How many animals did Noah take in the ark? THIS IS SERIOUS

edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
hey guys,
i was just reading in the bible about Noah and as i know the story, he took 2 of each animal, male and female.
but the bible says he took SEVEN of each clean animal and TWO of the unclean.
2 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. Gensis 7:2-3

How does this make sense, we were never ever taught that...

I also have another question, how many days did Noah spent in the ark?? the bible refers to so many numbers, it says

1)And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. (Gensis 7:4)
2)And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days. (Gensis 7:24)
3)The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. (Gensis 8:2-3)
4)Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. (Gensis 8:4)
5)And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.(Gensis8:5)
6)  So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made (Gensis 8:6)

can someone please explain this to me, I am so lost and not sure if i understand anything

Comments

  • I think I can answer part 2 of your question.

    Rain on the earth meaning the heavens opened for 40 days and 40 nights and there was continous raining (Gensis 7:4)
    When it rains that much, there is a flood and flood waters dont disappear by evapouration and absorption in the land in one day, hence the mention that the waters prevailed (stayed on the earth) for 150 days after the 40 days and 40 nights (Genesis 7:24) (Gensis 8:2-3)
    I think I can attribute point 4 and point 5 to a difference in the calender we use now and the calender that was used in Noah's time.

    Noah would have definetely opened the windows of the ark after the rain stopped! wouldnt you?! I for one would have wanted to see some sun if it has rained for that long!  :). note again that the scriptures mentioned 'window' not 'door'.

    God bless you Marina6!

  • If you read a little further down you will realize that Noah took every kind.

    7:14 "They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort".
  • Mozes:
    Yes i see he took every kind but i am wondering how is it SEVEN from the clean and TWO unclean. I honestly never heard seven before lol??

    LionessofGod:
    thanks for your reply, but i dont understand how verse six makes sense, i feel like it contradicts all the other numbers,
    where did the last forty days come from???
    and what do u mean by the difference of calender because he talks about the tenth month, then the 7th HOWWW???
  • marina, seven is a symbolic number in the bible & is, i guess,the number of perfection....read this link about the number 7

    http://www.angelfire.com/az/rainbowbridge/seven.html

    two animals from the unclean catagory suggests male and female for further reproduction..I am guessing,though.

    good question,btw
  • at the end of the rainfall is what Moses (who wrote Genesis) meant when he was talking about the 40 days and how Noah opened the window, he simply reffered back to what he was writing about before in Genesis 7:4, after all doesnt when it rain we close our windows to stop the rain from coming in and when it stops raining, we open them.

    4)Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. (Gensis 8:4) I guess the useful link that Mozes provided would explain all the 7's, thanks Mozes.
    I guess when it comes to putting this in modern terms (its is just a generalisation and not the real date): 17th of July is when the ark rested on the tip of the mountains (considering the ark was a significant amount of its height underwater as every boat is)
    http://buoyancy8np.pbworks.com/f/1180117194/Ballast_tank_boat_cross_section.png
    notice the waterline in this picture

    5)And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.(Gensis 8:5)
    water evapouration happened till October and on the 1st of October** the rest of the mountains were seen by the human eye, because the waterline decreased.
    **I did not use real dates just generalisations to paint a clearer picture of the time frame.

    This is a good math equation. I can confidently say that the water evapouration rate and absorption rate over a period of 3 months is equal to the submerged height of the ark. anyone who is willing to do the math:
    this is the water evapouration rate equation: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/evaporation-water-surface-d_690.html and then implement the simple equation of s= d/t
    also keeping in mind the rate water absorption into the earth. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-waterabsorptiontest.html



  • By the Grace of the Holy Spirit i pray i can respond to your points, point by point

    1.in the 600th year of noahs life in the 2nd month, the 17th day it rained (gen 7:11)
    from day one to day forty it rained upon the earth. (Gensis 7:4)
    also from day one to day 150, the waters were on the earth. (Gensis 7:24)
    because from day 1 water is both prevailing and decreasing on the earth.
    its simply rained more than it drained simple....

    because it stopped raining on the 40th day this means that 110 days after the rain stopped water remained on the earth

    3. so for 110 days the water was also decreasing but nevertheless it remained
    4. in the 600th year in the 7th month, on the 7th day is of no relevance to your question because you don't know exactly the calender all we know is that the Ark was resting on mount ararat (Gen 8:4) which means that the ark was in a high place, though below was still flooded because in point 5 it says

    5.And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.(we dont know the length of a month for those days) (Gensis8:5) also it does not say the water was gone, only that the tops of the mountains were seen again the first thing you would expect to see is the tops of the mountain...yeah?

    6.at the end of forty days noah opened the window, the water was still on the earth from that point for at least 110 days because the Holy Bible says that in the 600th year of noahs life in the 2nd month on the 17th day the rain started (Gen 7:11) on the 150th day the ark rested on mount ararat, though all the mountain tops had not yet been seen (go to point 4) lastly in (Gen 8:14) it says in the 601st year in the 2nd month the 27th day the earth was dry and noah left the ark.

    so it seems noah was in the Ark for around one year, though this does not necessarily fit our understanding of a year, all this tells us is that months ranged from 7 days to 27 days, and that there is at least 10 months so a year could easily have been 150 odd days.

    on the 1st point

    7 clean x 2= 14
    2 unclean x 2= 4

    so thats simply alot of animals we can't know how many we in total because it doesnt say how many clean species there were and uncleans, so i must take it as it is written, though a more knowledgable person could answer your question

    I hope my attempted theology helped

    May God bless your heart during the fast and forevermore. Amen
  • I believe that God told him to take only 2 of each of the unclean animals because since they are unclean, Noah and his family couldnt eat from them during their stay in the arc. But God told him to take 7 of the clean animals, because they could eat them but at the same time leave a few alive to be able to procreate so the species wont go extinct
  • thanks sooooo much for all of u guys who replied
    you def answered all my questions

    God Bless you
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