Questions about Noah's Ark & the flood?

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Munising

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Approximately what year(s) did the flood occur in?
How long did the flood last?
How deep was the water?
Were any areas of land accessible during the flood?
Where did Noah build the ark?
How large was the ark?
How many different species of animals were taken aboard the ark?
How were the animals gathered up?
How many humans were on the ark with Noah?
Did any humans other than those on the ark survive the flood?
What modern day geographic region did Noah sail in the ark?
How long was Noah stranded in the ark with the animals?
How far in advance of the flood did Noah begin the construction of the ark?
What prompted Noah to construct an ark?
Was the ark constructed on land or in water?
If the ark was constructed on land, how was it moved to the water?
Where did the water of the flood come from?
How did the water of the flood recede?
 

SkyBlade

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I don't know the answers to all of your questions (sorry) but I'll answer the ones I do know with the Scripture (NIV)


Approximately what year(s) did the flood occur in? I don't know the actual years, but it was "when men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them" (Genesis 6:1)

How long did the flood last? "Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth." (Genesis 7:6) ....... "By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the waters had dried up from the earth." (Genesis 8:13) The whole entire flood and the drying of the water took about a year.

How deep was the water? ...as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth...the waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet." (Genesis 7:17-20)

Were any areas of land accessible during the flood? I can't find anything for that, but I doubt it.

Where did Noah build the ark? He probably just built it where he lived. I think.

How large was the ark? "The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high."(Genesis 6:15; the quote is God speaking

How many different species of animals were taken aboard the ark? "Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal." (Genesis 7:2; Quote is God speaking)

How were the animals gathered up? I guess God enabled Noah to find them.

How many humans were on the ark with Noah? "And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark..." (Genesis 7:7)

Did any humans other than those on the ark survive the flood? "Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died." (Genesis 7:22)

What modern day geographic region did Noah sail in the ark? ...no idea

How long was Noah stranded in the ark with the animals? See answer for second question.

How far in advance of the flood did Noah begin the construction of the ark? No idea

What prompted Noah to construct an ark? God told him what to do (Genesis 6:13 to Genesis 7:5)

Was the ark constructed on land or in water? I'm guessing land

If the ark was constructed on land, how was it moved to the water? It was probably just moved by the floodwaters itself when the flood started.

Where did the water of the flood come from? "...all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened." (Genesis 7:11)

How did the water of the flood recede? "He (God) sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded." (Genesis 8:1)

Hope that helped.
 
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Munising

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I don't know the answers to all of your questions (sorry) but I'll answer the ones I do know with the Scripture (NIV)


Approximately what year(s) did the flood occur in? I don't know the actual years, but it was "when men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them" (Genesis 6:1)
Would this have been more recently than approximately 4,000 BC (or 6,000 years ago)?

How long did the flood last? "Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth." (Genesis 7:6) ....... "By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the waters had dried up from the earth." (Genesis 8:13) The whole entire flood and the drying of the water took about a year.
How did they measure a year back then?
Are there any fossil records showing that men lived several hundred years back in that era? If so, where are the records?

How deep was the water? ...as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth...the waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet." (Genesis 7:17-20)
Did the flood cover the mountains in a small geographic region or the mountains world wide?

Were any areas of land accessible during the flood? I can't find anything for that, but I doubt it.
Is there anything in the story of Noah's ark to indicate Mt. Everest was not covered with water?

Where did Noah build the ark? He probably just built it where he lived. I think.
Where in modern day geography was this?

How large was the ark? "The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high."(Genesis 6:15; the quote is God speaking
What method did God use to measure the size of the ark?

How many different species of animals were taken aboard the ark? "Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal." (Genesis 7:2; Quote is God speaking)
Approximately how many different species of animals were taken aboard the ark? 10? 100? 1000? 10,000?

How were the animals gathered up? I guess God enabled Noah to find them.
Did Noah hire helping hands to round up the animals?
How did the humans control any animals that may have been reluctant to board the ark?

How many humans were on the ark with Noah? "And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark..." (Genesis 7:7)

Did any humans other than those on the ark survive the flood? "Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died." (Genesis 7:22)
I take this to mean that all currently living humans are direct descendants of Noah, his sons, his wife and his sons wives. Correct?

