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| draft=10 long cubits (5.24 m, est.)<ref>The height of this vessel when in "drydock" was 30 long cubits.</ref>

| draft=10 long cubits (5.24 m, est.)<ref>The height of this vessel when in "drydock" was 30 long cubits.</ref>

| crew=8

| crew=8

}}'''Noah's Ark''' (or ''the Ark'') was a large seafaring vessel referred to in the [[Genesis|book of Genesis]]. It was built by [[Noah]] at the command and instruction of [[God]], in response to the evil of man at the time. God told Noah that he would destroy the [[earth]] with a [[Great Flood|flood]], and only Noah, his family, and some animals would be saved in the ship.

}}

 

'''Noah's Ark''' was a large vessel described in the sixth chapter of the [[Bible|Biblical]] [[Genesis|book of Genesis]], built specifically to save a remnant of mankind and animals from the [[Great Flood|flood]].  [[Noah]] was chosen by God and warned of the impending disaster, being given a command to build the Ark to save himself and his family, consisting of eight people, and the land animals from the flood (Gen 6:14-16).  At the end of the flood, it ran aground in the "mountains Ararat" (Gen 8:4), where sightings are disputed to this day.

Three massive replicas of Noah's Ark exist today, partly or fully constructed: one in the Netherlands,<ref>http://www.pbase.com/paulthedane/noahs_ark</ref> one in Kentucky, and one near Miami, Florida.

Three massive replicas of Noah's Ark exist today, partly or fully constructed: one in the Netherlands,<ref>http://www.pbase.com/paulthedane/noahs_ark</ref> one in Kentucky, and one near Miami, Florida.

== The Ark ==

==Description==

{{cquote|'''Genesis 6:13-22''' (God's blueprints)<br />Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 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. Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.” Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.}}

{{cquote|'''Genesis 6:14-16''' ''Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.  And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.  A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.''}}

The Ark was large; in fact, until the launch of the British ship ''Great Eastern'' in 1858 the Ark was the largest moving object built by man.  The Hebrew cubit was a unit of measurement spanning the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, or about 18 inches<ref>http://worldwideflood.com/ark/noahs_cubit/cubit.htm</ref>, and based on this measurement the Ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall. However, Moses, the writer of ''Genesis'', was educated in the court of Egypt and was familiar with the royal cubit, which was 20.6 inches long<ref>http://worldwideflood.com/ark/noahs_cubit/cubit.htm</ref>, giving the Ark a maximum size of 618 x 103 x 61 feet<ref>https://creation.com/images/pdfs/tj/j20_3/j20_3_71-77.pdf</ref>.

The Ark's construction consisted of "gopher wood", a material that is the subject of conjecture today. Scholars have posited a number of possibilities for what gopher wood represents, including [[mahogany]], [[zebra wood]], [[cambriatic wood]], [[cypress]], and [[ebony]]<ref>[http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/gopherwood.html What is “Gopher Wood”? ChristianAnswers.net]</ref>.  Strong's states that it is an unused root word (גֹּפֶר ''gôpher'') possibly related to either building something from wood, to house in, or a type of tree, leaning toward the cypress.  It may also be related to ''kâphar'' (כָּפַר), which in the ''Genesis'' account (ch. 6:14) specifies "pitch", leading scholars to speculate that the wood involved was from a resinous tree.

The vessel was constructed with gopher wood, which was covered with a layer of pitch (a kind of [[tar]]). Scholars, although not sure, posit a number of possibilities for what gopher wood represents, including [[mahogany]], [[zebra wood]], [[cambriatic wood]], [[cypress]], and [[ebony]].<ref>[http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/gopherwood.html What is “Gopher Wood”? ChristianAnswers.net]</ref>

The "pitch" itself was bitumen<ref>https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bitumen</ref>, used extensively by the ancients as both a binder and a waterproofing agent. Commonly called asphalt or tar, the material is first heated up to make it more viscous before being applied; Arabic reed boats called ''kufas'' have lasted for years after being pitched<ref>https://www.thoughtco.com/bitumen-history-of-black-goo-170085</ref>, and on a similar note it has been recorded that Native Americans also used the pitch obtained from the [[La Brea tar pits]] in California to waterproof baskets<ref>https://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/2605</ref>.

