Noah's
Ark
Artist Elfred Lee's Painting of Noah's Ark
on Mt. Ararat - Image Copyright
Elfred Lee
The ark was the vehicle God used to deliver Noah, his family
and the animals from the flood (God's judgement). Most people
are familiar with popular artistic depictions of Noah’s Ark.
The ark often resembles a wooden ship with a barn-like structure
on top. Interestingly, the Bible gives a much different description
of the ark. The book of Genesis describes it as a rectangular
object resembling a barge rather than a ship-like structure.
The basic specifications for the ark are given in Genesis 6:14
- 16. Noah is commanded by God to construct the ark. Therefore,
the specifications came from God Himself.
Genesis 6:14 - 16 (NKJV) 14 "Make yourself an ark of
gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside
with pitch. 15 "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. 16 "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.
What Was the Hull Shape of Noah’s Ark?
The Genesis passage provides only a brief description of the
ark's basic specifications. These specifications appear to represent
a rectangular hull design. However, it is possible that the
ark's design could represent a more traditional hull shape.
Since detailed construction plans are omitted, we don't know
for certain what the hull shape actually was. Moses is the credited
author of Genesis. He may have condensed a much longer story
in order to conserve space or perhaps the only information he
had available was what he included. Therefore, all we have available
for the ark's design is what is written in Genesis. It is likely
that the Genesis account of the Great Flood came from earlier
written material. We know Moses was educated in Egypt. Perhaps
he learned about the flood from the libraries of the Egyptians.
Perhaps their ancient libraries contained detailed knowledge
on the antediluvian society that lived before the flood. Another
likely possibility is Jacob could have carried records into
Egypt that were kept by both the Israelites and the Egyptians.
It is entirely possible that the Genesis story could have consisted
of a number of writings which Moses condensed into "Genesis".
Perhaps the information could have come from an ancient "Book
of Noah", containing a more detailed version of the Genesis
story.
Construction
Noah's
Ark - Click for larger view
The ark's purpose was to deliver its occupants from a catastrophe
that would bring an end to all land based-life on earth. The
Biblical word for ark is "tebah" and it is used only in the
Genesis account of the flood and for the container in which
Moses was placed. The ark's design was intended to protect its
occupants from the hostile environment of the flood. Its construction
appears to have taken about 120 years. Interestingly, it appears
to have been designed without capability for steerage or power.
This was probably due to the reason that there was no place
to navigate to during the flood. Navigation would have been
at the mercy of God. The Bible also indicates that God watched
over the ark.
The ark was made of a material that the Bible identifies as
"gopher wood". The actual Hebrew word is "Gopher". The exact
meaning of this material is still unknown. It has been presumed
by some to be Cypress wood, Cedar, Teak, or Mahogany, but these
are only assumptions. What ever the actual material was, still
remains a mystery, although it was probably some type of wood.
There are serious problems with building a solid wooden ship
longer than 300 feet. This is due to the structural stress caused
by the effects of wave action upon wooden vessels. Gopher could
have been a material which was far stronger than conventional
wood. The Antediluvians may have had processes for strengthening
wood that we are not aware of. It is interesting that no ship
of the size of Noah’s Ark was built until the late 19th century
when iron was used for construction material. It is possible
that other materials could have been used in its construction.
Perhaps metal was used as a frame (which is not mentioned in
the Bible). Another possibility is the design could be other
than the rectangular shape given in scripture.
The outside and inside were coated with pitch. The Hebrew
word is "kopher" and again, this word is obscure so we don’t
know what the composition of the pitch was. Pitch was probably
used to make the ark water tight and to protect the exterior
from the effects of the outside environment.
The ark had three decks. We don’t know if they were all the
same height or if there were areas in which there was open space
from bottom to top. The ark had only one door, which was the
side door (Gen 6:16). It was used for loading its cargo. Genesis
also describes a window that is 1 cubit in size (Gen 6:16) (~18
inches) located at the top of the ark. The size in this description
makes it (likely) to be a small hatch. We are not entirely certain
of the exact use of the window. We do know that Noah was able
to send out the raven and the dove, probably from this same
window. It is a safe assumption that the ark needed some sort
of ventilation. This could have been one purpose of the "window".
Elfred Lee's painting shown at the top of the page, shows a
row of these "windows" along the top of the ark extending from
bow to stern. This would form an adequate ventilation system.
With its cargo of animals, it would seem necessary to have more
than one eighteen-inch window for ventilation.
Size of Noah's Ark
The measurements provided in Genesis are in cubits rather than
feet or meters. A cubit in the Old Testament is approximately
17.5 inches long. Another measurement to consider is the Egyptian
Royal cubit which is 20.65 inches. As mentioned earlier, Moses
is credited as being the author of Genesis. Since Moses was
educated in Egypt we should consider the Egyptian cubit, as
well as the Hebrew cubit. Hebrew common cubit = 17.5 in. Egyptian
Royal cubit = 20.65 in.
| Ark Measurements |
Cubits |
Hebrew Cubits to ft/m |
Royal Cubits to ft/m |
| Length |
300 |
437.5 ft (133.35 m) |
516.25 ft (157.35 m) |
| Width (Beam) |
50 |
72.9 ft (22.2 m) |
86 ft (26.2 m) |
| Height |
30 |
43.75 (13.3 m) |
51.6 ft (15.7 m) |
Comparison of Noah's Ark to Modern Cargo Ship - Image
copyright Tom Pickett
The ark has the same cargo capacity of a modern cargo ship.
The above figure shows a comparison with a 550 ft long cargo
ship. The ark had a volume of 1.4 million cubic feet and a gross
tonnage of 14,000 tons. This is the equivalent of 522 railroad
box cars. The ark could have carried over 125,000 sheep-sized
animals. Interestingly, there are less than 18,000 species of
land animals alive today. Also, the average size of most animals
is less than that of a sheep.
Stability
A scale model of the ark was tested in a special tank at Scripps
Institute of Oceanography at La Jolla, California. The tank
was capable of generating giant waves with respect to the model
boat, thus simulating severe sea conditions. The waves were
much larger than would be experienced in the ocean. The ark
proved impossible to capsize. Due to the rectangular shape,
it proved capable of righting itself, even to 90 degrees. This
is unheard of on an ocean-going vessel. Most vessels will develop
severe stability problems at more than a 60 degree list. The
Ratio of the ark is 30 x 5 x 3. It turns out that this design
is a perfect design to prevent capsizing in rough seas.
Zero Degree Roll
Sixty Degree Roll
One of the ongoing debates on Noah's Ark is weather the ark
was the rectangular design indicated in scripture or a more
traditional canoe design. There are still a number of unanswered
questions concerning a rectangular "box" design for the ark.
The primary concern with this design is longitudinal stability.
This problem is associated with the ark's length. Analysis of
an all-wood design indicates that the vessel would break apart
under heavy sea conditions due to longitudinal forces acting
upon it. Further analysis needs to be done on this design. It
is entirely possible that the antediluvians had developed methods
of construction which we are unfamiliar with. Also, the general
shape of the ark could appear to be rectangular, yet curved
in areas to relieve stress. Just as the design of modern ships
has significantly changed in recent years, the construction
of Noah's Ark could turn out to be radically different by our
design standards.
