Stairway To Heaven In Noah’s Ark
The story of Noah’s ark and the flood epic is one of the oldest nursery legends in the world and it has captivated the imaginations of children and adults alike throughout the ages. From childhood memories one may recollect that God sent the deluge to destroy all the evil people upon the earth. It is known that Noah and his family were saved by departing on a titanic ark with every species of animals and birds on board the floating zoo. The ark began its maiden voyage on the 17th day of the second month when the rain began and it lasted for the proverbial 40 days and 40 nights.
Noah's Ark by Edward Hicks (1846) (Public Domain)
Celestial Knowledge Of The Flood Saga
Some of the more precise details after that may be a little sketchy but the Book of Genesis tells that the waters started to rise on the earth over a period of 150 days. Few will remember hearing of so many days, but they may recall that the tops of the mountains finally disappeared below the waves. Perhaps children rub their sleepy eyes when they listen to how the ark docked on Mount Ararat and miss out on the fact that it was on the 17th day of the seventh month.
Noah’s ark seemed so real then right up to where the saga ended with a rainbow on the horizon. It was the ultimate image of a colourful finale but never did anyone realize that there was a magical formula of celestial knowledge of the heavens on display in the timing details of the flood saga. Those timing details listed particulars days and specific months together with the length of periods in days. It was very mysterious how the dates and periods were so precise as if they adhered to a deliberately planned timetable.
Noah by Lorenzo Monaco (circa 1370 –circa 1425 ) Metropolitan Museum of Art (CC0)
The Riddle Of Noah’s Age
The first sign that there was some time amiss in the flood story was with an anomaly with the ages of Noah and his son Shem. It stated in the Book of Genesis that Noah was 500 years old when he became the father of triplets, one of whom was Shem. It also outlined that the flood finished on the end of Noah’s 600th year. However, later in the story it stated that Noah’s son Shem became a father when he was 100 years old, which was listed as two years after the flood. That was fake news for Shem would have been 102 years old when it was two years after the flood. It appeared that the scribes had tempted one with an intellectual challenge where the episode of the flood contained possibly the first numerical riddle in written existence.
Ham sees his father, Noah, naked and drunk; Shem and Japheth. Etching by S. Mulinari after A. Sacchi. (Wellcome Images / CC BY-SA 4.0)
