El noah's ark, is part of the biblical history of man, an event that greatly marked the destiny of humanity, know it very well by reading the following article.
El arca de Noé
According to the Bible it is an event of a divine historical type where Yahweh asked Noah to make a boat. The fact consisted in the construction of an ark in which he would take with him a number of animals and human beings, especially relatives of Noah, so that they would be saved from a Flood that Yahve himself would send.
This story is not exclusive to the Bible, it can also be found in the sacred books of Judaism such as the Torah and the Koran. However, in other histories and ancient manuscripts these stories appear very similar to those narrated in the Bible.
In an epic poem from ancient Chaldean mythology called Atrahasis, a very similar account is observed. However, the flood was seen by many ancient cultures as a divine event that was part of the history of the human race, something that today has not been proven and for many lacks truth.
If you want to connect with these interesting biblical themes, we suggest you read the article The end of the ages which contains information related to this topic.
What does the Bible say?
According to the holy book of the Christians, the story began with a description of what Yahweh thought of men; he had observed that they were multiplying throughout the earth, invading with wickedness and great violence, so that little by little desolation had been created and ruin was scattered throughout all the regions of Earth.
He then decided to eliminate that generation of humans by giving them a kind of punishment, which would later become a cleanup of the planet. But not all humans were evil and perverse, there is a very noble and just one named Noah; where the Bible describes him as follows: "A just and upright man among his contemporaries."
Then Yahweh tells him that he must save his family and for this reason he had to build an ark so that he could take refuge. Additionally, he indicated that he should also carry certain animals in her in pairs of female and male as well as in different quantities and appropriated in a series of pure and impure but of a single pair.
The ark
Another unrevealed fact is the time in which Noah dedicated to the construction of the ark, it is believed and according to some studies, that the construction took more or less 120 biblical years, that is, approximately 40 years. The bible does not offer precise data about the time, it does not even offer references to when the flood occurred.
It is only indicated that before starting, Yahweh warned Noah a few days before: "Because in seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and to exterminate from the face of the ground all the beings that I have made."
The flood
Warned Noah of what was going to happen, he proceeded to enter his family into the boat, later the rest of the selected animals entered: "On that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and there was rain on the earth forty days and forty nights."
The bible indicates that the rain covered all the mountains, so that all living creatures on earth died, men women children and all creeping and flying animals, only those who were inside the ark survived. After 150 days of rain, the ark headed for dry land and stayed in Ararat.
End of the deluge
The waters receded for a few days, which is believed to have been months, and in this way the mountains began to emerge again, so that the Bible narrates how Noah was able to find solid ground, sending a raven which: "He went out, and went back and forth until the waters dried up from the earth."
Later he sent a pigeon that returned hours later because he could not find a place to perch; a few days later she sent the dove back and it is back with an olive tree on the plate; With this, he did not know that the waters had receded and he could find a safe place. However, he had to wait another few days until he could get what he longed for; he sent the dove again to see what was happening and it never returned, which indicated that it had touched solid ground.
Noah's Thanks
Upon reaching land, he and his relatives descended from the boat along with the animals, so in gratitude he decided to offer a sacrifice to Yahweh. Then he replied that he would not sacrifice all living beings with flood waters, nor will there be any more flood to destroy the earth.
So as a memory, Yahweh placed a rainbow in the clouds saying: “And it will happen that when I cause clouds to come over the earth, then my bow will be seen in the clouds. And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and there will be no more deluge of waters to destroy all flesh.”
After this, the Bible tells that Noah lived for another 350 years, so that his death would occur at the age of 950 years, being one of the longest-lived men along with Methuselah that exist as a reference in the Bible.
Content analysis
In the biblical Genesis, aspects related to the ark are detailed and described as a "Teba" which in Hebrew means drawer, basket, basket; It also adds the measures to record the volume and size of said vessel. He describes it as a large rectangular box-type "ark", with a flat bottom where the bow and stern have no differences, so it was symmetrical, the same front and back.
It had no oars, no rudder; neither anchor nor sails; her idea was that she would float and the waters would take her where she seemed best, she was not destined to sail. With regard to the construction materials, it is known that they were exclusively made of wood, and it is even said to be of the “Gofer” type, which is a tree that to date has not been able to identify any link with another plant.
Some believe that due to the relationship of the word Gofer, which in Hebrew means «Kofer» «tar», they are talking about a tree that generates a lot of resin, such as white oak, cypress or balsa, which are very resistant and durable. Biblical descriptions show that the ark had to be sealed inside and out.
The sacred text also describes the type of ventilation which they called "tzohar", which in Hebrew means bright, skylight or window. These are located one elbow above the ark, in addition to a door to the side, with covered and overlapping cells, these data have been verified by specialists and they have verified that everything is related.
Regarding the measurements, the following is described in the Bible: 300 cubits in length, 50 cubits in width and 30 cubits in height, if we take into account that the data related to the measurement of a cubit are the following:
- A common elbow is about 45 cm.
- A royal cubit 51,5 cm
- Linear cubit running from the elbow to the end of the hand
- Roman royal cubit approximately 55 cm.
Then, establishing a relationship between an average of measurements, we obtain that a cubit can measure between 45 and 50 cm, the length of the ark would be 150 m long, 25 m wide and 15 m high. Which determines the size of this boat. However, studies have been carried out to find out how many animals could fit in it.
