Today in my class on Old Testament History I covered mankind to the flood. It is always difficult to know what material a class will find fascinating, but this year’s class of student was hugely interested in Noah’s ark. I’m not really sure why, but they wanted to know exactly how big it was, how big it’s doors were, where it landed (that much was easy–on the mountains of Ararat–in what is now the border regions between Turkey and Armenia, not a very safe place to go exploring for the remains of really old boats).

There were a couple of patterns I wished to convey to my students, and a lot of them seemed to have gotten the gist of both of them. First, I wanted them to understand the importance of the number 40 in the Bible. After all, 40 is a common number of ‘trial’ or ‘testing.’ Jesus spent 40 days on the earth after his resurrection (see Acts 1:3). The spies of Israel spent 40 days in the Promised land spying it out (Numbers 13:25) as well. Likewise, during the flood there was 40 days (and 40 nights) of rain (Genesis 7:12). One detail that they were curious about was the 40 days (and 40 nights) of fasting of Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:2). I pointed out that Jesus, Moses (Exodus 24:18), and Elijah (1 Kings 19:8) all fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and all were present at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:3-4). That probably is not a coincidence.

The other pattern I wanted them to be familiar with was the Holy Day pattern shown in the detail of the flood. Unusually among the Genesis accounts, we have days to record events. Now, as someone who believes that Genesis is a collection of genuinely ancient records going all the way back to the beginning of mankind, a position I have described elsewhere [1], this is not troubling in the least. If someone is keeping a diary while stuck in a boat, it would make sense to have that data, assuming (as one would) that the person was a godly individual using the biblical lunar-solar calendar (this has important implications). Notably, several key events occur during the times of the three Holy Day seasons. The flood begins and Noah leaves the ark during the Pentecost season. The flood begins on the seventeenth day of the second month (Genesis 7:11) and they leave the ark for good the next year on the twenty-seventh day of the second month (Genesis 8:14). The ark rested on the mountain of Ararat during the Feast of Tabernacles, on the seventeenth day of the seventh month (Genesis 8:4), and the surface of the earth became dry during the Passover season, on the first day of the first month (Genesis 8:13). Again, these days are probably not coincidental either, and the fact that we know them suggests that Noah kept some sort of a diary while he and his family were cooped up in the ark.

The other detail I wanted to convey to the students of importance was that clean and unclean animals were already separated and distinguished at the time of the flood (Genesis 7:2). Clean animals, after all, were the only animals acceptable to both eat and sacrifice to God. Though God condemn calling any human beings, no matter of what tribe or nation, unclean (see Acts 10:34-48), the distinction between clean and unclean meats still exists, for God created some animals for the purpose of food, and other animals or other purpose, such as carrion birds (like vultures), carnivores and scavengers, or as natural filtration systems for the water (like oysters and clams). Not everything is created for our eating pleasure, and so God made a distinction between animals clean and unclean from the very beginnings of human history. It’s a good point to remember.

I’m glad my students enjoyed Noah’s ark so much. It’s material I will be happy to include on an essay when we finish with Genesis, since they liked and remembered it so well. It is a joy when students are enthusiastic about material that is being taught in a class. It makes teaching the material that much more enjoyable.

[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/examining-the-source-material-for-genesis/