-
†. Gen 6:16b . . Put the entrance to the ark in its side; make it with
bottom, second, and third decks.
A hatch in the hull was practical. Its cover could be let down as a boarding
ramp.
The very bottom of a ship is normally not counted as a deck. The lowest
deck is usually somewhat above the bottom and separated from it by a void
called the double bottom. That way if the actual bottom is pierced, the ship
won't sink because the void is sealed.
Whether or not Noah's craft had a double bottom is unknown; but likely it
had at least a bilge because the lowest deck needs to be above the bottom a
bit so the passengers and crew don't have to slosh around down there in the
lower parts of the ship where fetid water and other unsavory liquids typically
collect.
The spaces between decks were fairly tall. If we divide 45 by 3 we get
roughly 15 feet apiece not counting a bilge, nor the thickness of the deck
planks and their beams. Fifteen feet can accommodate pretty tall animals;
and provide enough room for the birds to exercise now and then too.
An ark 450 feet by 75 feet, with three decks would have provided 101,250
square feet of living space. If Noah were resourceful, he might have installed
shelves and cabinets on the hull and the bulkheads, plus more on the
overheads, and the underside of the ark's roof for even more storage/living
space. thus he would have taken advantage of not just the ark's square feet;
but also its cubic feet.
Detractors insist there wasn't enough space aboard for all the various
creatures in Noah's day, but they fail to take into account a few facts. For
one, nobody really knows how long the cubit of Noah's day was and, most
importantly, nobody really knows how many species of life existed in his
day.
By the time h.sapiens appeared on this old earth of ours, some colossal
mass extinctions had already taken place; and on top of that, the species
that exist on earth in our day, may not have existed in Noah's day, but
instead what we are seeing in our day is the result of millennia of somatic
mutations and adaptations.
Larger creatures could have shared their spaces with smaller creatures, even
permitting the ones smaller than themselves to climb up and rest on their
backs. Life finds a way.
They say there are seven wonders of the ancient world, but that is not quite
accurate. There's actually eight if we include Noah's ark. Sure, building a big
wooden barge like Noah's would be child's play for a modern shipyard like
Northrop Grumman Newport News; but in his day, it had to be quite a feat.
†. Gen 6:17 . . For My part, I am about to bring the Flood-- waters
upon the earth-- to destroy all flesh under the sky in which there is
breath of life; everything on earth shall perish.
Some think the Flood was merely a local event rather than a global deluge.
But that is not the way Genesis describes it. The author quotes God saying;
to destroy "all flesh under the sky" and: "everything on earth" shall perish.
If the Flood were to be local, then it would only be necessary for Noah and
his family and the animals to simply migrate to a different region rather than
go to all the trouble of building an ark. No. The idea of localized flooding is
totally unacceptable because "the sky" is everywhere.
Ironically, and perhaps even humorously, many of the people arguing for a
localized Flood are convinced it's a myth anyway so I have no clue where
they see the point of arguing its extent.
The word for "waters" is from mayim (mah'-yim) which is a plural noun that
can be used either in a plural sense as here in Gen 6:17, or in a singular
sense as in Gen 21:14.
Were the waters of the Flood fresh or salt? It doesn't matter, since the one
who created the physical requirements of all life is easily able to adapt it to
suit His purposes.
But the sea's saltiness isn't static; it's increasing all the time, and always
has. Which means that if you were to go back in time, the sea was a lot less
salty in Noah's day than it is today; ergo: aquatic life's adjustment to
dilution back in his day wouldn't have been as extreme as aquatic life's
adjustment would be in our day.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 6:16b . . Put the entrance to the ark in its side; make it with
bottom, second, and third decks.
A hatch in the hull was practical. Its cover could be let down as a boarding
ramp.
The very bottom of a ship is normally not counted as a deck. The lowest
deck is usually somewhat above the bottom and separated from it by a void
called the double bottom. That way if the actual bottom is pierced, the ship
won't sink because the void is sealed.
Whether or not Noah's craft had a double bottom is unknown; but likely it
had at least a bilge because the lowest deck needs to be above the bottom a
bit so the passengers and crew don't have to slosh around down there in the
lower parts of the ship where fetid water and other unsavory liquids typically
collect.
The spaces between decks were fairly tall. If we divide 45 by 3 we get
roughly 15 feet apiece not counting a bilge, nor the thickness of the deck
planks and their beams. Fifteen feet can accommodate pretty tall animals;
and provide enough room for the birds to exercise now and then too.
An ark 450 feet by 75 feet, with three decks would have provided 101,250
square feet of living space. If Noah were resourceful, he might have installed
shelves and cabinets on the hull and the bulkheads, plus more on the
overheads, and the underside of the ark's roof for even more storage/living
space. thus he would have taken advantage of not just the ark's square feet;
but also its cubic feet.
Detractors insist there wasn't enough space aboard for all the various
creatures in Noah's day, but they fail to take into account a few facts. For
one, nobody really knows how long the cubit of Noah's day was and, most
importantly, nobody really knows how many species of life existed in his
day.
By the time h.sapiens appeared on this old earth of ours, some colossal
mass extinctions had already taken place; and on top of that, the species
that exist on earth in our day, may not have existed in Noah's day, but
instead what we are seeing in our day is the result of millennia of somatic
mutations and adaptations.
Larger creatures could have shared their spaces with smaller creatures, even
permitting the ones smaller than themselves to climb up and rest on their
backs. Life finds a way.
They say there are seven wonders of the ancient world, but that is not quite
accurate. There's actually eight if we include Noah's ark. Sure, building a big
wooden barge like Noah's would be child's play for a modern shipyard like
Northrop Grumman Newport News; but in his day, it had to be quite a feat.
†. Gen 6:17 . . For My part, I am about to bring the Flood-- waters
upon the earth-- to destroy all flesh under the sky in which there is
breath of life; everything on earth shall perish.
Some think the Flood was merely a local event rather than a global deluge.
But that is not the way Genesis describes it. The author quotes God saying;
to destroy "all flesh under the sky" and: "everything on earth" shall perish.
If the Flood were to be local, then it would only be necessary for Noah and
his family and the animals to simply migrate to a different region rather than
go to all the trouble of building an ark. No. The idea of localized flooding is
totally unacceptable because "the sky" is everywhere.
Ironically, and perhaps even humorously, many of the people arguing for a
localized Flood are convinced it's a myth anyway so I have no clue where
they see the point of arguing its extent.
The word for "waters" is from mayim (mah'-yim) which is a plural noun that
can be used either in a plural sense as here in Gen 6:17, or in a singular
sense as in Gen 21:14.
Were the waters of the Flood fresh or salt? It doesn't matter, since the one
who created the physical requirements of all life is easily able to adapt it to
suit His purposes.
But the sea's saltiness isn't static; it's increasing all the time, and always
has. Which means that if you were to go back in time, the sea was a lot less
salty in Noah's day than it is today; ergo: aquatic life's adjustment to
dilution back in his day wouldn't have been as extreme as aquatic life's
adjustment would be in our day.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=