Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark is a large wooden vessel constructed by the biblical patriarch Noah to survive a worldwide flood sent by God to destroy humanity. In the biblical account found in the book of Genesis, Noah was the one good person in a world full of evil and corruption. God decided to spare Noah's life and the lives of his family members by instructing Noah to build a giant boat. He ordered Noah to build the vessel according to specific dimensions and to collect two of every animal on the earth to save them from the flood. Noah did as God commanded, and his family and passengers were able to survive the catastrophe.

To most scholars, Noah's Ark is a fictional element derived from the retelling of flood myths from earlier cultures. Some scientific evidence suggests that a boat built to the biblical specifications may have been able to float, but the logistics of building such a massive vessel would most likely have been impossible. However, those who hold to a more literal reading of the Bible believe the ark was a real boat. Several expeditions have been undertaken to find its resting place, which some people believe is on a mountain in the nation of Turkey. While some explorers have claimed to have discovered the ark, no credible evidence of its existence has been confirmed.

Background

The biblical account of Noah's Ark is one of several ancient flood myths, leading some scientists to speculate the stories may have been inspired by a real event. The evidence supporting a catastrophic historical flood, however, points toward a localized event and not a worldwide disaster. For example, the rivers that flowed through ancient Mesopotamia—the Tigris and Euphrates—were prone to flooding. One particularly disastrous event may have evolved into the various flood myths. Another theory holds that waters from the Mediterranean Sea may have risen and broken through a narrow opening to the Black Sea, rapidly flooding the region.

One of the oldest known flood myths is the story of Manu, found in Hindu legends from India. Manu was a holy man who survived the destruction of the world by building a large boat and tying it to the horns of a giant fish. In Sumerian legend, the gods warn a kindly king named Ziusdra about a catastrophic flood, telling him to construct a giant boat to survive the deluge.

In the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, believed to be written in the second or third millennium BCE, the character Utnapishtim claims to have survived a great flood by building an ark on the orders of one of the deities. After building the ark, Utnapishtim collected the world's animals and precious metals and loaded them on the vessel. The boat was said to be round or square and was the same height as it was wide—about 180 to 200 feet (55 to 61 meters). It had six decks and about one acre of floor space.

Overview

The biblical story of Noah and the ark begins in the sixth chapter of the Old Testament book of Genesis. God was so angry at the wickedness of humanity, he resolved to wash away all of creation from the earth by sending a great flood. Of all the people, only one, Noah, was righteous and faithful to God. God recognized Noah's virtue and decided to spare his life and the lives of his family members. He appeared to Noah and warned him of the impending calamity, instructing him to construct a large boat, or ark, so that Noah and his family could survive the flood.

The ark God tells Noah to build is said to be made of gopher wood, a type of wood unknown to biblical scholars. Some experts believe gopher wood refers to cypress wood, a strong and long-lasting material used to construct other biblical structures, although the connection is purely speculative. The dimensions of the ark were to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. A cubit was an ancient measurement corresponding to the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. This measure can vary depending on the person but is generally believed to be about 18 inches (45.6 centimeters) in biblical times. These measurements would make the ark about 450 feet (137 meters) long, 75 feet (23 meters) wide, and 45 feet (14 meters) high.

The ark was to have one door and below the roof of the ark, Noah was to leave an 18-inch space, possibly for ventilation. The entire ark was to be coated with pitch, a substance most likely used to make it waterproof. God commanded Noah to construct three decks inside the ark with rooms to house two of every creature on the earth and enough food to sustain humans and animals alike.

According to the Bible, it took Noah 120 years to build the ark. The vessel was not meant to be steered, only to be able to float atop the deluge and keep its passengers alive. After the earth was covered by the flood, Noah and his cargo remained afloat for almost a year. As the waters began to recede, the ark came to rest at a place the Bible refers to as the mountains of Ararat. After a few days, Noah, his family members, and the animals disembarked to repopulate the earth.

Proponents of a literal interpretation of the Bible maintain the ark was a real vessel and believe it came to rest atop Mount Ararat in modern-day Turkey. While the mountain shares a name with the biblical mountains of Ararat, scholars believe the Bible was referring to a mountain range in the region, and not a specific peak. In 1949, a US Air Force plane took a photograph of an object near the summit of Ararat that some believers felt was Noah's Ark. Further investigation suggested it was nothing more than a glacial rock formation. Other claimed discoveries of Noah's Ark were revealed to be hoaxes or did not measure up to scientific scrutiny.

Most experts contend the ark was never real but was merely part of an allegorical story about the corruption of humanity. Scientists contend the sheer logistics of building such a large wooden boat and housing so many animals would have been impossible for the era. Some research has found that wooden ships the size of the ark's dimensions may have been able to float with up to seventy thousand animals on board; however, structural deficiencies and the boxlike shape of the ark would have seriously compromised its seaworthiness.

Bibliography

Conger, Cristen. "Could Noah's Ark Really Have Happened?" HowStuffWorks.com, history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/noahs-ark.htm. Accessed 31 Oct. 2017.

Finkel, Irving. The Ark before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood. Hodder & Stoughton, 2014.

"Genesis 5:32–10:1." Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+5:32-10:1. Accessed 31 Oct. 2017.

Moore, Robert A. "The Impossible Voyage of Noah's Ark." National Center for Science Education, ncse.com/cej/4/1/impossible-voyage-noahs-ark. Accessed 31 Oct. 2017.

"Startling Similarity between Hindu Flood Legend of Manu and the Biblical Account of Noah." Ancient Origins, 30 Apr. 2015, www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-religions/startling-similarity-between-hindu-flood-legend-manu-and-biblical-020318. Accessed 31 Oct. 2017.

Tharoor, Ishaan. "Before Noah: Myths of the Flood Are Far Older than the Bible." Time, 1 Apr. 2014, time.com/44631/noah-christians-flood-aronofsky/. Accessed 31 Oct. 2017.

Thompson, Helen. "Could Noah's Ark Float? In Theory, Yes." Smithsonian, 4 Apr. 2014, www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/could-noahs-ark-float-theory-yes-180950385/. Accessed 31 Oct. 2017.

"What Is 'Gopher' Wood?" Christian Answers Network, christiananswers.net/q-eden/gopherwood.html. Accessed 31 Oct. 2017.