While I'm thinking about the stupid Ark story.?

Question

I'm wondering if anyone knows if anyone has ever sat down and actually figured out how big the Ark would actually have had to been using the number of species on Earth,their size,the room for food etc? If not I think it would be a great little problem for some math dept,I'm figuring something between the size of Manhattan to Rhode Island but I would love a better answer. Instead of proving they couldn't fit into the space available,lets figure out how much space is actually needed,it is however way above my math level or I would do it myself.

Answer 1

Studies of sediment deposits in that area of the mideast suggest that there was a LOCAL major flood, not a worldwide catastrophe within the range of human existance. The account of such a flood is rational within that context but has to be seen as the account of a memory of people who had no experience of what was going on beyond that immediate area. While most Christians (and most Jews, for that matter) see the Old Testament as the inspired word of God, it is also seen as a faulty recollection of humans related in the form of myths, as far as the earliest tales are concerned. That would include "The Flood". This is the view accepted by the vast majority of Christians that I have met, and they see literal belief in the earliest accounts as being in the realm of uneducated persons easily led into beliefs that are more accurately described as 'cult-like', and that would include creationism and creation 'science'. As an example of this sort of local explanationism, look no farther than the tower of Babel, used to explain the existance of many languages. From Asimov's guide to the Bible:
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...the writers of Genesis derived "Babel" from the Hebrew word balal, meaning "mixed," "confused," or "confounded." The derivation is, however, a false one, for in the Babylonian language, the name of the city is "Bab-ilu," meaning "gate of God." From this is derived the Hebrew "Babel" and the Greek "Babylon."

There was, as it happens, a tower in Babel; indeed, there were towers in most Sumerian and Babylonian cities. The temples to the gods in these cities took the form of stepped pyramids which were ascended by inclined planes about the outside. These were called ziggurats.

A large ziggurat in Babylon was begun by a Sumerian king and was left unfinished perhaps as a result of the disorders involved in the southward march of Saragon of Argade. For many centuries, the ziggurat remained incomplete and perhaps gained fame because of its shortcoming (as does the leaning tower of Pisa or Schubert's Unfinished Symphony). It served as the model, one might assume, for the Biblical tale of the unfinished tower in Babel.

However, in the sixth century B.C., Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, finished the largest ziggurat ever built. It was formed in seven diminishing stages (one for each of the planets). The bottommost stage was 300 feet by 300 feet and the whole structure reared 325 feet into the air.

This would scarcely make a respectable skyscraper now, and it was much smaller than the tremendous pyramids built by the Egyptians. It was, however, the largest structure in southwestern Asia and, more remarkable still, it was what is now so familiar to us as the "tower of Babel"--finished at last.
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Be careful how you interpret the inspired word of God. Remember that at one time, people believed that their god/gods were constrained to a physical location. And so, the earliest Jews actually carried their god physically with them, which is why the loss of the ark of the covenant was such a catastrophe. It was a major conceptual leap to regard God as an influence not constrained by physical barriers. Islam has not quite advanced past this level, by the way, while Christianity has made at least one more conceptual leap. The difficulty of even conceiving of the the disappearance of physical boundaries as far as influence is concerned is aptly described by gravity, and look how long it took for that force to be recognized.

The earliest Jews were monotheistic, but that doesn't mean they didn't believe other gods existed. They just pledged loyalty to one. But they did believe the other gods existed, and that's called henotheism.

Answer 2

"And God said unto Noah, . . . Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this [is the fashion] which thou shalt make it [of]: The length of the ark [shall be] three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; [with] lower, second, and third [stories] shalt thou make it. " (Gen. 6:13-16) A cubit is the distance between an adult's elbow and tip of the finger, generally 18-inches. Most Hebrew scholars believe the cubit to have been between 17½ -21½ inches long. This means that the ark would have been 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high if the 18 inch cubit was used. If a larger cubit was used it would have been proportionately longer. The displacement tonnage of the ark, which is the weight of water it would displace at a draught of 15 cubits, would be more than 22,000 tons. By comparison the U.S.S. Salem, a 716-foot-long heavy cruiser commissioned in 1949, has a displacement tonnage of 21,500 tons. The ark's gross tonnage which is a measure of cubic space (100 cubic feet is one gross ton) would be 15,100 tons. The ark's total volume would have been 1,518,000 cubic feet. This would equal the capacity of 569 modern railroad stock cars. The standard size for a stock car is 44 feet long and a volume of 2670 cubic feet. This would make a train more than 5 ½ miles long. The floor space for the ark would be over 101,000 square feet. This would be more floor space than 21 standard college basketball courts. By comparing the measurements of the ark it is easy to see that it would be comparable to today's ocean going vessels. It was probably the largest vessel of its type built until the late 1800's when metal ships were first constructed. Animal Space Calculations Most animals are not very large. The average size of all animals, is the size of a sheep, some say a small rodent. One railroad stock car can carry about 240 sheep. This would mean that all 40,000 animals could fit in 167 railroad cars. The arks total capacity was 569 stock cars. The 40,000 animals would require less than 30% of the ark's space. In other words all the animals could fit on one of the ark's three decks. This would leave the other 70% of the ark's space for Noah's family, food, supplies, and baggage. Dimension of the Ark: 300 cubits x 50 cubits x 30 cubits. If the cubit used is 18" then conversion gives us the following dimensions: 450 ft x 75 ft x 45 ft Deck Area of the Ark: 450 ft x 75 ft x 3 decks = 101,250 ft2 Volume of the Ark: 450 ft x 75 ft x 45 ft = 1,518,750 ft3

