Scriptural Background
The account of Noah and the ark is often taken as mere fairy tale. The Bible, however, is the true history book of the universe, and we can have confidence in what it says about the ark. Scripture reveals the basic dimensions of Noah’s ark—the length, width, and height. According to God’s Word, it was massive—300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide,
and 30 cubits high (approximately 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high based on a cubit of 20.4 inches). This is not like the whimsical drawings that depict the ark as an overgrown houseboat with giraffes and other animals sticking out the top.
In addition to its size, God gave other specific information about the ark in Genesis 6:14–16. Details in his instructions to Noah include the type of wood (gopher wood), a pitch coating inside and outside the ark, a window finished a cubit from
above, three decks, and a door set in the side of the ark. The specificity in Scripture gives us confidence that this was a ship ordained by God to withstand the watery judgment soon to cover the entire earth.
However, a detailed design of the ship’s hull is not given. Biblical creationists have historically depicted the ark as a simple rectangular box. You will notice that the ark shown in Answers Bible Curriculum goes beyond that rectangular configuration. This particular model was considered after much study and the determination that the ark had to have been equipped to handle rough seas. This design was made by a mechanical engineer who studied the flood and the ark for nearly 13 years. The rough seas confronting the ark during the flood are alluded to in Scripture.
• Genesis 6:15—The ark had the proportions of a seagoing vessel built for waves.
• Genesis 7:18—The ark moved about on the surface of the waters.
• Genesis 7:19—A mountain-covering, global floodwould not be dead calm.
• Genesis 8:1—God made a wind to pass over the earth.
• Psalm 104:8—The earth’s landmasses were shifting during the flood. As they moved, it would cause tremendous turbulence in the waters.
By considering the full counsel of God’s Word as wellas historical information, we can be certain that the ark large enough to withstand a global flood and had room for all of the animals God intended to be saved.
Historical/Apologetics Background
For centuries, scoffers have mocked the account of Noah and the flood by arguing that it would have been impossible for the ark to hold two of every species of animal. This supposition leads to the conclusion that the flood account was not inspired by God, casting doubt on all of God’s Word.
There are some serious misconceptions here that need to be corrected. First of all, God did not send representatives of all the “species” of animals to Noah—but the “kinds” of animals (Genesis 8:19). For example, Noah would not have had two
African elephants, two Asian elephants, two mastodons, two mammoths, and two stegodons (these last three are now extinct). He would have needed only two representatives of the elephant kind.
Then after the flood when the animals spread out over all the earth, different species resulted from the tremendous amount of information God had designed into the genes of each of these animals as they adapted to their environment. Noah didn’t need the number of animals many people think he did. There was plenty of room!
People think that most land animals are very large like elephants and giraffes. But only about 11% of land animals are larger than a sheep. So, the average size of the animals on the ark would have been smaller than the size of a sheep.
Something else we often hear is that there is no way all the dinosaurs could have fit on the ark. Although there are about 700 names of dinosaurs, all of them fall into approximately 50 different kinds of dinosaurs. And not all dinosaurs were huge like the brachiosaurus—many were much smaller. Even these larger animals were probably young when they boarded the ark, taking up less room and still having their reproductive lives ahead of them.
The study of created kinds, called baraminology, is dependent on biblical truth. One of the tenets of this science is that the various kinds created by God do not interbreed with other kinds. Genesis clearly states that animals reproduce after their kind. And this is what real science shows—dogs produce dogs, cats produce cats, horses produce horses, etc. Secular scientists, however, continue to defend their belief that all life has common ancestry even though observable science has never recorded any “kind” changing into another “kind.”
Another criticism of the ark is that no wooden ship of this size would have held together. One of the greatest challenges in the construction of large wooden ships is finding a way to lay planks around the outside that will ensure little or no leaking. However, marine archaeologists have recently discovered a method of planking used on ancient Greek ships that had been lost for centuries. This may have been the method handed down for years—even from Noah’s day!
It is important to remember—and repeat to your students—that we have the history book of the universe—the Bible. We have an eyewitness to the account of Noah’s flood and the judgment it brought. That eyewitness is God, our Creator; the source is the Bible, his infallible Word..
Studying God’s Word
Introduction
.? What is the most important piece of information we have when it comes
to understanding the flood?
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? What about the text of Genesis 6–9 suggests the flood was global?
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? How does the rainbow covenant confirm that the flood was global?
