It is traditionally accepted that the resting place of the physical remains of Noah’s ark is on an unknown elevation of Mount Ararat which is located in Eastern Turkey, the northern neigbour of Syria. In our present day, there are scientists, and other interested parties, combing the mount in their attempt to discover even a trace of evidence of the legendary ocean-going vessel that saved civilization from annihilation from the catastrophic effects of a global flood 1656 years after the creation of Adam. I believe that that traditionally accepted location is erroneous. Let us reason from the Holy Scriptures.
Genesis 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. “The ark rested” or the ark settled down from being tossed about by the waves of the waters of the flood which now covered the earth; because, no part of the land was seen until “the tenth month (8:5)”. The place where the ark rested over was the mountains of Ararat. Scripture does not tell us that the ark rested on the physical surface of Mt. Ararat; but, over the mountains (note that the plural is used here) which were in the vicinity of Mt. Ararat. Water is fluid, that is, it is always in motion. It is likely that the ark had moved from its present location during the forthcoming three and one half months. Verse five further informs us that from “the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen”. It is a plausible argument, therefore, that the ark had moved to a distant vantage point. Let us advance to verse thirteen below to affirm or refute this conclusion.
8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year [of Noah’s life], in the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! It was the Year 1657. Now, Noah’s view is of the ground: that part of the surface that Noah could scan with his eyes for a distance as he looked outward from the ark. It is a plausible argument that as the waters abated the ark came to rest at the base of the mountains, perhaps, in a valley or on a plain. This would afford an easy exit of all the animals that Noah had brought with him. In this context, as one observes the topography of the region, it would be plausible to surmise that the area occupied by the modern day country of Azerbaijan would be the location where God would guide the ark; because, it has fertile slopes that provide grasses for grazing, and it is a fruit-bearing region. Thus, it is a region that is capable of sustaining both human and animal life. And, being among the lowlands, it would afford easy access to both man and beast. This would be important, because the animals were nine months in their beds and they would have succumbed to muscular atrophy. In this weakened state, they would not be able to navigate over difficult terrain safely, and some animals would not have had the natural capacity to navigate difficult terrain due to their anatomical design. A further historical note, if, perhaps, God left it to His pleasure to humour the observer, Azerbaijan is next to the country of Armenia. Armenia, in A.D. 301, was the first country to declare Christianity as its national religion. As there were no national borders after the cessation of the flood, Armenia and Azerbaijan were one within the same geographical region. Here civilization may have had its second beginning in its development in or near the location where Christianity received its first national recognition.
Genesis 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. “The ark rested” or the ark settled down from being tossed about by the waves of the waters of the flood which now covered the earth; because, no part of the land was seen until “the tenth month (8:5)”. The place where the ark rested over was the mountains of Ararat. Scripture does not tell us that the ark rested on the physical surface of Mt. Ararat; but, over the mountains (note that the plural is used here) which were in the vicinity of Mt. Ararat. Water is fluid, that is, it is always in motion. It is likely that the ark had moved from its present location during the forthcoming three and one half months. Verse five further informs us that from “the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen”. It is a plausible argument, therefore, that the ark had moved to a distant vantage point. Let us advance to verse thirteen below to affirm or refute this conclusion.
8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year [of Noah’s life], in the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! It was the Year 1657. Now, Noah’s view is of the ground: that part of the surface that Noah could scan with his eyes for a distance as he looked outward from the ark. It is a plausible argument that as the waters abated the ark came to rest at the base of the mountains, perhaps, in a valley or on a plain. This would afford an easy exit of all the animals that Noah had brought with him. In this context, as one observes the topography of the region, it would be plausible to surmise that the area occupied by the modern day country of Azerbaijan would be the location where God would guide the ark; because, it has fertile slopes that provide grasses for grazing, and it is a fruit-bearing region. Thus, it is a region that is capable of sustaining both human and animal life. And, being among the lowlands, it would afford easy access to both man and beast. This would be important, because the animals were nine months in their beds and they would have succumbed to muscular atrophy. In this weakened state, they would not be able to navigate over difficult terrain safely, and some animals would not have had the natural capacity to navigate difficult terrain due to their anatomical design. A further historical note, if, perhaps, God left it to His pleasure to humour the observer, Azerbaijan is next to the country of Armenia. Armenia, in A.D. 301, was the first country to declare Christianity as its national religion. As there were no national borders after the cessation of the flood, Armenia and Azerbaijan were one within the same geographical region. Here civilization may have had its second beginning in its development in or near the location where Christianity received its first national recognition.
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