Noah's Ark

Biblical Account

Noah's Ark appears in Genesis 6–9. Seeing that the earth is filled with violence, God resolves to judge it by a flood. He then commands the righteous Noah to build an ark (Genesis 6:13-14).

The text describes the ark as follows:

• It was made of gopher wood and coated inside and out with pitch (a tar-like substance).
• It measured 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.
• It had three decks, with one window and one door (Genesis 6:14-16).

Noah and his wife, his three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives entered along with the animals, "and the LORD shut him in" (Genesis 7:16). Rain fell for forty days, and the waters 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. After leaving the ark, he offered burnt offerings. God made a covenant never again to destroy the earth by a flood and gave the rainbow as its sign (Genesis 9:8-17). This covenant is treated in the article Noahic Covenant, and the Flood narrative as a whole in the article Noah's Flood.

Terminology and Background

The Hebrew word tevah, translated "ark," is used outside the Noah narrative only for the basket that held the infant Moses (Exodus 2:3; KJV "an ark of bulrushes"). The picture is less that of a ship propelled by oars or steered by a rudder than of a large floating box.

A cubit is the length from the elbow to the fingertips. It is commonly reckoned at about 45 centimeters (roughly 18 inches); by this standard the ark was about 135 meters (roughly 450 feet) long.

"Mount Ararat" is literally "the mountains of Ararat" in the original Hebrew, the name of a region in what is today eastern Türkiye and Armenia. The text does not identify a particular peak.

Reception in the New Testament

• Jesus compared the coming of the Son of Man to the days of Noah: just as people went on eating and drinking until they were destroyed by the Flood, so that day will come suddenly (Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-27).
• Hebrews states that Noah prepared the ark by faith (Hebrews 11:7).
• 1 Peter connects the saving of eight persons through water in the ark with baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21).
• 2 Peter 2:5 calls Noah "a preacher of righteousness."

Interpretation and Debates

• Since the patristic era, the ark has been read as a type (a picture foreshadowing what is to come) of the Church. It has also served as an image of the idea that there is no salvation outside the ark.
• Views differ on the extent of the Flood: some regard it as a global flood, others as a regional flood, and still others read the account with more weight on its theological message than on historical record.
• Creation science advocates take the ark and a global flood literally and claim geological evidence for them; other scholars criticize these claims. The issue is bound up with the creation and evolution debate.
• Some studies compare the account with other flood stories, such as the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh.

The following popular details are not stated directly in the text; the differences from the text are noted below:

• The animals are popularly said to have entered "two by two," but the text also says that clean animals and the birds of the air were taken in by sevens (Genesis 7:2-3).
• The Flood is often thought to have lasted forty days, but forty days was the period of rainfall. Nearly a year passed before Noah came out of the ark.
• The story that Noah preached for 120 years while building the ark is an interpretation that combines the "hundred and twenty years" of Genesis 6:3 with 2 Peter 2:5.
• There have been repeated claims that the ark has been found in the Ararat region, but none has been confirmed by scholars.

In the Korean Church

Noah's Ark is a frequent subject in Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. In preaching it is often used for themes of judgment, salvation, and obedience. Sermons urging preparation for the Second Coming frequently cite Matthew 24, which speaks of the days of Noah. The word "Ark" (Bangju) is also sometimes used in the names of churches and organizations.