Many of us believe the biblical account of Noah’s Ark, but when we dive deep into the facts of the story the logic quickly falls apart. And yet … every continent (except Antarctica) has its own version of the story. How could so many different cultures speak of the same event if it wasn’t true? Was there really a great flood that threatened all life on Earth? If so, how did Noah and his family gather all of the animals onto an ark and spare their lives?
To make sense of this ancient myth we must first look into the facts provided by ancient people, and then judge from there how the story could possibly be true. After all, a great myth will always dissolve over time, unless there is some truth to be told underneath.
As we investigate the story of Noah’s Ark, we’ll try to discern what the actual facts of the case might be and provide our own telling of the events that might have given rise to this great legend. So, let’s delve into the mythology to see what truth we might discover.
One Of The Largest Boats Ever Built
According to the Bible, the dimensions of the Ark were 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. So, how does that translate to dimensions that are common to us? Well, in ancient times a cubit was the measure from a man’s elbow to his fingertips. So as you can guess, a cubit varies – a lot. However, we’ll need to pick a value to make a comparison, so we’ll go with one cubit equaling 1.5 feet or 45 centimeters.
Translated to modern forms of measurement, we could perceive the Ark as being 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high – or, in metric terms – 135 meters long, 22.5 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high. Either way you look at it, that’s a pretty impressive ship!
In comparison, the RMS Titanic was 882.75 feet (269 meters) long, 92.5 feet (28 meters) wide, and 175 feet (53 meters) high. This would make the Titanic larger than Noah’s Ark. We’re talking a very big ship, but nothing larger than has already been created. However, we need to remember that the Ark was built by Noah’s family, using no modern technical skills. So, could they have actually built a ship this big? If so, how long would such an endeavor have taken?
Was It Physically Possible
At this point, we aren’t interested in whether Noah’s Ark really existed or not. Instead, we want to know if it could have. After all, if the Ark couldn’t be built then the myth ends right here. Why is that so? The biblical account states the Ark was built by Noah and his sons, with no intervention from God. As such, it’s either humanly possible or it never occurred.
So, could it have really happened as the Bible says?
Well, Johan Huibers built a half-sized replica in two years, and he did most of the work himself. Of course, modern machinery played a part in this construction, but we already know that other massive ships were built in ancient times. For example, Queen Hatshepsut had a huge cargo barge built to transport two enormous stone obelisks. At 200 feet long and 70 feet wide, it was about a quarter of the scale of the Ark, and it was built somewhere around 1480 BC. As such, large-scale construction was possible in the ancient world.
Taking that into account it’s always possible, with the help of his sons, that Noah could have performed the same feat. However, one would then question why more ships of such stature weren’t built in ancient times. The answer is actually quite simple. Sea travel, back then, posed inherent risks. With so many ancient ships found at the bottom of the sea, we know this to be true. Therefore, to minimize risk, very large vessels were constructed only for specific purposes, as in the case of Queen Hatshepsut’s cargo barge. And as wood was a precious commodity of the time, these grand ships would then be decommissioned, torn apart, and the wood would be scattered to other projects.
This, in itself, could explain another haunting enigma. What ever happened to Noah’s Ark? How did such a large ship just disappear into antiquity? Given the amount of labor put into its construction, and the precious materials it was made of, such an Ark would have eventually been dismantled to aid in the construction of new shelters, new (and smaller) boats, and other much needed devices to make lives easier.
As such, we can say it was physically possible to build an Ark in ancient times and that an oncoming flood would be enough to convince anyone that such a ship would be needed.
The Gathering Of The Animals
We can’t conceive any way that ancient men could have gathered two of every type of animal, especially when all of their efforts were already heavily invested into building an Ark. However, it’s conceivable that they would have placed the animals on the Ark they considered most important: cattle, sheep, chickens, etc.
If the world is about to end, then you know you will need meat when the journey is over. That’s why Noah and his family would have gathered these animals, as they guaranteed that meat would remain on the menu when they reached their final destination. Remember, all living animals would die in such a flood if not rescued, so this act is done to insure the survival of certain animals that would later prove important to Noah’s family.
