Was Everything About Noah’s Ark Just a Miracle?

Assuming Noah’s ark and the flood to be true, what next? Do we take the whole account as miraculous from start to finish, or do we assume Noah survived the ordeal with hard work and cunning? Miracles are in the account, yet Noah obviously built a real ship. So how can we determine what was a miracle and what wasn’t?

Explaining Away the Miraculous?

One charge directed at creationists is that they are attempting to explain everything in purely naturalistic terms. For example, if Noah built the ark in such a way that the vessel was unsinkable or set up special systems so the animals could feed and take care of themselves, perhaps God is not even in the picture. Such comments might go something like this: “The way I see it, you can’t study Noah’s situation scientifically because the whole thing was one great big miracle.”

The implications are obvious: If miraculous intervention in Noah’s day overruled the laws of physics, then calculations are a waste of time. This means the details of the account would remain vague, impervious to educated guesses or “most likely” scenarios. There is no earthly way we could know any more than what Scripture says (if even that much). We end up with about this much detail:

God instructed Noah (somehow) to build an ark of 300 x 50 x 30 mysterious lengths. He built it by some means over an indefinite period of time, with or without help. He used the puzzling gopher wood, and we have no idea of his tools, the method of construction, the shape of the hull, or where it was launched. The flood was produced by some unknown mechanism that caused water to spurt out of the ground at the same time as it rained. For the unknown number of animals, we don’t know how much food and water was stored on board and to what degree the animals were in hibernation (if at all). They somehow survived the flood but with no mention of caring for the animals. When it was all over Noah removed the covering (whatever that is), then they all got out, somehow.

One easy option is to fill in all the gaps with miracles.

God miraculously gave Noah detailed instructions on how to build the ark and miraculously helped him build it, regardless of Noah’s understanding of construction. It is not important to know whether he built it all himself or he had hired help, because God most likely empowered him supernaturally anyway. Gopher wood may have had extraordinary properties, and how it was fabricated into a seaworthy wooden vessel would have been a “God thing.” Not that it really mattered all that much, because God miraculously protected the ark during the voyage. Noah probably had no idea how many animals were coming, yet they all fit miraculously into the ark only days before the flood. The floodwaters themselves were supernatural, so there is no explanation for where they came from or where they went. Most likely the animals hibernated supernaturally too, so animal care was not an issue. Since God closed the door, he must have opened it, and that’s how they got out.

But what does the Bible say? There are obvious miracles in the flood account: God brought the animals and closed the door, but what about the rest of the account? Was the construction some sort of miracle? Were the animals miraculously hibernating? Can we assume the vessel was supernaturally kept afloat in the raging seas?

Definition of a Miracle

The word miracle is often used loosely, so we need to start with a clear definition. If a miracle is anything that God does, then the existence of the universe is a miracle as it is God who sustains it. [1] So in one sense, everything is a miracle. However, this is not the normal use of the word.

Sometimes the word is used to describe things that remind us of God, such as the miracle of childbirth. The word is even used to sell products (the latest miracle diet) or to sell a story (a miraculous survival at sea). One media favorite, of course, is the “miracle of modern science.”

Then we have the miracle of salvation. When a person gets saved, they are a new creation: the old has gone and the new has come. This is God intervening in an earthly life and changing it—a miracle by any reckoning. Likewise, when God gives specific guidance or revelation, it is essentially a miracle. However, these are not quite so scientifically testable as the raising of dead people after several days, walking on water, or having an ax-head float. While God is certainly capable of performing all manner of miracles, he appears to reserve such intervention within certain boundaries and situations. [2]

Perhaps we could also define “fuzzy miracles” for those occasions when we are not quite sure whether something was a miracle or just a coincidence. If someone prays for rain, is subsequent rainfall a genuine intervention or just a coincidence? By contrast, when Lazarus came out of the tomb, it could never be written off as a mere coincidence.

A useful definition of a miracle in the biblical sense might be “an extraordinary intervention by God in the world” or “an addition to the normal laws of nature.” God sustains everything, yet he determines it to run according to (relatively) predictable natural laws. Gravity makes things fall to the ground, a natural law we treat with respect. If things were not predictable like this, we could never spot a miracle when it happened.

