Noah's ark - what is it: truth or fiction? Adherents of the Bible believe that this story is based on real facts, while their opponents assure: "This is just another bedtime story."
But which of them is right and which is wrong? Was there really an ark? The definition of truth makes it difficult that the traces of this event have long been erased by the sands of time. So all judgments regarding the ark are based solely on the thoughts of scholars and Bible scholars.
Why did the Lord decide to destroy people
According to the Bible, the human race descended from the descendants of Cain and Seth. At the same time, the sons and daughters of the first carried the seed of darkness in their souls, because their father was a fratricide. As for the descendants of Seth, they were pious and obediently obeyed the instructions of God. But over time, sin appears even in the kindest hearts.
And now, the moment has come when all people, with the exception of Noah’s family, are mired in a quagmire of chaos and anger, completely forgetting about their Creator. For such inappropriate behavior, the Lord was very angry with them and decided to wipe them off the face of the earth with a flood.
The Ark is a Way to Save the Last Righteous Family
Noah, or Noah (Torah), was a righteous man, like his family, so God decided to save his faithful servant. For this, he ordered him to build an ark. It was a difficult task, besides Noah himself was not a builder, like his sons. But he sincerely believed in God and knew that he would help him.
It is unknown how long it took to build the ark, but it ended in success. Then God told Noah that he should take on his “ship” not only his family, but also animals in order to save them from extinction. And on the day when the construction of the ark was completed, animals and birds and reptiles began to come to take their place in it.
After the doors of the ark were closed, it began to rain from the sky, which poured seven days and seven nights. All living things died, and only the inhabitants of the ark could survive, after which they sailed for another forty days until the water level fell. In the end, they moored at the foot of Mount Ararat, where Noah made a sacrifice to God, and in return he promised not to destroy people anymore.
How Believers View This Story
Many Bible scholars say: “The Ark is the truth.” For them, it is enough that the Holy Scripture says so, which means that it is impossible to doubt the veracity of history. Based on their beliefs, all people are descendants of Noah.
But in the modern world, scientists are used to questioning the veracity of the Bible, so believers are actively looking for more weighty evidence for their theories. The main trump card in their hands are traces of ocean activity on the tops of the mountains. This allows them to argue that the whole world was once completely covered in water, therefore, the Great Flood was.
The rest of the logical arguments have always been refuted by only one thing - faith in God.
Discrepancies in biblical history
According to the Bible, the size of the ark was 300 (133.5 m) cubits long, 50 (22.5 m) wide and 30 (13.3 m) high. Based on these sizes, the following conclusion can be drawn: it is simply impossible to fit all kinds of animals, birds and insects into such an ark.
More importantly, it is very difficult to stock up on water and food for so many passengers, especially given the number of Noah’s family members. In addition, it is also necessary to solve the issue of air supply inside the ark, as well as how and where to throw away the waste (and there are many of them, given the number of animals).
Therefore, many researchers believe that the ark is just an embellished story from the past. Although they assume that the flood was, archaeological finds in Mesopotamia confirm this, but its scale is clearly exaggerated. Noah most likely survived the flood by building a raft or boat, which became the basis for this story.
Over time, the story was supplemented and slightly embellished. After a thousand years, the flood turned into a universal flood and the destruction of mankind. But then again, this is just a hunch. Surely it is impossible to verify the reliability of this story, as well as completely refute it. Therefore, everyone himself must determine for himself what is true in it and what is fiction.