Answer 3

Actually, I saw it broken down once... It was very interesting. They had more than enough space for all the animals that couldnt survive in water. They would have had enough for food too. I wish I could remember the resource. It would be impossible to do by yourself, without knowing the measurements of the ark, how many species of animals probably existed then (you have to account for extinctions, and also the addition of new species through adaptational evoloution)

Answer 4

Thats a good question, it is talked about in www.creationscience.com, also no one has asked the Mormons, how their supposed Ark story in the book of Mormon was supposed to have really happpened. Some jews around 600BCE came over to America (thsi is suppose to explain were the indians came from-great story, but the indians have no jewish DNA in them) and then they came over to america in a baot because God was going to kill some other jews (you will find this story nowhere in the bible) and they landed, but they were bad jews so they were cursed like Cain and got dark skin, whah-la, indians. There are other ark stories from other cultures by the way.

Answer 5

I think the story of Noah's Ark is rather symbolic than actually to be believed, down to the last detail. Don't you think God would allow a little leeway here and there, and would really be looking more for Noah's motivation and devotion to carrying out His request for Noah to try and deal with? I think God could easily conjure any species that might have been missed due to lack of space. Everyone misses the forest for the trees! God sets up a situation to see how it is responded to, by each one of us, never mind Noah's dilemma. The logistics are not the issue, or the moral of the story. It is Noah's heart, Noah's desire and belief in God, that is represented by this whole ark scenario. Don't get into the numbers or the space. Noah would obviously have to deal with limitations, after all, he himself is not God, is he? God is way ahead in all this. The test is in Noah's response, his intent, his actions. You have to interpret biblical situations from a philosophical viewpoint. God takes care of the logistics for He created all and everything and everyone! He doesn't need our help! He only needs our understanding, our devotion of our spirits, our caring to help others, our ability to be selfless and to love without prejudice or conditions. We haven't learned a lot of what He wants us to learn because we're still focusing on non-essential details or continuing to live with prejudice or greed and all manner of other negative, non-productive thoughts and emotions. Look to the bigger picture with the understanding that God is in full control and any situations we find ourselves presented with, are meant for our benefit and opportunity, to stretch our consciousness and abilities, etc. Don't get bound up with literal details, as they're only a guideline by which to envision the situation, and nothing more and nothing less!

Answer 6

Yes, people have figured this out. Check the History Channel, The Learning Channel, or Discovery Channel. They have programs on this subject from time to time which talk about those things. You could probably get a copy of the shows at the library or video store but they do come on fairly often.

http://www.history.com/search.do?searchText=noah

Answer 7

One of the reasons I always laugh at people like you is the fact that sociologists, no matter where thet go in the world find that all cuktures from the sekimos to the kahihari bushmen have a tribal legend about a great flood which flooded all the world and a man who built a great boat and saved a chosen few. If its found everywhere. it must be true. Look up the algonquin fable of Glooskap and the great flood. if you need further proof. I don';t think you can find anything on the legends of the Kalihari bushmen on the internet but if you visit them you'll find they have it too. Universal legends usually have a basis in truth. thanks for the two points

Answer 8

so from what I'm coming up with,it was 600 feet long 100 feet wide and 60 feet high.this is a guess cause the info on a cubit is a little vague


maybe it was based on Time Lord technology...like the t.a.r.d.i.s.

Answer 9

Since an entire species existence can be contained in DNA, it is entirely possible to put every species in a fairly large vessel.

Answer 10

Mate the Ark was big enough to fit some of the large animals on one level alone. Don't know about it being a stupid Ark Story, if it was not for th eark no one would be here. The dimensions are in the bible, maybe if you bothere dto read it and calculate it instead of making dumb comments like "Stupid Ark Story" maybe youcould figure it out. Buit you saidf yourself you are not to bright, and I think your question proves it.