What ethnicity were Noah and the others on the ark?

What modern day geographic region did Noah sail in the ark? ...no idea

How long was Noah stranded in the ark with the animals? See answer for second question.
What did Noah do for food for his extended family and the animals during the flood?

How far in advance of the flood did Noah begin the construction of the ark? No idea

What prompted Noah to construct an ark? God told him what to do (Genesis 6:13 to Genesis 7:5)
Did God communicate this to him audibly?

Was the ark constructed on land or in water? I'm guessing land

If the ark was constructed on land, how was it moved to the water? It was probably just moved by the floodwaters itself when the flood started.

Where did the water of the flood come from? "...all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened." (Genesis 7:11)
Does that mean it rained very hard for an extensive period of time?

How did the water of the flood recede? "He (God) sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded." (Genesis 8:1)
I take that to mean the excess water was blown off the earth. Correct?
 
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theophilus40

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There were two sources of water for the flood.
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
(Genesis 7:11 ESV)
There was rain which lasted for 40 days but also there was a geological upheaval which caused underground water to be released. This wasn't simply a flood but a complete change in the earth's topography. The water covering the earth was only one part of this.

The fact that the water covered the entire earth and even the tallest mountains shows that before the flood the earth was much flatter that it is today and none of the mountains was very high. The process that began the flood also ended it by causing part of the land to rise up and form the continents and mountains that exist today.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you appointed for them
.
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.

(Psalm 104:6-9 ESV)
You can find out a lot more information about the flood here:

Answers Magazine, Volume 2, Number 2 - Answers in Genesis
 
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ViaCrucis

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Approximately what year(s) did the flood occur in?
How long did the flood last?
How deep was the water?
Were any areas of land accessible during the flood?
Where did Noah build the ark?
How large was the ark?
How many different species of animals were taken aboard the ark?
How were the animals gathered up?
How many humans were on the ark with Noah?
Did any humans other than those on the ark survive the flood?
What modern day geographic region did Noah sail in the ark?
How long was Noah stranded in the ark with the animals?
How far in advance of the flood did Noah begin the construction of the ark?
What prompted Noah to construct an ark?
Was the ark constructed on land or in water?
If the ark was constructed on land, how was it moved to the water?
Where did the water of the flood come from?
How did the water of the flood recede?

Probably irrelevant since the flood story in Genesis isn't literal history.

-CryptoLutheran
 
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theophilus40

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Probably irrelevant since the flood story in Genesis isn't literal history.

-CryptoLutheran
How did you come to that conclusion? Jesus regarded it as history.
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
(Luke 17:26-27 ESV)

(What is a CryptoLutheran?)
 
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SkyBlade

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Munising, having tried to talk to you before, I'd like to know before I get into this with you, what is the point of all of these questions?

I'm not Munising, but my assumption is that he's just curious or maybe he has to do a project about Noah's ark.


@Munising: I'll answer your questions when I get to it, maybe tomorrow or the day after. Right now I don't have the time to write a long post, sorry q.q
 
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ViaCrucis

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How did you come to that conclusion? Jesus regarded it as history.
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
(Luke 17:26-27 ESV)

(What is a CryptoLutheran?)

Jesus referenced the story, because it was a story everyone knew. Referencing it doesn't show that it was literal history one way or the other.

I regard most of the pre-Abrahamic narratives in Genesis to be a formative mythology. These are stories answering questions like "why are there so many languages?" It's mythology, sacred, divinely inspired mythology, but mythology. As such the early Genesis stories aren't really intended to answer stories such as "how did Noah fit so many animals?"; the stories are intended to answer questions about theology, morality. They address the fundamental problems of sin and pain.

-CryptoLutheran
 
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theophilus40

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the stories are intended to answer questions about theology, morality.
Jesus asked Nicodemus a question that applies to this discussion:
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
(John 3:12 ESV)

If you don't believe the account of the flood is historically accurate how can you be sure that what it teaches about theology and morality is accurate?
 
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SkyBlade

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Would this have been more recently than approximately 4,000 BC (or 6,000 years ago)?
I have no idea about that question.


