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Noah's ark
From A Storehouse of Knowledge
Noah's ark was a ship made by Noah at God's command to preserve a remnant of all life from the Great Flood. It was made of 'gopher wood' and had three decks and interior compartments. The ark was sealed with 'pitch' inside and out. It was 300 cubits450 feet
137.16 metres
150 yards
6.818 chains long, 50 cubits75 feet
22.86 metres
25 yards
1.136 chains wide and 30 cubits45 feet
13.716 metres
15 yards
0.682 chains high. There were three interior decks, a door in the side, and a single window set about a cubit1.5 feet
18 inches
45.72 cm below the top deck. The ark was provisioned with food for Noah, his family, and male and female pairs of every living thing which God brought to Noah to save aboard the ark.
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Background
The account of Noah and the Great Flood starts at Genesis 6:5. God sees that man has become "wicked" (Gen 6:6), "violent" and "corrupt" (Gen 6:12) since the Fall. God resolves that "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." (Gen 6:7)
However, one man, Noah, "found favor with God" (Gen 6:8) and was "righteous" and "blameless" (Gen 6:9). God commanded Noah to build a ship to preserve himself and his family. In addition, Noah is to bring animals on the ark, so that animal life will continue also. Generally two of every kind of animal (bird, animal and every "kind of creature that moves along the ground") (Gen 6:19-20), a male and a female, are to be brought on the ark. However, seven (or seven pairs, the text is not clear) of every clean animal and bird (Gen 7:2-3).
Shape of the Ark
The ark has traditionally been depicted as boat-shaped, but modern creationists often depict it as box-shaped, as it was only meant to float, not to travel, so there was no need for streamlining. Korean naval architects have shown that the size and shape (height/width/length ratio) of the ark would have made the ark very stable.[1]
The Gilgamesh Epic, on the other hand, describes a cubic ark, where the height, width, and length are all the same. Any rolling of the ark would not have been corrected, and it would continue to roll. This is one reason to consider the Genesis account to be an accurate record of the great flood and the Gilgamesh Epic to be a distorted and inaccurate account.[2][3]
An ancient Babylonian clay tablet translated in 2010, presents another version of the flood account in which the shape of the ark is presented as circular.[4][5]
Modern reconstructions
Numerous small models of Noah's Ark have been built to illustrate what it may have been like, and to raise awareness of the ark. These include wooden models constructed by Rod Walsh in Victoria, who uses them in talks in churches and schools in affiliation with Creation Ministries International, a large-size model which is operated through the canals of Holland, and a full-size reconstruction as the centrepiece of a tourist attraction in Hong Kong.
See also
References
- ↑ S.W. Hong, S.S. Na, B.S. Hyun, S.Y. Hong, D.S. Gong, K.J. Kang, S.H. Suh, K.H. Lee, and Y.G. Je, Korea Research Institute of Ships and Engineering, Safety Investigation of Noah's Ark in a Seaway, Proceedings of the International Conference on Creation Research, Korea Association of Creation Research, Taejon, 1993, pp. 105–137, reprinted in Journal of Creation 8(1):26–36, April 1994.
- ↑ Osanai, Nozomi, A comparative study of the flood accounts in the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis, 3 August 2005, see the conclusion in particular
- ↑ Hodge, Bodie, and Sarfati, Jonathan, Yes, Noah did build an Ark!, 26 March 2004.
- ↑ Kennedy, Maev, Relic reveals Noah's ark was circular, Gardian.co.uk, 1 January 2010.
- ↑ Thomas, Brian, A Round Noah's Ark?, 15 January 2010.