Some speak of 1200 animals, others of 1000, depending on the type of physical conformation and condition of the animal and its size can be considered, it was viable in the ark a large number of living beings entered, which even allowed it to float in the waters.
The importance of this story is relevant when it is linked to other stories such as the ones we show you in the following article. what the bible teaches , where part of this information is completed.
Scientific studies
From the religious point of view and according to analyzes carried out by specialists in areas of theological criticism, the story told in Genesis is based on two sources that have some kind of connection in time. But they were not given shape until the XNUMXth century BC. According to this theory the difference in style in the Hebrew account is a little older than other versions; but let's take a closer look at the arguments.
theologians
The bible ignores some names related to the gods, which were called ineffable or Tetragrammaton. These stories were ignored by the bible, yes it got me down the Hebrews took as a reference the story of a man who saves his family and his cattle in a boat. On the other hand, there is a text of the Elohist type that was elaborated more for didactic purposes than for devotion.
This document relates aspects related to the separation of kosher and non-kosher type animals, that is, clean and impure. They describe how man's salvation is sought through events that occurred every seven days; the excerpts may have been related to the biblical account.
The genesis also contains many writing styles, with different points of view. Likewise, fragments are obtained that are closely related to Utnapishtim myths of the Sumerian culture; where an ancient king was warned by God himself, so that a ship could escape a deluge, which was to be sent by the higher council of the gods.
The historians
Historian Irving Finkel, who serves as curator of the British Museum, discovered in 2014 a small type tablet, which contained a story linked to the flood and that closely resembled the biblical account. This finding can be read in the book The Ark Before Noah, written by the historian himself.
According to this account, the ark was of a circular type with a very large rope-covered oracle built under a wooden base. What is important about this tablet is that it describes very specific aspects related to the shape and composition of the ark, as well as its dimensions and how it could float.
These references were used to build a 1:3 scale replica of it, which floated successfully when placed in the water. The descriptions obtained in the table were documented in a television special that was presented in 2015, likewise there are stories in the tablet itself that have a great resemblance to the poem of Gilgamesh, where aspects related to animals and the form are described. how they entered the ark.
Other findings
Parallels related to Noah's Ark have been found all over the world. Various religions maintain it as a divine fact that marked the historical lines of civilization; we have the case of the currents related to Abraham, where they mix practical situations of daily life of the time, such as, for example, questions related to the fact of how Noah did to eliminate the waste left by thousands of animals and the humans themselves all days.
Other religions seeking to satirize the process of evolution of Catholicism interpret it as a process linked to the actions of Noah. However, in the seventeenth century the history of the ark was conceded by the studies of the newly born science of biogeography, this refers to the little literal link that the story could have with a reality of humanity.
The arqueology
In the year 1829, the scientist Friedrich Parrot of German nationality, went to the mountain of Ararat, had as a goal to find the biblical ark, spent many months investigating and rummaging, to see if he could get any element that will help him verify the truth of the bible , but after a while he got nothing.
At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the Russian explorer Vladimir Rosskowizky stated that he had found a ship buried under the ice at the top of Mount Ararat. The Russian authorities immediately decided to send an expedition to verify the fact. It was reported that the remains belonged to a boat with characteristics similar to Noah's ark.
However, and with the arrival of the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, all the information collected had disappeared and nothing had remained of the investigation. Another interesting fact happens after the Second World War, when some climbers, including explorers, said they had obtained the remains of Noah's ark in a specific area of Mount Ararat.
Since then, many expeditions have been sent with researchers who have been carrying out satellite tracking in order to demonstrate that the remains belong to the ship. However, the investigations were obstructed by political issues, because in the 50s, only the USSR and some countries that have territorial limits with Turkey could have access to the mountain.
In 1951, a Turkish-American project was carried out where what was then known as the Ararat anomaly could be photographed from the air. The photographs show some forms that do not belong to the relief of the mount. However, in 1955, the French mountaineer Fernand Navarra found a wooden structure at more than 4.000 meters above sea level.
The climber said that the remains belonged to Noah's ark; he also showed a crossbar where, according to him, it was part of the boat found; However, a few years later the piece of wood disappeared along with the climber.
In 1965 an aviator of Turkish nationality took an image which he considered to be the footprint of a boat near the snowy area of Ararat. This photograph will reveal what was confirmed by the American Turkish expedition about the Ararat anomaly.
Currently some geologists have confirmed that this anomaly really exists and is part of a geological malformation, which many compare to the footprints left by Noah's ark. However, in 1974 an anomaly was achieved very close to the border between Turkey and Iran, where similar anomalies were observed, with quality satellite photographs it was possible to demonstrate that they were volcanic lava formations.
Nowadays
By 2010, Chinese and Turkish researchers conducted an investigation where they were able to find a portion of the ark, according to them, they were 99% certain that it belonged to the boat. The discovery included a piece of wood that, according to research and studies by the Carbon 14 method, dates from about 4.800 years ago.
The same study offers information related to feces residues and that it could have harbored animals. This investigation was denied by scientific Christian groups, which alleged that said investigation, photographs and even the piece of wood was fraudulent, with the inhabitants of the area as accomplices.
Finally, to this day there are no definitive answers related to the truth about Noah's ark, at the moment the religious belief of the flood is still present in all the Catholic faithful around the world.
