How could Noah fit all those animals on the ark?
Dear Friends,
Skeptics and children can ask the toughest questions! But fear not. When it comes to the things of God there is usually an answer. Don’t panic. Keep trusting. And look for an answer. Today’s devotional is a good example of the process. God bless you.
Because of Calvary,
John Janney
Genesis 7:1-4 (ESV)
1 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3 and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.”
“…On the basis of a cubit of twenty-four inches…the ark would have been 600 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 60 feet deep. Assuming a boxlike construction…its capacity would then have been 3,600,000 cubic feet, or room enough for 2000 cattle cars (each of which carries 18 to 20 cattle, or 60 to 80 hogs, or 80 to 100 sheep). At the present time there are only 290 main species of land animal larger than sheep in size; there are 757 more species ranging in size from sheep to rats, and there are 1,358 smaller than rats. Two of each of these species would fit very comfortably into the cubic capacity of the ark, and leave plenty of room for fodder.” [Gleason L. Archer, Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction: Revised Edition, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), p. 216]