A simple classification might look something like this:

Miracles in the Flood Account

Where are the miracles in the Genesis flood? From Genesis 6 to 8, where did God interfere with the normal running of physical laws?

Explicit Miracles

• In Genesis 7:9, 15, God brings the animals to the ark (as predicted in Genesis 6:20: “Two of every sort shall come in to you,” which is unnatural enough to qualify as a miracle).
• In Genesis 7:16, God shuts Noah in: “And the Lord shut him in” (closure of the door described in Genesis 6:16).
• In Genesis 7:10, God causes the flood to happen (as foretold in Genesis 6:17: “I will bring a flood of waters”).
• In Genesis 8:1, God remembered Noah and made a wind to subside the water: “And God made a wind.”

Another type of miracle is the communication Noah received from God—mostly instructions and warnings, but also including some commentary from God’s perspective. The exact nature of this communication is obscure. It may have been anywhere in the spectrum from hearing God audibly on the one hand to perceiving an inner prompting on the other. When God makes a commitment never to flood the world again (Genesis 8:21), he does so “in his heart.” Obviously God would not be speaking audibly in his heart. Was it “normal” for Noah to hear God’s voice audibly? The Bible describes Moses as unusual since he would talk to God as if talking to another person (audibly). It doesn’t say this about Noah. It doesn’t even say Noah walked with God like his great-grandfather Enoch. What about dreams and visions? The Bible usually tells us when people hear through dreams, and since there is no mention of Noah having dreams, we might exclude this form of communication. This leaves the trusty “still small voice,” the art of hearing God by getting to know him, paying attention, and acting in faith. That’s how Christians hear God today.

However, when God pronounces the final blessing after they disembark, it makes the most sense that it was an audible message, he was addressing Noah and his sons. There is also a biblical pattern that blessings are set in place by speaking to the recipient.

God “spoke” to Noah at least five times:

• God gives Noah instructions for building the ark and explains what will happen (Genesis 6:13–21).
• God outlines the boarding procedure (Genesis 7:1–4).
• God instructs Noah to exit the ark (Genesis 8:15–17).
• God commits never to repeat the flood (God says this “in his heart,” so unlikely that this was audible to Noah, Genesis 8:21).
• God blesses and instructs Noah and his sons (an audience implies audible communication, Genesis 9:1–17).

Noah’s Role in the Flood Account

The Genesis flood account is very clear about Noah’s responsibilities. When God gave instructions, he was delegating. Isn’t that what instructions are for? It would be meaningless to say (Genesis 6:22) that Noah did everything God commanded (build the ark and gather the food) if these tasks were shrouded in the miraculous. If we were to invoke miracles to explain these parts of the account, then we are founding this idea not on Scripture but on our opinion. For example, if we think Noah was too primitive to build the ark properly, then we might want to introduce a supernatural element into the construction process. Genesis does not say this. God gave the instructions, and Noah did everything God commanded. So who built the ark? Noah!

God told Noah to

• Make the ark (Genesis 6:14–16).
• Gather all the food (Genesis 6:21).
• Take on board his family and the animals that will come to him (Genesis 6:19–7:16).
• Bring out his family and all the animals (Genesis 8:16, 17).

Adding Miracles to the Account

It should be reasonable to call something a miracle when God does it but give Noah the credit for his undertakings whenever the Bible does. But what do we do with the parts of the account that are not specifically mentioned? Do we add miracles or stay confined to naturalistic solutions? I suggest that miraculous intervention is a special condition that God usually highlights in Scripture, just as he does in Genesis 6–8. So, when no miracle is mentioned, it would be safest to steer clear of miraculous solutions. Seeing miracles that aren’t really there is like superstition, a mystical approach to the Bible—a blurring of miracles into magic.

Miracle of Staying Afloat?

Take the issue of the ark surviving the floodwaters. It seems the Bible is silent about whether God miraculously sustained the ark during the voyage, yet this is one of the favorite places to add miraculous intervention. [3]

The proportions of the ark indicate a vessel built for waves. Waterproofing is detailed. Gopher wood is specified. This seems to imply a naturalistic solution, an ark that can ride the waves without supernatural help. If the vessel was to be suspended from the destructive forces of the flood, why would Noah be required to put in all the extra effort of an elongated shape? A shorter, wider hull gives the same space with a lot less work. With these factors pointing to a hull designed to handle a storm, a supernatural solution to seakeeping appears unnecessary. Why add it to Scripture? Because shipwrights had trouble making long wooden schooners? [4]

Miracle of Hibernation?