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? How do the legends of floods from various cultures around the globe
confirm what the Bible teaches about the flood of Noah’s day?
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The Size of the Ark
? When you see depictions of the ark, how is it typically portrayed?
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Genesis 6:13–16
? Who provided the “construction plans” for the ark?
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? Who was to make the ark?
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? What was the ark to be made of?
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? What was to cover the ark, inside and out?
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? What were the dimensions of the ark?
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? Were there to be doors and windows in the ark?
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? What other features of the ark does the text mention?
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Discover the Truth
Let’s examine some of the phrases in this passage to make sure that we are interpreting the construction of the ark properly.
The Hebrew word for ark is tebah, and it is used in reference to Noah’s ark (Genesis 6–9) and to the small reed basket used to carry the young baby Moses down the Nile (Exodus 2). It is not the same word that is used for the ark of the covenant. There is not a lot of other information about this word in Scripture, so we can only say that this is some kind of a boat. The dimensions vary greatly in the two accounts—I doubt Moses’ ark was 300
cubits long—and give us only a general idea about the shape. Some think this term refers to its purpose more than its shape—a lifeboat, if you will.
? The text gives the proportions of the ark in cubits. What a cubit is?
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? The text talks about coating the inside and out with pitch. What is pitch,
and why was it used on the ark?
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? Does anyone know what gopher wood is?
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Animals on the Ark
The next issue we will deal with involves the animals that were taken on the ark. This is another point of attack from those who do not believe the Bible’s account. You may have heard objections like “it would have been impossible to take two of every animal species on the planet onto the ark.” So, let’s think biblically about what animals were aboard the ark.
Genesis 6:17–22
? What was to be destroyed according to verse 17?
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? What was the purpose of bringing the animals on the ark, according to
verses 19–20?
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? What three groups of animals are mentioned in verse 20?
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? What phrase is repeated in verse 20?
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? How many of each kind were to come into the ark?
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? Did Noah have to go and get the animals?
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? What does the text say about food for the voyage?
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? How did Noah respond to God’s directions?
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Discover the Truth
In a past lesson, we described what perished in the flood. We used the phrase “land-dwelling, air-breathing animals” to describe what died. This applies to birds, animals, and creeping things.
? In Hebrew, the word translated here as “birds” is owph and actually refers
to anything that flies—winged creatures. What types of creatures would
be included in the category “birds”?
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Genesis 7:2–4
? Look at Genesis 7:2–4. What additional information do we get about the
pairs of animals?
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? What types of creatures would be included in the “animals” and“creeping things” that were taken on the ark?
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? Why did Noah need more representatives than one pair (whether 7 or 14) of the clean animals?
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? What would have constituted food for Noah and the animals?
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Application
When we stop to examine the details of the text in light of other
information that is available, the account of the ark takes on a whole
new perspective. The ark was not a tiny boat crammed full of animals,
but a massive vessel designed to preserve representatives of all of the
land-animal kinds and mankind. It carried elephants, lizards, bats, doves,
sauropod (long-necked) dinosaurs, pterosaurs, cats, dogs, bears, deer,
and every other kind of land creature. Despite the claims of skeptics, God
provided a rescue plan for a world that had fallen into extreme sin. God
was faithful to fulfill his promise of judgment just as he was faithful to
Noah to fulfill his promise of salvation. Refer to the Attributes of God Poster.
There was plenty of room on the ark for those who might have responded
to Noah’s preaching, but none responded. Only eight were saved from
God’s judgment against sin by boarding the boat God had provided for
their salvation. We all need to make sure that we have found rescue
in Christ just as Noah and his family found it in the ark. As we have
opportunity to engage with skeptics, let us not only tell them how big the
ark was, but also how big are the mercy and grace of God—who is willing
to forgive his enemies and receive them as sons and daughters in Christ.
? What misconceptions about the ark did you have that were corrected
from this discussion?
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? What types of doubts about the size of the ark have you heard from
others? How can you respond to those objections in light of what you
have learned today?
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? How might pictures of an overloaded, miniature ark influence people’s
view of the accounts in Scripture?
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? What questions have been raised in your mind by this lesson, and what
can you do to better understand these truths?
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Group Prayer Time
• Praise God for his faithfulness.
• Ask God to help the students to understand the truths of the ark and
how to apply that knowledge to their lives and share it with others.
• Thank God for salvation through Christ and the picture we have of
this in the account of the ark.
Additional request:
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