Following God’s instructions to construct an Ark, Noah began construction immediately. How long did it take him?
Bible scholars generally cite 120 years based on Genesis 6:3. However, other factors exist. First, Noah had sons who needed time to grow up and marry off, which may have added several years to Noah’s total construction timeframe.
Timeline
There is no definitive answer as to how long it took Noah to construct the ark, although scholars and biblical experts have provided several theories.
Umberto Cassuto, a Jewish rabbi and Hebrew scholar, believes it would have taken at least forty days for Noah to build the Ark according to Genesis’ timeline of events: He started having sons when he turned 500 (Genesis 5:32); The flood began during Noah’s sixth decade (600th year of life) before entering his Ark at 700 years (Genesis 6:18).
Other scholars believe it may have taken up to 120 years for Noah to build the Ark, based on how long it had taken from Genesis 6:14, when God told him to begin building it, until Genesis 7:1, when He told him to enter it.
At this point, Noah’s sons would likely have reached an age where they were mature enough to start finding spouses; Shem had his first son Arphaxad two years after the Flood at age 100 (Genesis 11:10); similarly, Ham, Noah’s youngest son born 96 years prior would also likely have found love by this point.
Noah was a man of faith who trusted in God. After receiving a warning of an impending disaster from Him, He asked Noah to build an ark to save both his family and animals from destruction. Though many considered his plans silly or considered him insane, Noah managed to complete his task successfully despite ridicule from others and accusations that he was madman-like.
When Noah completed building the Ark, he sent a dove to detect any sign of life outside. If it didn’t return within 24 hours, it had found shelter and sustenance elsewhere, indicating that Noah could start preparing his family to leave, during which they likely spent much time shoveling manure–tons and tons!
Materials
God gave Noah clear instructions on constructing an Ark: it should be made from gopher (likely cedar) wood, sealed from inside and out with pitch, with three stories: top for Noah and family, middle for animals, and bottom for refuse. It would measure 300 cubits long by 50 cubits wide by 30 cubits tall and feature an illuminated window called tzohar, or glowing precious stone from outside to illuminate it from within.
No one knows for sure the exact length of time it took Noah and his family to build the Ark, but we can make some educated estimates. First, they would have required large quantities of raw materials – which would likely come from nearby forests like that in Israel where wood could be collected – while according to the Bible, Noah made use of Cupressus sempervirens cypress wood which might suggest this Mediterranean variety was likely used instead of standard types like pine wood or alder wood for construction of their ship.
Wood that meets these characteristics makes an excellent material for ship construction. Not only can it float easily on water, but its strength prevents damage caused by insects or rot – perfect qualities to consider in selecting wood as part of its composition.
Strength is paramount when building a ship, especially for its planks that anchor its structure. There are various techniques for strengthening wooden planks; mortice and tenon joints offer one effective means. Tenons project from one piece of wood into matching sockets in another article called mortices for solid connections that cannot be broken apart easily with the necessary tools. However, this technique may prove challenging on a large scale but remains achievable with the proper tools.
Once Noah had built his ark, it was time to prepare for the flood. This included gathering food and supplies and ensuring his vessel was waterproof. Forty days after leaving his window open for inspection, Noah opened it again and sent a dove to check whether the waters had receded.
Workforce
The Bible does not give an exact timeline for Noah and his sons’ construction of an ark; some people estimate 120 years. However, there is no biblical support for this figure and no exegetical support of any sort for working alone during this period – as Noah would need his sons’ help to construct something so enormous as an ark that was five stories high, half-a-football field long, packed full with creatures native to Earth – let alone all its various species!
Building a large ship is no simple task; it takes considerable time and energy to construct docks, scaffolding, workshops, and an immense maze of cages and crates that will go into it. Once this work has been completed, crafting its timber hull must also be done, which requires extensive labor-intensive work before finally positioning in its final location – both risks that modern shipbuilders employ extensive testing and planning processes to reduce. In ancient times, however, shipbuilding was considered a highly skilled trade requiring vast knowledge.
Notably, the Ark was intended to house Noah and his family, including Japheth’s and Ham’s marriages and those between Shem and Ham. So it is likely that some time has also passed between their weddings.
Whitcomb and Morris note that the Ark was home to not only animals but plants as well. Creationist Walter Lammerts reported that “many thousands of seeds survived either by being deposited onto floating debris or submersion into salt water for dormancy” (p.84). This finding supports George Howe’s experiment, which demonstrated plants could thrive without soil environments; consequently, the plant compartment on board the Ark likely contained quite an assortment of species, all striving to bloom before its passage across the world was terminated by flooding.
Animals
Noah received detailed instructions from God regarding constructing an Ark (Genesis 6:14). It must be built out of cypress wood, featuring quartered compartments for animals to enter safely, and lined inside and out with pitch for a weather-tight seal. Furthermore, its dimensions were 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high, large enough to hold all animals required and crew for sailing across the seas safely.
The Bible instructs Noah to gather two of every animal species on earth – clean and unclean alike, including birds, fish, and insects – into an ark at precisely the right moment so they could survive the coming Flood and prevent global destruction.
An amateur crew of construction workers would likely have found this undertaking too challenging. Yet, professional ship-builders with dedicated teams and the latest tools could have completed this project in around 120 years – far less time than creationists used to disprove Noah’s Ark and its account of the Flood narrative.
Ancient shipbuilding did achieve some degree of technological sophistication (Basch, p. 52), yet it remained an art that required great skill and experience to execute correctly. The Ark, however, stood apart in size, safety, and complexity from anything seen sailing during ancient times.
Critical to the success of Noah and his sons was making sure the Ark was thoroughly seaworthy, which involved creating an extensive dock system to support it; building workshops to assemble cages, crates, and boxes needed to house all the creatures; wrestling large planks into their exact spots on the hull; a straightforward process made simpler due to Noah and his sons having already constructed docks and ships previously in their lives.
