Noahs Ark,Factual History or Fabricated Fable?

Study article presentation by Frank Nic. Bazsika 2011

Is the Biblical account of The Flood and Noahs ark really true? Is it possible to build a ship that could save the animals and birds that are today represented all over the earth? Are the atheists, agnostics and skeptics correct in labeling the Biblical account as nothing more than a fable or fairy tale?

I present here some research done by others (with credit given at conclusion) that lend credence and substance to the veracity of the Biblical account. Most skeptics have never read the complete Biblical account and neither have they thought upon the scientific possibility of it being true. But you can KNOW that your Bible is True and 100 % factual!

Was Noah's Ark BIG ENOUGH to hold ALL the animals?

"And God said to Noah . . . Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. " (Genesis 6:13-16, NKJV throughout) A cubit is the distance between an adult's elbow and tip of the finger, generally 18-inches (45.7 centimeters). Most Hebrew scholars believe the cubit to have been between 17 to 21 inches (44.5 to 54.6 centimeters) long. This means that the ark would have been 450 feet (137.2 meters) long, 75 feet (22.9 meters) wide and 45 feet (13.7 meters) high if the 18 inch cubit was used. If a larger cubit was used it would have been proportionately longer. The displacement tonnage of the ark, which is the weight of water it would displace at a draught of 15 cubits, would be more than 22,000 tons. By comparison the U.S.S. Salem, a 716 foot long (218 meters) heavy cruiser commissioned in 1949, has a displacement tonnage of 21,500 tons. The ark's gross tonnage, which is a measure of cubic space (100 cubic feet is one gross ton), would be 15,100 tons. The ark's total volume would have been 1,518,000 cubic feet (42,985 cubic meters). This would equal the capacity of 569 modern railroad stock cars. The standard size for a stock car is 44 feet long (13.4 meters) and a volume of 2670 cubic feet (75.6 cubic meters). This would make a train more than 5 miles (8.85 kilometers) long. The floor space for the ark would be over 101,000 square feet (9,383 square meters). This would be more floor space than 21 standard college basketball courts. By comparing the measurements of the ark it is easy to see that it would be comparable to today's ocean going vessels. It was probably the largest vessel of its type built until the late 1800's when metal ships were first constructed. The ark was built on a 1:6 ratio (50 cubits: 300 cubits). The science of naval architecture reveals that the most stable ratio for an ocean going vessel is 1:6. All modern day ocean going vessels use this same length to width ratio. It is estimated that the ark could easily have survived even the largest of ocean waves. If the ark were equipped with a dragging stone anchor, it would have been properly positioned to meet any size ocean wave. The design of the ark would have made it almost impossible to turn over.

 How MANY and what TYPE of animals did Noah's Ark carry? How many and what type of animals would the ark have to carry? Many scoffers suggest that the ark would have been overloaded. They suggest that Noah would need to gather millions of different animals. Since there are millions of species of animals there would have been millions of animals on the ark! Is this true? The word species and the Biblical word "kind" are often used interchangeably. This is incorrect since they are not synonymous. The Biblical word kind denotes an organism that reproduces others like itself. The species concept is much narrower than this; therefore many species can be included in a single Biblical "kind." The word kind is probably closer to the modern taxonomic unit of genus, and in some cases the larger taxonomic unit, family. The Canidae (canine) family includes about 14 genera of dog like animals. These include the coyote, dog, wolf, jackal, etc. The ark did not have to contain the hundreds of species of canines that make up this group. In reality, these were all represented by a few "kind." These "kind" would then produce all the animals that make up the Canidae family. For example all of the hundreds of varieties of domestic pigeons that have all been produced originated from one species, the wild rock pigeon (Columbia livia).

How many CLEAN and UNCLEAN animals did the ark carry? Another question that often arises is the question of how many clean and unclean animals would Noah have to take on board the ark. Many scoffers will say that Noah had to take SEVEN pair of clean animals and SEVEN pair of the birds (Genesis 7:2-3). How many birds were clean and how many were unclean? The answer to that question is found in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. The clean birds are not described like the clean animals and clean fish. On examination of these two chapters certain characteristic of unclean birds are noted and by exclusion the characteristic of the clean birds can be determined. Also by examining other parts of the Bible these characteristics will dovetail with Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Clean birds belong to the orders: Galiformes, Anseriformes, and Passeriformes. This includes chickens, waterfowls, pigeons and some grain eating perching songbirds. The vast majority of the birds are unclean which means that only one pair of them would be included in the ark. When properly understood, Noah took on seven (7) individual animals and birds (not seven pairs) of each kind that were clean. Since these were clean animals and clean birds that would be used for food later, it would be important to have extra breeding stock. There were three pair of clean animals and clean birds plus a seventh. The seventh one was to be offered as a sacrifice at the end of the flood (Genesis 8:20). If an animal were unclean, which the vast majorities were, then only one pair was taken aboard. The ark would have had MORE than enough room to carry all the animals. This fact becomes obvious when the Bible is researched. Only air breathing, land dwelling animals would have to be placed aboard the ark (Genesis 7:22). The following animals could have survived outside the ark (Whitcomb 1998, p.68):

