What If It Was Possible To Fit All The Animals On The Ark?
TRANSCRIPT
What if, it was possible to fit all the animals on the ark?
Sounds crazy, right? Until that is you start to seriously consider what the bible really says about this juncture in history. Sure, the Ark is frequently depicted as a bathtub stuffed with cartoon animals, but in reality, it was huge.
SIZE OF THE ARK
God told Noah: “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks” (Gen 6:14-16).
What is a cubit? An ancient measurement from your elbow, to the tip of your figures. Cubits differed from 17.5 inches to 20.6 depending on the period and people group. In large-scale construction projects, ancient civilisations typically used the long cubit (about 19.8–20.6 inches), and we know from 2 Chronicles that Solomon used “cubits of the old standard” (2 Chron 3:3), therefore it would be sensible to suggest the Hebrew (long) cubit at 20.4 inches.
That means the Ark was 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, 51 feet high to the top deck and could fit 450 Truckloads. That is massive. Keen to show the world the true size of the Ark, organisation Answers in Genesis have built a full-scale model becoming the largest wooden structure in world.
When you examine the design of the boat more closely you find that the dimensions given to Noah nearly four and half thousand years ago were perfectly suited for the seas. A scientific study headed by Dr. Seon Hong at the world-class ship research centre (KRISO) of South Korea, revealed that from 12 hull structures tested, none out performed Noah’s Ark, and could handle waves as high as 100 ft. To demonstrate, if you aimed for comfort and designed the Ark to be longer in proportion, it would suffer a high fracture risk. If you made it shorter and wider aiming for stability, it would make for a very uncomfortable ride causing seasickness with high injury rate. Or, perhaps if your goal is strength, then it would be unstable and in danger of capsizing. Yet this ancient ship had the best proportions possible. And let’s not forget, the ark was only intended to float, it didn’t require propulsion as there was no destination in mind – only survival.
SPECIES VS KINDS
Ok, so it was big, it was designed well, it was possible. Could it really fit all the animals? Rather than check social media comments, let’s see what the bible says. And by the way this wasn’t like the wardrobe in the Narnia chronicles, as if they kept pushing them through the door in miraculous fashion. God’s hand was all over it – nonetheless he used naturalistic ways of providing.
First off, we read in Genesis 1 that God made the “plants… each according to its kind… seed according to their own kinds… sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind… beasts of the earth according to their kinds… livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind” (Gen 1:11-25). And then of course He created Mankind. God evidently created distinct kinds.
Then in genesis 6 Noah is told to take “two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind” (Gen 6:19-20).
Noah did not take millions of species on the ark, which is a modern classification. He chose from a broader classification of every kind of animal that could mate and bring forth. Noah didn’t take 340 dog breeds – just a pair, complete with the DNA from which we have all the varieties today.
Let’s do the numbers then. We know he took “seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate” (Gen 7:2) and the same for birds. The sea creatures were not included on the ark and many would survive the fluctuating temperatures and turbidity of the flood waters. Counting living and extinct animals and birds, there would be approximately 1500 different kinds, meaning Noah cared for around 7000 animals on the Ark.
Furthermore, when starting the world over you wouldn’t pick the enormous animals of old age. You would select the younger smaller ones. And yes, dinosaurs would be included on the ark – the average size being that of a sheep. Sure, movies portray them as blood thirsty creatures but in the beginning there was harmony between God’s created beings. It wasn’t until after the flood did God then say, “The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you” (Gen 9:2-3).
SO, COULD THEY FIT?
510 feet by 85 feet, with 3 decks 17 feet high would be 2.21 million cubic feet. Plenty enough space to fit all the animals and birds, their food, water systems, and storage space. God was the architect, who called the animals on board, “shut him in” (Gen 7:16) sealing the door, and rest is true history.
STORIES OF JUDGEMENT
If everyone has descended form Noah, surely the story would be passed down through generations. Outside of the bible there are hundreds of flood stories astonishingly similar to Noah’s in cultures all over the world. From the Hawaiians who tell of a world-wide flood that killed everyone one earth except Nu-u and his family who survived on a giant canoe. To the Chinese story of Fuhi, his wife, three sons, and three daughters on a boat who again were the survivors of the flood that drowned the world.
While we focus on the story of Noah and his family, it’s easy to forget the many who lost their lives in the flood. While God has promised not to the flood the entire planet again, these events point forward not just to the rescue of those who trust in Jesus as their Lord and saviour, but also to a coming judgement of fire.
Speaking of His return when he will judge the world, Jesus declared: “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:37-39).
CLOSING
What if you could fit all the animals on the Ark? Would it convince you the bible is true? Maybe. Maybe not. But let’s not pretend it’s an unscientific fairy tale, but reason with one another about the foundations of belief that formed the western world. For every valid question, there is a credible answer. I encourage you to read it for yourself.