GOD THE CREATOR #39
Judgment: Noah Ordered by God to Make An Ark of Gopherwood – Lesson 39
Genesis 6: 9-10,13 KJV 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Genesis 6:14 14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
The word gofar (Hebrew) or gopher is used only once in the Bible. It is not known for certain what this wood was, but many modern scholars consider gopherwood as cypress wood because of its extreme durability. Some Bible versions translate the word, but the KJV leaves it untranslated.
The word for “pitch” is different from that used in other places in the Old Testament. It is equivalent to the Hebrew kaphar (“to cover”) and, in the noun form, means simply a “covering.”
Pitch (kaphar) is also the regular Hebrew word for “atonement,” as written in Leviticus 17: 11, for example: 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
In essence, this is the first mention of “atonement” in the Bible.
Whatever the exact nature of this “pitch” may have been (probably a resinous substance of some kind) it sufficed as a perfect covering for the Ark, to keep out the waters of judgment. As the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, provides for the perfect atonement for our souls.
Genesis 6:15 15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
The Ark is near the maximum size that is known to be possible for a wooden vessel. How big was the Ark? To get the 510 feet (155 m) a cubit of 20.4 inches (51.8 cm) is used.
The length of the ark was to be 300 cubits equaling approximately 510 feet. About the size of two football fields. Its width 50 cubits equaling approximately 85 feet and its height 30 cubits equaling approximately 51 feet.
Genesis 6:16 16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
Noah was instructed to make a window that was finished to 1 cubit from above. I have included a discussion and a sketch from Answers in Genesis that provides for what this window (noon light) may have looked like.
From Answers in Genesis – A Cubit Upward and Above
Any opening on the deck of a ship needs a wall (coaming) to prevent water from flowing in, especially when the ship rolls. In the illustration included, the window “ends a cubit upward and above,” as described in Genesis 6:16. The central position of the skylight is chosen to reflect the idea of a “noon light.” This also means that the window does not need to be exactly one cubit. Perhaps the skylight had a transparent roof (even more a “noon light”), or the skylight roof could be opened (which might correspond to when “Noah removed the covering of the ark”). While variations are possible, a window without coaming is not the most logical solution.
Noah was directed to make rooms (also can be referred to as nests) and a lower, second and third deck inside the ark to make space to house, according to its kind, land animals and birds, storage and some living space for Noah and his wife and their three sons and their wives (8 people).
Next week we will continue starting with Genesis 6:17 17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.