This creates an issue with the biblical account, which clearly states that Noah rescued two of every living creature. However, Noah wasn’t a scribe, nor were his sons. This is a story that only could have been passed down orally from father to son, so it’s highly probable this piece of information was corrupted over so many retellings of the event. But if that’s the case, how much more could the story have been embellished?
The Roots Of The Story
As we said earlier, this story comes from many different people on many different continents, but the core of the tale always remains the same: a great flood deluges the Earth and only one family is spared, along with the animals they collected. As this is what’s similar, we can accept that this part might be true. But was it really a global flood?
In ancient times, a flood that extended for many miles would seem (to ancient people) as if it had engulfed the Earth. It’s possible the story of Noah’s Ark is a retelling of such an event, where one man foresaw what would happen and built an Ark, while others ignored his warnings. As the core focus of the story is the process of cleansing the lands of the wicked, it seems probable that the surviving family created parts of the story as a means of controlling their offspring and keeping them on the proper path.
As the Ark would have been sent adrift for many miles, it’s possible it came to rest in a region that was previously uninhabited. Already set with everything they needed to start a new settlement, they did so, and would wait several generations for the flood plain to come back to life, establishing a route by which other cultures could reach them.
Trapped within their culture, it’s probably this happened within a few generations, and yet, these people thought they were alone forever. They shared their story of survival, which interested others. And as it had happened so long ago (according to their accounts) no one could discount it had occurred.
But where did these other people come from? Simply enough, they were seen as the great-great-grandchildren who must have foraged off thousands of years ago and never returned, forming cultures of their own. While their whole existence was rooted in one region, no one ever said that early members of the family hadn’t moved on.
From Mesopotamia to Mesoamerica
The fact that the story of the great flood has been retold by the Incans, Toltects, and Aztecs tells us that the story has traveled all the way around the globe. So, was it brought to the Americas by the Spanish? As the story predates their arrival, we are left to believe these people manufactured the story themselves, or shared it from a common ancestor.
As humans migrated around the globe, the tale of the great flood was carried by oral tradition, for fear that it could someday occur again. As much as early man feared his own mortality such a deadly flood would have gone to the top of the list of things to worry about, as it was something that could always occur again.
Of course, once written languages developed, this was one of the first stories to be written down. Burdened with carrying this doomsday message for so long, it must have made scholars a bit more restful to know they had finally carried it to the page, where the lesson could be easily passed on to the many generations to come.
Did The Great Flood Really Occur
Scientists have yet to find absolute proof that a great flood covered all of the lands, during mankind’s existence on Earth. If it really happened, then a mass extinction would appear in the fossil record that would corroborate the event. To date, we haven’t found this evidence. However, we have evidence that suggests the Mesopotamian Valley has had several great floods in ancient times, so it’s possible one of these sparked the story of Noah’s Ark.
It’s also possible it’s nothing more than a great story, designed to show what can happen to wicked people. Certainly, the fear of a great flood might be enough to make people behave better for a time, but over the years the power behind the myth would disappear. Perhaps written languages came along just in time, to preserve the legend.
And there’s another spin to the story as well …
The Cosmic Ark
Some ancient astronaut theorists see the story of Noah’s Ark as an account of how another race of beings came to populate the Earth. If taken this way, much of the story becomes symbolic in nature. Does this version have any truth to it? Probably not.
Anyone intelligent enough to create a starship would have the intelligence to write down what happened and to communicate the story properly among generations to come. They wouldn’t allow the story to be corrupted to the point where it seemed to all happen on Earth, as they would want to hold onto their past heritage and culture.
The cosmic ark is the most unlikely of explanations, and yet, it’s one we could perceive as possibly happening today. After all, if our own world were faced with destruction, wouldn’t we find a way to escape? Maybe we would use a generation ship, where each generation lives aboard the starship until a final generation completes the journey.
Some would say that much of a culture’s identity would be lost during such a journey, but we don’t believe it would be enough to give a whole race total amnesia. As such, the cosmic ark story doesn’t fit well with the story of Noah’s Ark.
So, is there truth to the tale of Noah’s Ark? Like all other legends of antiquity, we might never truly know.
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