Posted on 04/28/2007 10:48:09 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
SCHAGEN, Netherlands (AP) -- The massive central door in the side of Noah's Ark was thrown open Saturday -- you could say it was the first time in 4,000 years -- drawing a crowd of curious pilgrims and townsfolk to behold the wonder.
Of course, it's only a replica of the biblical Ark, built by Dutch creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.
Reckoning by the old biblical measurements, Johan's fully functional ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.
Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.
"The design is by my wife, Bianca," Huibers said. "She didn't really want me to do this at all, but she said if you're going to anyway, it should look like this."
A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine -- biblical scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been.
Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005.
On the uncovered top deck -- not quite ready in time for the opening -- will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats. And one camel.
Visitors on the first day were stunned.
-snip-
Huibers said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, where churchgoing has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years. He also plans to visit major cities in Belgium and Germany.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Thanks for the post
It’s beautiful. is he going to launch it?
I believe so, according to the article.
Notice that even in a story about a dedicated Christian building a replica Noah’s ark, they had to get their plug in for Al Gore and Gore-bull warming?
Am I wrong or did the Bible say it was Gopherwood?
I believe it does specify the wood to be used.
What is “Gopher Wood”?
The Hebrew word "gopher" is used only once in the Bible, in Genesis 6:14. God told Noah to "make yourself an ark of gopher wood." Because no one knows for certain what "gopher" means in this context, the King James Version and the New King James Version simply leave the word untranslated and say "gopher" wood.
Most modern English versions of the Bible translate it as "cypress." This is probably incorrect and is really only a guess supported by very weak evidence. Why cypress? In trying to solve the identity of "gopher wood," some guessed that a transliteration might be involved ("kupar" into "gopher"). Adam Clarke's Commentary says, "supposing the Greek word kuparissov, cypress, was formed from the Hebrew rpg, gopher; for take away the termination issov, and then gopher and kupar will have a near resemblance." Another supposed evidence for "cypress" is based on the fact that cypress trees are large and strong, and in the post-Flood earth, at least, once grew abundantly in Chaldea and Armenia. Armenia is where the ark is believed to have landed, in the mountains of Ararat.
Cypress is far from the only guess made by translators. Other trees and plants include pine, cedar, fir, ebony (Bockart), wicker (Geddes), juniper (Castellus), acacia (Religious Tract Society), boxwood, or slimed bulrushes (Dawson).
Geez, and all this time I thought it was made out of wooden gophers.
The 47-year-old from Schagen, 45km (30 miles) north of Amsterdam, plans to set sail in September through the interior waters of the Netherlands. Link
Weight it down, launch it at sea, let it drift and see how it handles. A floating museum on peaceful inland waters won’t be a true test. But it might still serve it’s purpose.
“14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
15And 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.
16A 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.”
Verily, were this ark finished with pitch, according to Biblical specs, it then were BLACK inside and out.
Yeah, he messed up his translation apparently.
Should be approximately 450 ft(L) x 75 ft(W) x 45 ft(H)
and it would be black, covered within and without by pitch.
Wikipedia
at this rate it’ll most likely be needed by someone... wonder what would drive a person to do this....
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