancient shrine near the supposed ark.
Location of Noah's Ark
- Main Article Location of Noah's ark
There have been many supposed "sightings" of Noah's Ark on or around Mt. Ararat. One of the most famous is that of George Hagopian. "He was eight years old, Hagopian said, and it was in the year 1908 [note: another account says the year was 1905 and Hagopian was 10 years old] when his uncle took him up Ararat, past Ahora Gorge, passing the grave of St. Jacob on the way. As the mountain grew more precipitous his uncle carried him on his shoulders until they came to something that looked like a great ship located on a rock ledge over a cliff and partially covered by snow. It had flat openings like windows along the top and a hole in the roof. Hagopian had first thought it was a house made of stone but when his uncle showed him the outline of planks and told him it was made of wood he realized it was the Ark, just like the other people had described it to him. His uncle boosted him up from a rock pile to reach the Ark roof telling him not to be afraid, "because it is a holy ship ..." (and) "the animals and people are not here now. They have all gone away." It is also said that Hagopian's uncle tried to shoot the ark, but the bullets bounced off as if it were metal. [1]
Ararat anomaly
- Main Article: Ararat Anomaly
The Ararat Anomaly is basiclly an object appearing in pictures on the snowfields at the peak of the Mt. Ararat. This object is often considered to be the remains of Noah's Ark.[2]
Durupinar
- Main Article: Durupinar
The Durupinar site is the location of boat-shaped formation, which was named after its discoverer. Its size, unusual shape, and location were immediately recognized as a close parallel to Noah's Ark. The size of the formation matches the description from the Bible almost exactly. Although the shape of the durupinar site formation is very compelling, it is not unique to the region. There are other similar formations nearby, which are apparently the result of solidified mudflows.
Anchor stones
- Main Article: Anchor stones
Related News
- Dutch Man Builds Replica Of Noah's Ark A man in the Netherlands took two years to build a replica of Noah's Ark. The large boat was opened to the public last weekend in a Dutch town and the creator plans to sail it to several European towns. NBC11. April 30, 2007.
- Flood of claims for 'Noah's Ark': Legendary vessel of Genesis story goes from nowhere to everywhere There are numerous claims about the final resting place, from Ararat to Armenia. With modern technology and digital photography being utilized in the hunt, it seems like everyone is finding what they think is Noah's Ark. WorldNetDaily. July 16, 2006.
- Noah's Ark Discovered in Iran? A team of Christian archaeologists says this rock outcrop on a mountain in Iran could be the remains of Noah's ark. Layered patterns in the stone (inset) resemble petrified wood, the team says, but other scientists say the patterns are consistent with ordinary sedimentary rock. National Geographic News. July 5, 2006
- Explorers of Noah's Lost Ark an entrepreneur is investing US$900,000 to send a joint U.S.-Turkish team to Mount Ararat in mid-July for a month long investigation into a boat-shaped structure. June 25th, 2004
Noah's Ark in fiction
Many novels have been written having Noah as a character, and often as the central character. They include:
- Noah by Ellen Gunderson Traylor. It speculates rather heavily on whether antediluvian civilization might have included prominent figures having names that prefigured the classical Greek pantheon, but otherwise tells a story faithful to the Bible about the Ark, its shape, its construction, how long the project took, and its voyage.
- Ice by Shane Johnson. Noah figures here, too, though not as the central character. Johnson speculates that humans might have stood on average one-third again as tall as they stand today, and therefore the cubit might have been twenty-four inches long, not merely eighteen. The Ark would therefore have been 600 feet long, not merely 450, and hence quite large enough by any standard to hold two of every created kind of land animal and bird (and seven of every kind of clean bird). Johnson also suggests that the "gopher wood" might have been an advanced composite, and the "pitch" likewise an advanced blend of natural resins. Both of these would have been the products of a civilization that, Johnson suggests, was far more advanced than is usually supposed and even more advanced than human society today.
Noah's Ark Gallery
 Kid's coloring graphic |
 by Edward Hicks (1780-1849) |
 Dove Sent Forth from the Ark by Gustave Doré |
 by Französischer Meister 1675 |
 at the Creation Museum and Family Discovery Center, based on a concept by Tim Lovett |
References
- Why Does Nearly Every Culture Have a Tradition of a Global Flood? by John Morris, Ph.D.
- How big was Noah’s Ark? by Creation Tips
- ...the "impossible" size of Noah's Ark by Glenn Miller of Christian Thinktank
- Mount Ararat: Expeditions Past / Present by Matthew Kneisler
- Ararat Anomaly
Related links
Creationist
- Noah's Ark Links by the Northwest Creation Network
- Noah's Ark Graphics by the Northwest Creation Network
- The Noah's Ark Project
- Noah’s Ark Questions and Answers by Answers in Genesis
- Noah's Ark Search by B.J. Corbin
- ArcImaging
- The Search For Noah's Ark contains VRML Tour of the Ark.
- ArkonArarat.com
- Worldwideflood.com Noah's Ark Specialist Site
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See Also
| Breadth | 26.2 m (2,620 cm, 85.958 ft, 28.653 yd, 117.885 span, 58.943 cubit, 50 long cubit) + |
| Height | 15.72 m (1,572 cm, 51.575 ft, 17.192 yd, 70.731 span, 35.366 cubit, 30 long cubit) + |
| Length | 157.2 m (15,720 cm, 515.748 ft, 171.916 yd, 707.312 span, 353.656 cubit, 300 long cubit) + |
Categories: Bible | Bible study | Archaeology | Noah's ark | History
