John Doughty Noah’s Ark: A Biblical & Scientific Study May 3, 2015 download to google drive The ark of the Bible is caricatured in Children’s Bible Story books as a happy boat with pairs of animals on the deck smiling and giraffes sticking their necks out of the portholes. As a consequence, young people do not take the book of Genesis seriously, which is the foundation of God’s Word. The ark was a barge longer than a football field and a half with a voluminous capacity of 569 railroad stock cars. Its specifications, as given in the Genesis account, are considered today to be the most seaworthy design for cargo carrying ships. The Biblical account of the ark and the flood is true history and Jesus compared the time of His coming to the days of Noah. I. Dimensions of the ark: Genesis 6:14 “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 “This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 “You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.… Ark was a barge shape Given an 18” cubit, the ark was 450’ x 75’ x 45’ Volume: 1, 518,750 Cubic Feet Equivalent to 569 railroad stock cars Draft: Genesis 7:20 “fifteen cubits upward,” (half the height, 22.5 feet) II. How Many Animals On the Ark? Classification # of Species # on Ark Mammals 3,700 3,700 Birds 8,600 8,600 Reptiles 6,300 6,300 Amphibians 2,500 2,500 Total Species 21,100 Total Male & Female 50,000 III. How Did Animals Fit on the Ark? 450 x 75 x 45 = 1,518,750 cubic feet Equivalent to 569 railroad stock cars One stock car (2,670 cubic feet) handles 240 sheep 50,000/240 = 208 stock cars 208/569 = 36.5 % of the Ark’s capacity Conclusion: Plenty of room on Noah’s Ark! IV. How could four men build the ark? Ark volume is 25% lumber. Four workers can install 15 cubic feet of lumber/day. (25%) (volume of ark) = (.25) (1,518,750) = 379,688 cu. ft. lumber equals 15 cu. ft/day x 6 days/week x 52 weeks/year =4,680 cu. ft./year 379,688 cu ft/4,680 cu ft/year = 81 years Plenty of time to build the ark in worst case. V. How much did Noah’s Ark weigh (displacement)? The draft of the ark is given in Gen. 7:20 at 15 cubits; half the height of the ark. We can calculate the ark’s gross tonnage, since we know the ark’s dimensions and the water displaced. An 18 inch cubit gives us an ark of 450 x 75 x 45 feet which is 1,518,750 cubic feet. Half this volume (1,518,750/2) times the weight of water displaced
(62 lbs/cubic ft.) equals 23,540 tons, fully loaded. VI. The New Testament refers to Noah, the ark, and the flood. The ark is a picture of the church, and Jesus is the door. Matthew 24:37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. 2 Peter 3:5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 1 Peter 3:20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, John 10:9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”