[[Image:Approx level of technology in Noah's time.png|thumb|300px|Technology used by Noah was most probably comparable to technology used by ancient [[Egypt]]ians.]]

{{cquote|'''Did Noah cut out the ark with an adze?'''<br />Some illustrations show an old bearded Noah chipping away at a log with an adze. Some portray Noah belonging to a 'primitive' culture of nomadic herdsmen, who never made anything more advanced than a tent-pole and a clay bowl. The evidence disputes this. From the 'dawn' of civilization (which is really the 2nd dawn - after the flood), man's ingenuity and technical achievements are astounding. So much so that they are considered ancient 'mysteries', or even 'evidence' of high-tech alien visitations. The evolutionary mindset implies a gradually increasing level of technology which suddenly boomed a few centuries ago. Not so in the diggings. Some of the most ancient Egyptian artefacts defy a simple explanation for their manufacture - from the precisely machined granite vase to the huge accurate pyramids and buildings. And these are the bits that survived some 4000 years!<ref>[http://www.worldwideflood.com/ark/technology/ancient_technology.htm WWF: Ancient Technology]</ref>}}

There were three decks within the Ark, which were themselves divided into multiple rooms for the housing of the animals and food storage. According to Gen. 6:16, the Ark was finished to within a cubit at the top (''...in a cubit shalt thou finish it above''), apparently giving the vessel a cubit-wide opening spanning much of the length of the ship.  A single large door in the side was the only entrance, and a window was placed at some point on the upper hull, which Noah would use later to release a dove to see if the flood waters had abated<ref>Gen. 8:6-12</ref>.

There were three stories which were divided into multiple rooms. There is only a single window and door recorded for the whole ark, but possibly because these were the most important ones. The dimensions were three hundred [[cubit]]s long by fifty cubits wide by thirty cubits high (Gen. 6:15), which equates to approximately 450 feet long, by 75 feet wide, by 45 feet high.

=== Construction time ===

===Construction time===

[[Image:Ark construction.jpg|thumb|300px|Ark construction: Photo of a scaled model at the [[Creation Museum]]. This was taken by Conservapedia user [[User:TerryH|TerryH]].]]

[[Image:Ark construction.jpg|thumb|300px|Ark construction: Photo of a scaled model at the [[Creation Museum]]. This was taken by Conservapedia user [[User:TerryH|TerryH]].]]

The Bible does not really tell us an exact number of years for the amount of time it took to construct this monstrous vessel. However, the first mention of Noah in Genesis 5:32 says, "Noah was five hundred years old," and then in 7:6 it says, "Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth." But concerning God's relationship with man, the Bible says this:{{Bible quote|Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."|book=Genesis|chap=6|verses=3|version=NASB}}

The Bible does not really tell us an exact number of years for the amount of time it took to construct this monstrous vessel. However, the first mention of Noah in Genesis 5:32 says, "Noah was five hundred years old," and then in 7:6 it says, "Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth." But concerning God's relationship with man, the Bible says this:{{Bible quote|Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."|book=Genesis|chap=6|verses=3|version=NASB}}

We are told later that Noah was a "preacher of righteousness", so presumably did not work full-time on the construction of the ark, but also spent time preaching.

We are told later that Noah was a "preacher of righteousness", so presumably did not work full-time on the construction of the ark, but also spent time preaching.

We also don't know whether or not he employed hired labour in its construction.

We also don't know whether or not he employed hired labor in its construction.

The ark may have been constructed in a much shorter time than the maximum 120 years.

=== Seaworthiness ===

===Seaworthiness===

{{cquote|To endure several months in the open sea, the wooden hull of Noah's ark must have a certain minimum strength. Factors such as uneven cargo distribution, increased length or a more "block shaped" hull (block coefficient) accentuate the need for a strong hull. Another factor is the severity of the sea state.<ref>[http://www.worldwideflood.com/ark/hull_calcs/wave_bm1.htm WWF: Wave Bending Moment]</ref>}}

{{cquote|To endure several months in the open sea, the wooden hull of Noah's ark must have a certain minimum strength. Factors such as uneven cargo distribution, increased length or a more "block shaped" hull (block coefficient) accentuate the need for a strong hull. Another factor is the severity of the sea state.<ref>[http://www.worldwideflood.com/ark/hull_calcs/wave_bm1.htm WWF: Wave Bending Moment]</ref>}}

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