25,000 species of fish 1,700 tunicates (mane chordates like sea squirts) found throughout the seas 600 echinoderms including star fish and sea urchins 107,000 mollusks such as mussels, clams and oysters 10,000 coelenterates like corals and sea anemones, jelly fish and hydroids 4,000 species of sponges 31,000 protozoan, the microscopic single-celled creatures.

Noah would not have to be concerned with the aquatic mammals such as the dolphins, whales, porpoises, sea lions, and walrus. There are also many aquatic reptiles that could survive outside of the ark. These would include many types of snakes, alligators, crocodiles, and sea turtles. There are almost a million species of arthropods that would survive the flood. Animals such as the following: shrimps, crabs, lobsters, and many other crustaceans. All of the insects could survive outside the ark. Mote than 35,000 species of worms and nematodes would also survive the flood. In reality only a small percentage of the animals would have to be taken on board the ark. The vast majority of the animals that inhabit the earth either live in water and/or do not have "the breath of life."

How many animals did Noah's Ark ACTUALLY carry? Many writers on the subject of Noah's ark have different estimates for the amount of animals that the ark would have to carry. Doctors Morris and Whitcomb in their book, The Genesis Flood, estimate that approximately 35,000 animals were placed on board the ark. In another book written on the subject, Noah's Ark - A Feasibility Study, John Woodmorappe states that only about 2,000 animals would have to be on the ark. Being rather conservative he continues his study with the assumption that 16,000 animals could easily be cared for on the ark. Let's be conservative and use the figure of 40,000 animals. This allows for extra animals to represent those that have gone extinct and those animals that have not been properly cataloged. This figure of 40,000 animals is 5,000 more than largest previously mentioned numbers. Based on our present understanding of the number of animals this figure should satisfy even the most skeptical. How much SPACE would animals on the ark need? Most animals are not very large. The average size of all animals, is the size of a sheep, some say a small rodent. One railroad stock car can carry about 240 sheep. This would mean that all 40,000 animals could fit in 167 railroad cars. The arks total capacity was 569 stock cars. The 40,000 animals would require LESS THAN 30% of the ark's space. In other words all the animals could fit on one of the ark's three decks. This would leave the other 70% of the ark's space for Noah's family, food, supplies, and baggage. Many biologists state that the average size of most vertebrates is the size of a sheep. Other sources state that the average size is about the size of a small rabbit. Since there is some doubt as to what is the average size of the animals that were brought into the ark, and this paper is a conservative analysis of the carrying capacity of the ark, we will use the larger sheep average.We will also base our calculation on four different occupancy estimates. The first is my own conservative estimate of 40,000. The second is the estimate of Whitcomb at 35,000. The final two figures of 16,000 and 2,000 are based on the work of Woodmorappe. The 16,000 figure is based on the Biblical kind being equivalent to the taxonomic rank of genus. The second figure of 2,000 is based on the Biblical kind being equivalent to the taxonomic rank of family. Based on railroad industry figures a railroad stockcar can hold 240 sheep and each stock car has a capacity of 2670 cubic feet. Therefore each sheep requires 11.125 cubic feet. Most authorities on rabbit husbandry give the dimensions for a rabbit hutch as 3.0 cubic feet per animal. If the average animal size is indeed the size of a small rabbit the calculations shown below could be reduced by a factor of three. The following calculations, based on an ark that has a volume of 1,518,750 cubic (ft3) feet (43,006 cubic meters), shows the amount of the ark space that would be required to carry the stated number of animals, based on the average size of a sheep. 40,000 animals x 11.125 ft3 = 445,000 ft3 OR 29% of the Ark's total capacity

35,000 animals x 11.125 ft3 = 389,375 ft3 OR 25% of the Ark's total capacity 16,000 animals x 11.125 ft3 = 178,000 ft3 OR (kind = genus taxon) or 11.7% of the Ark's total capacity 2,000 animals x 11.125 ft3 = 22,250 ft3 OR (kind = family taxon) or 1.4% of the Ark's total capacity

Summary It is obvious that when all the facts of the Genesis account of the flood are examined that there is no reason to doubt that the ark could easily have carried its intended cargo. The Biblical account is not a revision of a Babylonian myth. All the scientific evidence shows that the ark could easily have contained all of the animals that were used to repopulate the earth after the flood. References Whitcomb, John C., Morris, Henry M. 1998. The Genesis Flood Woodmorappe, John. 1996. Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study, Institute for Creation Research. Santee, CA

Written by: Arnold C. Mendez, Sr.

