Noach's Ark: Everything You Wanted to Know About the Famous Biblical Ark

Noach's Ark was an enormous wooden structure built by Noach, in accordance with Hashem's command. The construction of the ark is described extensively in the Book of Bereishit. The ark served as a refuge for Noach, his family, and the animals when the flood covered the entire earth.

Noach was commanded to build the ark in Bereishit 6 (14-19): "Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make compartments in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks... You shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female."

Noach built the ark alone for 120 years. Nobody else helped him. Noach covered both the inside and outside of the ark with pitch to prevent water from seeping in. The wood used for the ark came from ancient forests near the city of Baghdad. The trees were made of "gopher wood," which was strong and water-resistant.

Noach's family (Noach, his wife Naamah, his three sons, and their wives) lived in the ark. Beyond the humans in the ark, the ark was also home to several animals to ensure that animal life survived the flood. On the day the flood began, pairs of each living creature gathered in front of the ark, and Noach brought them inside. Noach ensured that all the animals were fed and cared for throughout their time in the ark. 

Historical Evidence

The flood should be understood as a scientific fact. Rabbi Daniel Blass notes that marine fossils like shells and fish skeletons have been found worldwide, even in desolate deserts and on the highest mountain peaks such as the Rocky Mountains and Mount Everest, which proves that all continents were once covered by water.

Moreover, the remains of entire animal populations that became extinct have been found around the world. This proves that there was a global natural disaster that wiped out animal life across the planet.

Further evidence of the flood can be found through scientific examination of mountains, valleys, and immense canyons across the world that proves that global natural disasters caused tectonic plate movement, which corresponds to an explicit verse in the Torah about the flood: "all the fountains of the great deep burst open" (Bereishit 7:11). 

The Ark's Shape: A Box with a Sloped Roof? Or a Pyramid?

The ark was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. Since a cubit is one and a half feet, the ark was approximately 492 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 50 feet high – the height of a 5-story building.

The ark had 3 levels. Our sages explain that the upper level served as living quarters for Noach and his family, as well as food storage. The middle level was for animals, and the lower level was for garbage. The three levels were subdivided into small compartments. The ark had a "window" or opening on its side, closed with a cover. The top of the roof of the ark was only one cubit, which has led to the common understanding that it had a sloped roof. Some commentators suggest that the entire ark was sloped, with a diamond-shaped cross-section. According to Ibn Ezra, the ark was pyramid-shaped for maximum stability in the floodwaters.

The ark was partially submerged in water, though the commentators disagree as to how deep it went. According to Rashi, the ark was submerged about 18 feet (11 cubits) in water. According to Ramban, the ark was submerged in only three to five feet (two to three cubits) of water.

Questions About Noah's Ark

Several questions can be raised about the ark: How could the ark contain the vast number of species living on Earth? How could it hold enough food for these animals for an entire year? How did they prevent the food from spoiling? How did trees and plants survive the flood? What did predatory animals eat?

In Tractate Chullin (page 63b), our sages note: "There are 120 species of unclean birds in the East, and they are all of the ayah kind" – "ayah" is a type of bird. Our sages explicitly teach us that more than 120 species of birds descended from a single species of the "ayah" bird.

The Radal (Rabbi David Luria) was a Talmudic commentator and distinguished student of the Vilna Gaon, who lived 200 years ago. In his commentary, the Radal explains that Noach only brought the "root species" into the ark, meaning the ancestral animals, which changed and multiplied into many diverse species that dispersed through the world after leaving the ark (in line with the Talmud's statement cited above).

Ramban, Kli Yakar, and Rabbeinu Bachya explain that it was an obvious miracle, and a relatively small space was sufficient for a large group of animals. Rashi also notes that Hashem promised Noach that the fruits would not rot. Ibn Ezra writes that the predatory animals and birds of prey ate plants, and only after the flood did they begin to hunt.

Why Was Noach Saved From the Flood?

The Kli Yakar points to Noach's three virtues: "Because the generation of the flood corrupted themselves in three ways – idolatry, sexual immorality, and theft... Noach was protected in all three: righteous – he did not steal from others, perfect – he was protected from sexual immorality... he walked with Hashem – and did not turn to other gods."

The verse "he who wins souls is wise" refers to Noach: "This is Noach, who fed and sustained the animals... each and every species he fed what he learned they needed, the camel – straw, and the donkey – barley, and so with all of them." According to the sages, Noach's dedication to the animals was extraordinary: "Some animals eat once a day, some twice, some three times, some in the first third of the night, some in the middle, some at dawn... for twelve months in the ark he did not sleep, neither by day nor by night, as he was busy feeding the creatures with him."

This is the merit that saved Noach from the flood: the kindness he showed to the animals. Yalkut Tehillim (37, 728) notes that Avraham asked Malchizedek, king of Shalem, who was actually Shem, the son of Noach why they merited to survive and leave the ark? Malchizedek replied: "By the merit of the charity we did there." The Midrash expounds on this point: "Avraham said to him: 'What charity did you do in the ark? Were there poor people there?! There was only Noach and his sons, so with whom did you perform charity?', He replied: 'With the animals, beasts, and birds. We did not sleep but rather we gave food to this one and that one.'"

The Midrash continues that "at that moment Avraham said: 'If these people, because they showed charity to animals, were saved from the flood, I, if I show charity and kindness to human beings, who are in the image of Hashem, how much more so!'"

The Radak explains that Noach was saved from the flood because he served Hashem and educated his sons to do so too: "Just as he engaged in Divine service, so he taught and trained his sons whom he begot – to turn away from the ways of the wicked and serve Hashem and cling to Him, and if they had not been so, they would not have been saved from the flood."

Did Researchers Really Find Noach's Ark?

The Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Sanhedrin, page 96a) notes that according to our sages, Sennacherib took planks from the ark. The Yalkut Shimoni (Parashat Beshalach, hint 256) states that Parshandatha, the son of Haman, did the same.

Many people wonder where the ark is today. Did researchers actually find it? A group of Christian researchers claims to have found the remains of Noach's Ark on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey. A team of 15 evangelical researchers from Turkey and China conducted excavations on the mountain. They published photographs of wood remains discovered at an altitude of about 13,000 feet. The researchers claim that carbon dating tests performed on the findings demonstrate that the remains are 4,800 years old, which coincides with the period when Noach lived.