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How Long Did it Take Noah to Build the Ark?

There has been much discussion on the possible length of time it took for Noah to build the Ark. Suggestions I’ve read range from 55 to 120 years. In an article by Bodie Hodge, June 1, 2010 for “Answers In Genesis,” the writer suggest a range of a maximum of 55 to 75 years and presents some interesting arguments for that conclusion.

The Destruction of the Earth as it Was

In Genesis 6:17 we read, “I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.” I doubt that it is possible for any of us to understand the way Noah must have felt when he heard those words.

All human life on the entire world was to be destroyed except for Noah and the seven other members of his immediate family; I hope Noah was sitting down when he heard that shocking announcement.

The Noahic Covenant Promised

God then announces His covenant with Noah which is detailed in Genesis 9:1-18 and is an unconditional covenant.

In Genesis 6:19 – 7:3 God tells Noah of the animals that should be brought upon the Ark to save them from the flood. In Genesis 7:2 a distinction is made between clean and unclean animals. Seven of the clean animals and the fowls of the air were to be taken on board the Ark while only two of the unclean animals were to be saved.

At this point the ridicule and laughter may have reached a fever pitch among those watching Noah and his family. This was an unprecedented event that was so strange that the skeptics had no frame of reference at all and may well have thought that Noah and his family had collective insanity.

Although not specified it is reasonable to conclude that the many assorted animals and birds entered the Ark as directed by God without any coercion. Watching these animals peacefully board the ark without guidance must have been unsettling to the observers.

In Genesis 7:4 God tells Noah, “Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” In Genesis 7:5 we see the secret of Noah’s success, “And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.”

 The Flood

In Genesis 7:7 we read, “And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.” In verse 16b we read, “Then the LORD shut him in.” The door to the Ark had been sealed by God and those inside would be delivered from the judgment that was to shortly come upon the earth. I suspect that was the most watertight door ever seen on the face of the earth.

In Genesis 7:11 we read, “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month–on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.”

You may recall my earlier discussion of the waters above and the waters below. Now we see them as they begin to rearrange the world and in the process kill all those not in the Ark. The profound impact of this event on the earth produced all of the geological and climatic conditions we know today.

The collapse of the water vapor canopy permitted the flash freezing of the North and South Poles which resulted in the formerly semi-tropical regions irreversibly freezing into the icy regions we know today.  It was this flash freezing that created such phenomena as the “Beresovka Mammoth.”

Note the shovel handle in the center bottom of the picture as a reference for size.

The Beresovka Mammoth, flash frozen in a sitting position.

The other source of water was the waters below. It is estimated that a subterranean water table at least 3/4 of a mile in depth existed around 10 miles below the surface of the earth under considerable pressure. Since there was no rain before the flood it is believed that water from this source provided the water for the rivers referenced in the pre-flood world and provided the water for watering the surface of the earth.

At the time of the flood, God permitted the subterranean water table to “burst forth” with sufficient force to propel the water about 20 miles above the surface of the earth. This, combined with the collapse of the water vapor canopy, continued for 40 days and 40 nights with an unequalled severity.

To be continued…