Other ancient civilizations also make mention of the Flood however they add to the account with liberal incertation of fable lore. The Biblical account is the factual and true rendering from the Word of God.

What could some of the animal cages on the ark look like?

Photo courtesy Arnold C. Mendez, Sr.

Many scoffers of the Genesis Flood state that it would have been impossible for the eight person crew of the Ark to have cared for all the animals. In reality most of the animals would have required very little if any care once loaded onto the ark. The ark undoubtedly made use of self-cleaning, self-feeding, and self-watering technologies. This is a 1/12-scale model of the type of system that the Ark designers could have built. It uses a mesh type cage floor and slanted waste system, which moves animal wastes into a gutter. Once in the gutter the manure could have been allowed to either dry (becoming odorless and inert), or be composted by earthworms and bacteria, or it could have been

dumped overboard by means of a slanted trough leading to the exterior. None of the waste would require human handling. Food could have been loaded into the chute on the side and the animals could feed themselves. Enough food could have been loaded into the chute to last the duration of the flood.

Water could be piped to self-filling bowl or troughs. The water could be gathered through a rainwater cistern system or could have been pre-loaded before the flood. People of Noah's time commonly made indoor pipes from reeds, clay, and bamboo tubing. An eight person crew could have fairly easily cared for thousands of animals. Data from animal husbandry studies have shown that they would even have had time to keep the Bible Sabbath. Arnold Mendez, a chemistry instructor at Texas A&M University, has studied the Genesis account and the creation versus evolution controversy for the last 25 years. His excellent seminars discuss topics such as Noah's flood, early man, evolution, creation, the fossil record, radiometeric dating, Biblical longevity and others.

HOW LONG did it take Noah to build the ark?

Q. How long did it take Noah to build the ark? Some say 120 years but I can find no scripture to back this up. (Submitted by: M. S. ) A. There is nowhere in Scripture that supports the 120 years for the construction of the ark. That span of time concerns the time God allowed mankind to live, from the time He made His pronouncement, to the flood - Genesis 6:3. God set a time limit (120 years), just in case humans would repent. God has used this principle again and again. Jonah 3:9-10 is a good example. It also gave Noah time to preach the ways of righteousness to the same end. In Genesis 6:13-16 we find God's instructions for building the ark, but there is no inkling as to when the work began or how long it took to construct the ark: "And God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.' " (Genesis 6:13-16, NKJV) Other biblical references to Noah and the ark are found in 1 Peter 3:19-20 and Hebrews 11:7. Again, no mention of the time it took to build the ark. I also find nothing about the timeframe for building the ark on the Internet. Even the book of

Jubilees is silent on this detail and so is Josephus. To allow 120 years to build the ark is extremely excessive, even with the many factors taken into consideration. Obviously, God didn't see the need to reveal this rather inconsequential detail. Does it matter how long it took Noah to build the ark? What's important is that we learn the spiritual lesson derived from it. "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages are come" (1Corinthians 10:11) Written by: Adriano Borean

What could the interior of the ark look like?

Photo courtesy Arnold C. Mendez, Sr.

God told Noah in regard to building the ark: "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks." (Genesis 6:14-16, NKJV)

The above picture is a 1/32 scale model of the cross-section of the ark. This view shows the interior and the three decks. The inside and outside was coated with pitch. A window was set in the ark 18 inches (one cubit) from the top (Genesis 6:16). Notice the size of the ark in comparison to the larger animals such as the hippopotamus! Notice the three decks and the various caging systems. The ark could hold about 40,000 sheep sized animals in about 33% of its capacity. This would leave more than two-thirds of the ark's interior for other uses. Probably far less than this amount of animals was loaded on board the ark. In reality, the ark was probably TOO BIG! Arnold Mendez, a chemistry instructor at Texas A&M University, has studied the Genesis account and the creation versus evolution controversy for the last 25 years. His excellent seminars discuss topics such as Noah's flood, early man, evolution, creation, the fossil record, radiometeric dating, Biblical longevity and others.

