Noah’s Ark: The Engineering marvel that survived the flood
Posted on August 23, 2024 by Patrick Shabi with an estimated reading time of 5 minutes
Last updated on August 30, 2024
“Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms 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.
(Genesis 6:14-15)
Faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional painting of Archimedes.
Commonly regarded by many historians as one of the world’s greatest scientists, Archimedes gave us many principles and equations, which are still used in mathematics today. One of Archimedes most well-known discoveries is the Archimedes principle, which he discovered in 256 B.C. The principle states, “a result stating that a body totally or partially immersed in a fluid is subject to an upward force equal in magnitude to the weight of fluid it displaces.” This principle is more commonly referred to as buoyancy. When we think of buoyancy, we most likely think of boats and what allows objects to float on water. However, the historical record tells us that the discovery of Archimedes’ principle wasn’t to help with a problem he had with boats. The discovery was actually to help to determine if a crown made for the king, Hieron of Syracuse, was made of pure gold as the goldsmith had claimed (this story was first recorded in the 1st century B.C. by Roman architect Vitruvius). Regardless of the intended application for this discovery at the time, to us this principle has become synonymous with ships as it is this understanding which allows the modern world to create the massive cruise and cargo ships we see today.
If Archimedes had read the Bible, he probably would have had an easier time devising this principle. One of the oldest books in the Bible, Genesis, was written by Moses and dates back to the 13th century B.C. The information in this book is even older, dating back to the creation and dawn of human civilization. Although this discovery was revolutionary for the Greeks, the Bible shows us this fundamental principle within its first six chapters. In Genesis 6 of Genesis, we read about Noah’s ark and the impending flood that will eventually come onto the Earth.
The beginning of Genesis 6 tells us why this flood is occurring as well as the instructions to Noah regarding the ark, but in the middle of Genesis we find the exact dimensions that the ark should be made to:
“This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.” (Genesis 6:15)
Why is this such as important detail?
Analysis of these dimensions show that the dimensions recorded in Genesis 6:15 are the exact proportions needed according to buoyancy (Archimedes’ principle), which would have allowed the ark to float. Ask yourself, how was Noah, a man with no prior knowledge in ship-building and not living near a large body of water, able to know the steps required to build the ark and the exact dimensions required for it to float, only recently confirmed by modern science?
In 1993 a scientific study was headed by Dr. Seon Hong at the world-class ship research center KRISO, based in Dajeon, South Korea (Dr. Seon Hong was later appointed general director of KRISO). This study was to compare the hull dimensions and design of the ark to modern cargo ships to determine which design was the most practical. Out of the twelve hulls tested, it was concluded that no hull design of a modern cargo ship outperformed Noah’s Ark. Furthermore, it was determined that the dimensions and instructions outlined to Noah in Genesis 6 would have made a perfectly balanced ship, with the balance easily lost if the proportions were modified even slightly.
More recently, student research from the University of Leicester conducted in 2014, shows the dimensions described in the Genesis account were more than adequate to accommodate the weight of the ark and for holding up to 70,000 animals without sinking (other research shows the number of species alive at the time would have only been 35,000; however, that number is just an estimate and up to interpretation). Student Benjamin Jordan working on the project concluded: “Using the dimensions of the Ark and the density of the water, we were able to calculate its buoyancy force, which, according to Archimedes’ principle, is equal to the weight of the volume of fluid the object displaces.”
The discovery of Archimedes’ principle was a remarkable achievement that revolutionized our understanding of buoyancy and continues to shape modern engineering. However, long before Archimedes, the Bible presented the same principles within the story of Noah’s Ark in Genesis. The precise dimensions of the Ark, as described in Genesis 6, align perfectly with what we now know about buoyancy and ship design.
If you have ever been on a cruise ship or seen a cargo ship floating on the water, you can appreciate the science and exactness that must have gone into perfecting these ships’ design. Beginning in the late 18th century, the design of modern cargo ships, as we see them today, began to be slowly perfected over the course of centuries. However, with all the time, money, resources, and lost lives spent perfecting this design and pushing the boundaries on the size of these ships, the answer to their questions was already given to them, inspired by God, millennia before.