Another suggestion by the miracle-minded is that the animals slept the voyage away. This is a handy way of dealing with the issues of animal care with a limited crew. The trouble is that the Bible doesn’t actually say this. In fact, God gives a clear instruction to gather “every sort of food that is eaten” (Genesis 6:21), for Noah’s family and for the animals. This means the animals had to eat, so they couldn’t have been comatose the whole voyage. They would require some care to deal with their water supply, food, and waste. On the other hand, Noah was instructed to build “nests” (editor’s note: “rooms” in most translations, Genesis 6:14) in the ark, so the animals weren’t jumping, flapping, wriggling, and roaming in all directions. Nests imply confinement. This gives us some boundaries for establishing what the animals may have been doing. They were active enough to want food but sedated enough to nest. The animals were miraculously selected by God to enter the ark, but the settling effect of darkness, confinement, and rocking motion is quite natural. This is also prior to animals having the “fear of man” (Genesis 9:2), which would be an obvious advantage when keeping animals in captivity. Without the “fear of man,” the antediluvian animals would have been more like the domesticated animals of today. [5]

Miracle of Construction?

With his pristine antediluvian DNA, Noah’s abilities would be legendary even from a purely natural point of view. Like many lead characters in the Bible, there is no doubt that Noah was empowered by the presence of God in his life. So Noah’s typical day might be full of class D and C miracles, where Murphy’s Law [6] is not quite so evident (e.g., instead of cutting a piece of wood too short, you just happen to think to recheck the measurement). This seems to be God’s preference too. He’d rather work amazing things through his people by compiling a sum of little fuzzy miracles (like rechecking a measurement), working through us to accomplish his will. Noah’s experience is not a mystical ancient spiritual event—Noah is a real man in history whose DNA makes up 25% of our own. When God tells a Christian today to build an orphanage, we start by doing it. After all, Noah was just a human (Genesis 9:21). Noah saw some of the most dramatic supernatural interventions ever witnessed, but this does not mean we can add some extra miracles just because we think they are needed. [7]

Legacy of Over-Presumed Miracles

After Kircher in the 1600s, Noah’s ark almost completely escaped scientific inquiry until the 1900s. How can this be? There was no shortage of Christians, and there are enough details in the flood account to make a reasoned assessment. This is rather strange considering the significance of the account—the whole world descended through Noah (Genesis 9:19)!

My guess is that Christendom ignored the power of methodical investigation because they had shrouded the account in the miraculous. In the last few centuries, the account of Noah’s ark and the flood has been under attack more than almost any other portion of Scripture.

How do Christians defend the survival of animals on board Noah’s ark? The geological record makes it very clear that there has been a massive catastrophe in the past—from the telling extent of huge layers of rapidly lain strata to the rapid burial of live creatures in the prime of life. A historical Noah’s ark is virtually compulsory if any land animal is to survive such conditions. How were the rest of the land animals supposed to survive while strata were being laid over whole continents? The deluge-doubters must deny the extent of catastrophism as long as possible. Their only hope is for the account to continue to be swept under the magic carpet (oops, I mean miracle carpet).

References

1. The miracle of existence. God sustains all of creation. Have you ever thought that when you see light you are actually seeing the direct result of God’s spoken words? “Let there be light.” So your retina is actually seeing God’s words! While creation could be thought of as an extension of God, (since every bit of it came from him), God is not contained within the creation: he exists independently. Pantheism picks up the intimacy of God and nature but misses the truth (by an infinite distance) when it attempts to shrink God down into the creation. (H. P. Owen, “Pantheism”: “God is everything and everything is God” in Concepts of Deity [London: Macmillan, 1971]).

   • For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)
   • He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:3)
   • Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Corinthians 8:6)

2. Economy of Miracles. While God is certainly capable of performing miracles, he seems to restrain himself to some extent. An attitude of always seeking miracles is condemned as a symptom of sinfulness, seeking miracles instead of the miracle maker.