What does a RAINBOW symbolize in the Bible?

Picture of a double rainbow inside an Alaskan National Park

In his first vision from God, known as the "wheel in the middle of a wheel" vision, the prophet Ezekiel compares the glory of God he saw with a rainbow: "And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. "Like the appearance of a RAINBOW in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord . . . " (Ezekiel 1:26-28) Rainbows appear again in the prophetic book of Revelation, which foretell the end of man's rule on the earth and the coming of Jesus to set up his Kingdom. The first mention of a rainbow in Revelation appears when the apostle John uses it to describe the glory and power of God on his throne:

"After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.' Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a RAINBOW around the throne, in appearance like an emerald." (Revelation 4:1-3) The second mention of a rainbow occurs when John describes the look of a mighty angel: "I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a RAINBOW was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire." (Revelation 10:1) What about the COLORS of the Rainbow? What do they represent? The most common colors seen by a normal human eye are, as listed by Issac Newton: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. In English, a popular way of remembering these colors is to memorize the name "Roy G. Biv." Most Common Colors seen by the Human Eye

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Blue

Indigo

Violet

Other colors used in the Bible

Black

Crimson

Purple

Scarlet

White

Do the colors of the rainbow, or colors in general, have any special significance or meaning in the Bible?
The Colors Red and Purple The colors red, purple (which is a mix of the colors red and blue), scarlet (a bright red) and crimson (a "cool" hue of the color red) were used extensively in the tabernacle of God Moses made in the wilderness, in the temple later constructed, and in the garments for the High Priest and other priests (Exodus 25:3-5, 36:8, 19, 27:16, 28:4-8, 39:1-2, etc.). According to Nave's Topical Bible, these colors were types or shadows of atonement. For a detailed description of the dress worn by the High Priest and priests see The Temple at the Time of Jesus by Edersheim and Antiquities (History) of the Jews, Book 3, Chapter 7, by Josephus. The colors purple and scarlet can also be symbolic of iniquity or sinfulness (Revelation 17:3-4, 18:16, etc.). Purple itself was used as a symbol of royalty (Judges 8:26). Scarlet by itself can represent prosperity (Proverbs 31:21, Lamentations 4:5).

The Color Blue The color blue, referred to directly or when scripture states something is like the appearance of a sapphire or sapphire stone, can be a symbol of deity or royalty (Numbers 4:5-12; Ezekiel 1:26, Esther 8:15, etc.). Blue was also the color God commanded some threads in the fringes of Israelite garments be colored in order to remind them of the commandments and living a godly way of life: Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined . . ." (Numbers 15:38-39) The Color White The color white is symbolic of holiness, righteousness and dedication to serving the true God (Leviticus 16:4, 2Chronicles 5:12, etc.). In a vision Jesus first appears to the apostle John with hair that is white: "Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;" (Revelation 1:12-14) Believers throughout history who have died in the faith and those who, in the future, are loyal to God in the Great Tribulation, will be resurrected and given white robes to wear: "Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, 'Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?' And I (John) said to him, 'Sir, you know.' So he said to me, 'These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'" (Revelation 7:13-14) "'Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.' And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." (Revelation 19:7-8)
Written by: Adriano Borean edited / additions by BibleStudy.org

How big was Noahs ark in comparison to some other ships?

The replica of Noah's ark (shown below) is 1/75 scale. For comparison purposes, both the railroad stockcar and model of the sailing ship Pinta (one of Columbus' ships) are also at the same 1/75 scale model size. The full-size version of the railroad stockcar model shown in the picture is 44 feet long and has a capacity of 2,670 cubic ft. The ark's volume was 1,518,000 cubic ft., which is equal to 569 railroad stockcars. Strung together these stockcars would make a train five and one-half miles long! Although no one knows the exact length of the Biblical cubit used as a measurement by Noah, the above model is based upon the ratio of one cubit equaling 18 inches. If a larger cubit of 20 or 24 inches would have been used the ark model would have been proportionally larger.

Arnold Mendez, a chemistry instructor at Texas A&M University, has studied the Genesis account and the creation versus evolution controversy for the last 25 years. His excellent seminars discuss topics such as Noah's flood, early man, evolution, creation, the fossil record, radiometeric dating, Biblical longevity and others.

Photo courtesy Arnold C. Mendez, Sr.

Presenters note; God expects those that believe His Word to be knowledgeable and to study to show themselves approved unto God. He calls us to knowledge and The Truth!