A while back a brudder asked me about the ark and all the animals that Noah had to “fit” in the ark.

Carl – There is no way in poop that all those animals could fit in the ark – it is foolishness.

In our last post we figgered the room that was available on the ark.

A quick reminder may be best!

Available Floor Space

Using the dimensions supplied by Genesis 6, and converting the cubit to the standard, widely accepted, average, normal, acceptable measurement of 18″ (enough with the qualifiers Carl!), we came up with a floor space. 

With all that said, how much space did Noah have available for all these animals?

450’ (long) x 75’ (wide) x 3 (decks) x 3 (shelves / deck) =303,750 square feet

Required Floor Space

Using a conservative assumption, we choose the average size of an animal that would ride the waves with Noah as the lowly sheep – seemed to be a fair animal to pick on!  This animal could easily reside in a 5′ x 5′ x 5′ “cage, especially if we understand that the animals may have entered into a hibernation for the duration of the trip.  Remember, this is a rescue ship, not a vacation liner, and the efficiencies I am describing are intended to reflect that purpose! 

We also referred to some folks called taxonomers (folks who divide animals up into groups, not the IRS people!) to come up with a conservative estimation for the number of species / animals that would be travelling the high seas with Noah.

If I remember right, that number was 50,000.  Hey – is my sceptic back?  Hope so – that number is just for you!!

50,000 animals will require the following space based on the previous average room required.

50,000 x 5 square feet / average animal = 250,000 square feet

Enough Space?

With all these conservative estimates, it is very possible to see the viability of this “box” to carry the required animals.  According to these calculations, Noah had over 50,000 square feet for living quarters for his family and for food storage.  Food for the animals may have been minimal, since I think most, if not all the animals may have entered a type of hibernation during this journey.

Considering the original concern about not enough space for all the animals, spending a few minutes to think of the problem let me see that Noah had quite the pleasure yacht if it wasn’t for the all the animals snoring!  (I am being waggish again!)

How did the animals reach the different parts of the earth?

The animals simply dispersed, finding environments, food supplies and land bridges to accomplish complete dispersion.

Although not the topic of this blog, (and without any solid teaching from the Bible,) it is possible that the concept of continental drift may offer some portion of the explanation of this question.

Why are some species only present in certain areas of the world? 

I like living in Texas.  I am a Canadian, but I have found that I like living in Texas.  It is my certain area of the world I live in

Nuff said?

Anyway, hope to hear your opinion or enter into some discussion with you my friend.  Let me know your thoughts and hope to see you again soon.

Thanks for dropping by.

Hey as I was proofreading, I found a tiny mathematical mistake – Nothing that makes my general argument invalid, but I’m gonna leave the “mistake” in the post for any and all to find – even if you are not my sceptic!

---

Follow Considering the Bible on WordPress.comThanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.