How big was Noah's ark? How many animals were
on the ark? How did Noah feed all those animals?

These are some of the questions people have asked about the Bible account of Noah and the Ark (Genesis 6-8). While some assume that it would have been impossible for such an event to occur, Christians accept, by faith, the Biblical record in God's inspired word. In Matthew 24:37-39, as Jesus was speaking to His apostles regarding the Fall of Jerusalem and His second coming, He referred to the flood story, thus confirming its historical validity.

The inspired text answers some of the questions (How big was Noah's ark?). Other questions (How many animals were on the ark? How did Noah feed all those animals?) are not answered in detail. One might assume that God miraculously intervened to care for the ark's inhabitants, but the Bible does not indicate this. In fact, God gave Noah and his family the responsibility of caring for themselves and the animals on the ark. God told Noah that the animals "will come to you to keep them alive. And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself, and it shall be food for you and for them." (Genesis 6:20-21)

In light of this fact, many skeptics have mocked the Bible and claimed that it would have been unfeasible for that many animals to exist on an ark, for a whole year, cared for by only eight people. Even religious scholars have denied the facts in the Biblical account because they thought it was impossible. Why assume that it couldn't be done?

Very careful scientific studies have demonstrated that the story of Noah's ark is quite reasonable. The most recent study is Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study by John Woodmorappe (Institute for Creation Research, 1996). One writer (Jonathan Sarfati, answersingenesis.org) described this book as "the most complex analysis ever published regarding gathering the animals into the Ark, provisions for their care and feeding, and the subsequent dispersion." Read on for a sampling of this type of careful study:

How big was Noah's ark?

"Make yourself an ark of gopher wood: 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. 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." (Genesis 6:14-16)

A cubit is about 18 inches; therefore, the ark was approximately 450 feet long (1¹/₂ football fields), 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall (4¹/₂ stories).

It had a total volume between 1.3 and 1.5 million cubic feet and a tonnage between 13,000 and 15,000 tons. It could have held more than 500 standard railroad stock cars. It was large enough for the job for which God designed it.

How many animals did Noah need to put on the ark?

On the very same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark - they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. (Genesis 7:13-15)

"If, as the preponderance of evidence shows, the created kind was equivalent to the family (at least in the case of mammals and birds), then there were only about 2,000 animals on the ark. If such were the case, it is obvious that there was no problem in housing all the animals on the commodious ark. However, in order to make this exercise more interesting, I have deliberately made the problem of housing on the ark much more difficult by adopting the genus as the taxonomic rank of the created kind. This necessitates. . . nearly 16,000 animals on the ark. This number is based on land animals of whose existence we know. (Either as live animals or fossils.)" (Woodmorappe, p. 7)

How big were the animals on the ark?

"There were nearly 16,000 animals on the ark, spanning eight orders of magnitude of body mass, ranging in size from hummingbirds (i.e., a few grams per bird), to sauropods (up to perhaps 80 mega grams when adult)... the vast majority of the animals on the Ark were small. Without allowing the representation of large animals as juveniles, the median animal on the Ark would have been the size of a small rat. (about 100 grams)" (Woodmorappe, p. 13)

Was there enough room on the ark?

". .. estimating the minimum floor space needed for all the animals on the ark. For the smallest animals (i.e., 1 gram to 10 kg in mass), I have accepted the standard floor-space areas recommended for the housing of laboratory animals. For larger animals (i.e., greater than 10 kg as juveniles), I quoted the values for floor spacing of intensively-housed livestock...less than half the cumulative areas of the ark's three decks need to have been occupied by the animals and their enclosures. Furthermore, this assumes no tiering of the enclosures, which of course maximizes the ark floor space needed for animal housing, but also allows at least some of the food and water to be stored overhead. There is plenty of room left over to account for the ark infrastructure, and passageways between the animal enclosures, although the latter need not consume much additional floor area." (Woodmorappe, p. 16)

How did Noah care for all those animals for a year?

And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself, and it shall be food for you and for them. (Genesis 6:21)

"There were, of course, many other chores on the Ark besides the feeding, watering, and waste management of the animals. However, these three are by far the most essential in an emergency situation, and the vast majority of animals can physically survive for a year with only these three basic needs met..."

" . . . not only was it possible for the humans to have cared for all the animals on the ark, but also there was a great deal of flexibility in the types of animal-care procedures that could have been used on the ark and still have been compatible with the eight people caring for the nearly 16,000 animals. There is also plenty of time left over for less essential chores. . . "

" . . . it is evident that the eight humans on the ark could have cared for all the animals on the ark. In fact, as shown earlier, the most critical tasks in the caring for the animals could have been accomplished with still half a workday to spare. (Woodmorappe, pp. 80, 81)

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Brother Gibson has done a masterful job of answering some of the many questions that have been raised concerning the Biblical account of the flood in Genesis 6-8. Sadly, many have questions for which the Bible record reveals no answers. Not only is this true about the flood, but also of many other subjects discussed in the Bible. We must remember that the "secret things belong unto God." (Deuteronomy 29:29) God revealed to us what is necessary for us to know in order to have faith and trust in Him and demonstrate our love for Him by being obedient to His will. The military calls this "a need-to-know basis." God revealed what we need to know; we need not be concerned about the rest. Let's spend a few moments considering what the flood account DOES REVEAL:

1. God's longsuffering and patience finally came to an end.
   
   
2. God is aware of our works and what we are doing.
   
   
3. God not only has the power to create life, He also has the power to destroy it.
   
   
4. God is merciful to those who deserve mercy.
   
   
5. God, in His wisdom, designed an ark that would be suitable and adequate for preserving life.
   
   
6. God waited 120 years in order to give mankind the opportunity to repent and avoid destruction.
   
   
7. God used the element of WATER, both to destroy life and to save it.
   
   
8. God's actions showed that even though we are free moral agents, we must accept the consequences of our choices.
   
   

As God's creation, we would do well to direct our time and attention to the revealed truth in order to conform our lives to its teaching, rather than worrying about things God-for His own reasons-chose not to reveal. He has not omitted any "vital information" we need to enable us to love and obey Him faithfully. Dear reader, we can use our time more efficiently and effectively by studying and applying the truth that is revealed, instead of wondering about the things God chose not to reveal! (KMG)

"By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him." {Psalm 33:6-8}