Archeological Information About Noah's Flood
One of my favorite parts of writing historical fiction is researching so I can build an accurate picture of the characters' lives. In this series, I share some of the insights I've gathered. Check out the book links below to hear your favorite Bible characters share details from their lives.
Referencing the chart above, we can see:
- Noah was born just 55 years after Adam’s death. Noah’s father was born during Adam’s lifetime.
- Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather, died the same year the flood started.
- Lamech, Noah’s father, died five years before the flood.
- For a downloadable version of this chart, go here.
How long did it take Noah to build the ark?
- Genesis 6:3, “And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’”
- Genesis 6:13-21, Noah receives the instructions to build the ark.
- There is quite a bit of information between verse 3 and verse 13. If Noah hired help, he easily could have finished in less than 120 years. Have you ever seen weathered wood? In today’s climate, wood would not last 120 years from cutting to launch.
- We don’t know when he started building or how long it took.
Other Random Thoughts
- Noah was in his 600th year (599 years old) when the flood came (Gen 7:6) and was on the ark just over a year. (Gen 7:11, 17, 24, 8:4-5, 13-14)
- A cubit is the length from a man’s fingertip to his elbow. Assuming an average of 18 in (45 cm), the deck space on the ark would have been about as large as 20 college basketball courts, so about seven courts per deck.
- Bible-believing scientists have studied fossil and Biblical records and figure Noah probably had around 16,000 animals on the ark. He took animals according to their kind – modern scientific taxonomy of family or possibly genus. So, he took a pair of dogs but not a pair of wolves, and a pair of foxes, and a pair jackals. He would not have taken any aquatic animals.
Here are a couple of videos with interesting information about the ark and the flood.
- Ark Encounter: What Noah’s Ark and the Flood were really like?
- Is Genesis History? Feature-length documentary
- Can we see evidence for Noah’s Flood at the Grand Canyon? shorter snippet from Is Genesis History?
Washed Away
Everyone dies. That's what Noah said.
What about Papa and Grandfather? My brothers and their families?
Noah's wife tells of her journey from grappling with the news of God's justice to preparing for the world as she knows it to be Washed Away.
In Our Stories, your favorite Bible characters hold nothing back as they share their anger, pain, failures, joys, and successes. You'll find people whose lives weren't so different from yours.
Available on my website as a stand-alone story or as part of Our Stories of Relentless Obedience.
Also available on Amazon.com.
Connect with Me:
Comments ()