   • But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew 12:39)
   • Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” (John 4:48 NKJV)
   • For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness. (1 Corinthians 1:22–23 NKJV)
   • Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 NIV)

   Conversely, there is no scriptural decree that miracles died out with the apostles. If miracles are obsolete, then it would often be inconsistent to make your requests known to God.

3. Genesis 8:1 says, “God remembered Noah,” and then it goes on to talk about the wind and subsidence of the floodwaters. The word for “remembered” is zakar. It has been suggested that this phrase implies some sort of special protection, such as buoying the vessel or simply steering it away from danger. Either way, this would still be a supernatural intervention (Class A miracle), helping the ark to do the right thing on the water. Try as I may, I can’t see “supernaturally protected” in zakar. Besides, if ever there were a need for special protection, it would be during launch or beaching, not in the middle of the voyage. It seems far more reasonable to take Genesis 8:1 to mean that God’s “remembering” led to the wind since it is mentioned immediately after. (A similar verse is Genesis 30:22, where God remembered Rachel and opened her womb. Obviously, it wasn’t open before.). Why not let zakar mean “remembered” like it does all the other 233 times in the Bible, and let the ark do the floating?

4. The often-quoted example of an over-length wooden ship, Wyoming, six-masted, wooden-hulled schooner; L/B/D: 329.5 × 50.1 × 30.4 (100.4 m × 15.2 m × 9.3 m), 3,730 tons, built by Percy & Small, Bath, Maine, 1909. It was one of the largest wooden hulls ever built and had the greatest tonnage of any wooden schooner built (the only larger schooner was the steel-hulled Thomas W. Lawson, although the 1853 clipper The Great Republic was 335 ft. and 4,555 tons), and she was the last of 10 six-masted schooners built in New England. At the time of its launch in 1909, East Coast shipbuilders had launched 311 four-masted schooners, 45 five-masters, 10 six-masters, and the seven-masted Lawson. Steamships were taking over short coal routes, but Wyoming escaped this fate by sailing on ever-longer routes. On March 3, 1924, she departed Norfolk for St. John, New Brunswick. On the 24th, she anchored off the Pollock Rip Lightship to ride out a northeaster, but she sank with the loss of her 13 crew, including Captain Charles Glaesel ( W.J. Lewis Parker, “Haskell, Glamorous Six-Masters” in Great Coal Schooners of New England [New Haven, CT: The Marine Historical Association, Inc., 1948). The ancient Greek triremes had a highly refined hull construction never seen in the European carvel hull, and in the 1400s, the Chinese were building ships that were almost certainly larger than the European and American wooden ships. There have been some who doubt the records of the Chinese treasure ships, claiming the Chinese foot (chi) was variable. Yet even using a smaller chi, these ships dwarfed anything the Europeans built out of wood—ever. The doubts are not so much about the historical records themselves, but a “taken for granted” belief that such a large wooden ship could not handle the open sea. This same doubt is directed at Noah’s ark by skeptics of the Bible. Chinese units of length varied considerably, which makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact size of these ships. The range of length is approximately 120 to 180 m (400 to 600 ft.), certainly of a similar scale to Noah’s ark and possibly even larger. However, most illustrations and models attempting to reconstruct the flagships are almost certainly overstating the mast height.

5. Animals and carnivory. After the flood, God gave Noah and his sons (i.e., humans) permission to eat meat (Genesis 9:3). He also put the fear of man into the animals (Genesis 9:2), which seems pretty logical. Did animals display any carnivorous behavior before the flood? The fossil record certainly says so. Death and bloodshed were introduced by Adam, so after that, some animals learned to eat flesh. Domestication is not related to whether an animal is carnivorous: consider dogs and cats. The “wild animal” factor could have a strong bearing on how well they perform in captivity. Today, it is much easier to keep farm animals in captivity than some creature fresh from the jungle.

6. Murphy’s Law, popular in manufacturing and engineering. There are many variations, but essentially “If anything can go wrong, it will.” The concept behind it is to attempt to foresee problems and not to expect things to work unless you have addressed everything that might go wrong

7. John wrote some harsh warnings about adding or taking away from Scripture. An awful lot of people must be banking on these words applying to the book of Revelation and not the whole Bible.

   Revelation 22:18–19: I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

   So what is the risk that claiming a supernaturally buoyed ark is not adding to Scripture?