How did they measure a year back then?
Are there any fossil records showing that men lived several hundred years back in that era? If so, where are the records?
The Bible is our proof men lived back then ^.^

Did the flood cover the mountains in a small geographic region or the mountains world wide?
Wolrdwide. The flood itself was worldwide.

Is there anything in the story of Noah's ark to indicate Mt. Everest was not covered with water?
I don't think so. Mt. Everest was probably covered too.

Where in modern day geography was this?
Like I said, the flood was worldwide. I don't know where Noah was.

What method did God use to measure the size of the ark?
Himself. He is the Almighty God!

Approximately how many different species of animals were taken aboard the ark? 10? 100? 1000? 10,000?
All of the species on earth.

Did Noah hire helping hands to round up the animals?
How did the humans control any animals that may have been reluctant to board the ark?
His wife, sons, and sons's wives probably helped him. I don't think any animals were reluctant to board the ark .

I take this to mean that all currently living humans are direct descendants of Noah, his sons, his wife and his sons wives. Correct?
Yes, probably.

What ethnicity were Noah and the others on the ark?
I don't know.....

What did Noah do for food for his extended family and the animals during the flood?
He probably stored alot, or God provided it. Good question though.

Did God communicate this to him audibly?
Yes; he spoke to him.

Does that mean it rained very hard for an extensive period of time?
Yes; forty days and forty nights.

I take that to mean the excess water was blown off the earth. Correct?
The water receded from the earth very slowly. The wind was probably to command it to drain out.
 
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ViaCrucis

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Jesus asked Nicodemus a question that applies to this discussion:
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
(John 3:12 ESV)

If you don't believe the account of the flood is historically accurate how can you be sure that what it teaches about theology and morality is accurate?

Non sequitur. What you're suggesting is that I doubt one part of Scripture, therefore I must doubt all of Scripture. But I don't doubt any parts of Scripture, which weakens your argument; additionally there is no logical movement from "the flood isn't meant to be read literally-historically" to "well then everything in Scripture is false".

I also don't believe the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son were literal, historic individuals. But I still believe the Lord's parables are true, and that our Lord Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, was crucified, buried, dead and rose again from the dead on the third day, victorious over sin, death, hell, and the devil for our salvation.

I'm not arbitrarily cherry-picking what to believe, I'm attempting to carefully examine, analyze, and properly exegete Scripture.

-CryptoLutheran
 
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Stormwave

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Non sequitur. What you're suggesting is that I doubt one part of Scripture, therefore I must doubt all of Scripture. But I don't doubt any parts of Scripture, which weakens your argument; additionally there is no logical movement from "the flood isn't meant to be read literally-historically" to "well then everything in Scripture is false".

I also don't believe the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son were literal, historic individuals. But I still believe the Lord's parables are true, and that our Lord Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, was crucified, buried, dead and rose again from the dead on the third day, victorious over sin, death, hell, and the devil for our salvation.

I'm not arbitrarily cherry-picking what to believe, I'm attempting to carefully examine, analyze, and properly exegete Scripture.

-CryptoLutheran

Surely by coming up with your own man made conclusions, you are cherry picking though, aren't you?
 
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theophilus40

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I also don't believe the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son were literal, historic individuals.
The Bible never claims they were real individuals but the Bible does say that Noah was real and that the flood really happened.

you also have the problem that some of the answers to your questions depends upon which source (J or P) you make use of. :)
I make use of source G, all the Bible was inspired by God.
 
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Munising

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Munising, having tried to talk to you before, I'd like to know before I get into this with you, what is the point of all of these questions?
1) So I can learn what Christians know about Noah's ark
2) So I can determine if the story of Noah's ark is fact or fiction (one can often determine the validity of a claim based on how questions about the claim are answered).
 
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Munising

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The flood water had two sources:

1. "Springs of the great deep." Meaning, the water came from below.
Why say "Springs of the great deep" when more people will understand if you say "from the ground"?

2. "The floodgates of Heaven." That's the sky.
Why say "The floodgates of Heaven" when more people will understand if you say "from the sky"?

Just how does it help Christians to accomplish their agenda by not using clear language?
 
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