Q&A about Noah's Ark

This morning, we looked at Noah and the story of the Great Flood in Genesis 6-7. While we focused on certain key points in the text related to sin, judgment, and salvation, it's natural for us to have other "practical" questions. Here are some answers to common questions related to Noah and the ark.

How Could this Small Ark Hold Hundreds of Thousands of Species?

But assuming the flood was universal, the question remains as to how Noah could get all those animals in the ark. Engineers, computer programmers, and wildlife experts have all taken a look at the problem, and their consensus is that the ark was sufficient to the task.

The ark was actually a huge structure – the size of a modern ocean liner, with three levels of deck (Gen. 6.13), which tripled its space to over 1.5 million cubic feet. This equals 569 railroad box cars.

Second, the modern concept of “species” is not the same as a “kind” in the Bible. But even if it were, there are probably only some 72,000 different kinds of land animals which t ark would have needed to contain. Since the average size of land animals is smaller than a cat, less than half of the ark would be needed to store 150,000 animals – more than there probably were. Insects take only a very small space. The sea animals stayed in the sea, and many species could have survived in egg form. There would have been plenty of room left over for eight people and food storage.

Third, Noah could have take younger or smaller varieties of some larger animals. Given all these factors, there was plenty of room for all the animals, food for the trip, and the eight humans aboard.

How Could a Wooden Ship Stay Afloat in Such a Violent Storm?

The ark was made of a strong and flexible material (gopher wood). Gopher wood “gives” without breaking. The heavy load gave the ark stability. Also, naval architects report that a long box-shaped, floating boxcar, such as the ark, is the most stable kind of craft in turbulent waters. One former naval architect concluded: “Noah’s Ark was extremely stable, more stable in fact, than modern shipping” (see D. Collins, “Was Noah’s Ark Stable?” CRSQ).

Indeed, modern ocean liners follow the same basic proportions. However, their stability is lessened by the need to slice through the water with as little drag as possible. There is no reason Noah’s ark could not have survived a gigantic even world-wide flood. Modern stability tests have shown that such a vessel could take up to 20-foot-high waves and could tip as much as 90 degrees and still right itself.

How Could Noah’s Family and the Animals Survive so Long in the Ark?

Another answer is that living things can do almost anything they must to survive, as long as they have enough food and water. Many of the animals may have gone into hibernation or semi-hibernation. And Noah had plenty of room for food on the inside an abundant water on the outside to draw on.

From The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics by Norman Geisler

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