Noah's Ark

Biblical Text

In Genesis 6–9, God commands Noah to build an ark. The ark is to be made of gopher wood and coated with pitch inside and out. It measures 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high, and it has three decks and a door in its side (Genesis 6:14–16).

Eight people entered the ark: Noah, his wife, his three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives (Genesis 7:13). The animals were brought in by pairs, male and female, according to their kinds, while the clean animals and the birds were brought in by sevens (Genesis 6:19–20; 7:2–3). After the waters had prevailed upon the earth for 150 days, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8:4). Noah sent out a raven and a dove to see whether the waters had receded, then left the ark and built an altar. God then establishes the Noahic covenant.

Terminology and Background

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word tevah is used only for Noah's ark and for the "ark of bulrushes" in which the infant Moses was set afloat on the river (Exodus 2:3). It is a different word from the "ark" (aron) of the Ark of the Covenant. The Greek Septuagint and the New Testament, however, use kibōtos for both Noah's ark and the Ark of the Covenant.

If a cubit is taken to be about 45 cm (roughly 18 inches), the ark would have been about 135 m (roughly 450 feet) long. Because the length of the cubit varied over time, however, its exact dimensions cannot be determined with certainty.

In the New Testament

• Jesus compares the coming of the Son of Man to "the day that Noe entered into the ark" (Matthew 24:37–39; Luke 17:26–27).
• Hebrews 11:7 states that Noah by faith "prepared an ark to the saving of his house."
• 1 Peter 3:21 links the eight people saved through water in the ark with the figure of baptism.

Interpretation and Debates

From an early date, the ark was read as a symbol of the church. The third-century church father Cyprian is reported to have taught that just as no one outside the ark survived, there is no salvation outside the church. Protestant preaching also frequently interprets the ark as Christ, the only way of escape from judgment.

Interpreters also differ over the extent of the Flood. Proponents of creation science hold that the Flood covered the entire globe, while other scholars regard it as a flood confined to the regions inhabited at the time or emphasize the theological message of the text (see Creation and Evolution). Claims to have found the ark on Mount Ararat in Turkey have been made repeatedly, but none has been confirmed by scholars. Moreover, the "mountains of Ararat" in the text may also be read as referring to the mountains of the region of Ararat in general.

Popular details often added to the story should be distinguished from the text itself.

• The claim that Noah spent 120 years building the ark is an interpretation that reads the 120 years of Genesis 6:3 as the construction period. The text does not say how long the ark took to build.
• The scene of Noah calling his neighbors to repentance does not appear in Genesis. It is an addition based on 2 Peter 2:4–5, which calls Noah "a preacher of righteousness."

In the Korean Church

Korean preachers commonly liken the church and the gospel to "the ark of salvation." The story of the ark and the animals is also a staple of Sunday school and Vacation Bible School.