ARK
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ARK
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Arithmetical <ProgreJJion, Arithmetical Proportion, Arithmetical Medium or Mean, J
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OrORTION.
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ARK, or Arc, or Arch, Areas, in Geometry, Aftro- riomy, &c. See Arch.
Ark, Arca, in the Scripture-Language, a kind of float- ing Veffel built by Noah, for the Preservation of the feveral Species of Animals, from the Deluge. See Deluge.
The Ark has afforded feveral Points of curious Enquiry among the Criticks and Naturalifts, relating to its Form, Capacity, Materials, Time of Building, &c.
Noah is computed to have been an hundred Tears in building the Ark, viz. from the Year of the World 1557, to the Flood, which happen'd in the Year 1656 : At leaft, this is the common Opinion of the Learned. Origen, lib. iv. Contra Cclf. S. Auguji. de Civit 1)ei, lib. xv. c. 27. and Contra Fauftin. lib. xii. c. 18. And in his ^uefl. on Gen, v. and xxiii. Rupert, lib. iv, in Gen. xx. affert as much ; and are followed by Saltan, lorniel, and Spondeus* — <Pel- letier of Rouen declares himfelt of the fame Opinion, in an exprefs DifTertation, 2)e Arca Nb# t printed in 1700.
Yet Berofus affirms, that Noah only began to build the Ark 78 Years before the Flood: Salomon Jarchi, on the other hand, will have it 120 Years in building; and 'Tan- ehima only 52. See the Texts, Gen. v. 35. Gen. vi. &c.
Fa. Foumier, in his Hydrography, gives into the Opinion of the Fathers 5 noting, that the only Hands employed in it were Noah and his three Sons. To thisPu-rpofe he alledges the Inftance of Archias of Corinth, who, with the Help of 300 Workmen, built Hiero's Great Ship in one Year. Add, that Noah's eldeft Son was not born till about the Time when the Ark was begun, and the younger, after ; fo that it was a long Time ere they could do their Father any Ser- vice. — However, for fo large a Building, a prodigious Num- ber of Trees muft have been required, which would employ a great Number of Workmen to fell and hew ; Were it poffible for three Men to have lain them ?
The Wood whereof the Ark was built, is called in Scrip- ture »sy "1SJ, etfegopher, Gopher Wood : And in the LXX. ft/A* nr^'yav At fquare Timbers. Onkelos and Jonathan render Gopher by 0*np, Kedros, Cedar : St. Jerom, in the Vulgate, by Ligna Laevigata, Planed Wood ; and elfe- where, Ligna Bituminata, q. d. Pitch'd Woods. Kimhi tranflates it, Wood proper to float $ Vatable, Light Wood, which fwims in the Water without corrupting : Junius, Ire- mellius, and BiixtOrf, a kind of Cedar, by the Greeks cal- led KspePsAdTtt ; Avsnarius and Munfter, Pine ; Fuller and Boehart, Cyprefs ; others, Box; others, Fir -^ Cafialio,Tur- pentine, &c. — -Pellctier prefers the Opinion of thofe who hold the Ark made of Cedar : His Reafons are, the Incor- ruptability of that Wood ; the great Plenty thereof in AJia, whence Herodotus and 1'heophraftus relate, that the Kings of Egypt and Syria built whole Fleets thereof, in lieu of Deal; and the common Tradition throughout the Eaft, im- ports, that the Ark is preferved entire to this Day on Mount Ararat. , ■
The Dimenfions of the Ark, as delivered by Mofes, are 300 Cubits in Length, 50 in Breadth, and 30 in Height; which, compared with the great Number of Things it was to contain, feems to many too fcanty. And hence an Ar- gument has been drawn againft the Authority of the Rela- tion.
To folve this Difficulty, many both of the antient Fathers and later Criticks, have been put to miferable Shifts. — Origen, St. Augujiin, and others, maintain, that by the Cubits herefpokeof, we are to underftand the Egyptian Ge- ometrical Cubit, equal, according to them, to 6 vulgar Cu- bits, or 9 Foot. But the Truth is, it does not appear there ever was any fuch Meafure as a Geometrical Cubit either among Egyptiajzs or Je-zvs. — Others account for it, by affert- ing the Stature of Mankind, in the firft Ages, to have been much greater than in our Days; and consequently the Cu- bit, which is taken from a Part of the human Body, pro- portionably larger. But this does not avail, fince the fame Reafon will infer an equal Augmentation of other Animals. —Others fuppofe the facred Cubit here fpoke of, which was a Hand's-breadth longer than the civil one : But this only affords a fmall Supply; befide, that the facred Cubit does not appear to have been ever ufed, except in facred Edi- fices, as the Temple and Tabernacle.
This Difficulty is much better folved by Buteo and Kir- cher, in Treatifes exprefs, de Area No*, wherein, iuppofing the common Cubit of a Foot and an half, they prove geo- metrically, that the Ark was abundantly fufficient for all the Animals fuppofed to be lodged therein. — Snellius computes the Ark to have been above half an Acre in Area : Cuneus, Buteo, and others, have alfo calculated the Capacity of the
Ark. Father Lamy fhews that it was no Foot longer than the Church of St. Mary of c Paris, and 1J4 Foot narrower; to which his Enghjh Tranllator adds, that it mult have been longer than St. PauCs Church in London, from Weft to Eaft, broader than that Church is high in the lnfide, and about 54 Foot In Height, our Meafure.
The Things contained in it were, one Pair of every Spe- cies of unclean Animals, and feven Pair of every Species of clean Animals, with Provifions for them all, during the whole Year.' — The former appears at firft View almoit in- finite, butif we come to a Calculus, the Number of Species of Animals will be found much fmaller than was imagined,; not amounting to 100 Species of Quadrupeds, nor 200 of Birds; out of which, in this Cafe, are to be excepted fuch Animals as can live in the Water. — Zoologifts ufually reckon but 170 Species in all ; and Bifhop Wiikius fhews, that only 72 of the quadruped Kind needed a Place in the Ark.
By the Defcription Mofes gives of the Ark, it appears to have been divided into three Stories, each 10 Cubits, or 15 Foot high; And it is agreed on, as moft probable, that the loweft Story was deftined for the Beafts, the middle- for the Food, and the upper for the Birds, with Noah and his Family ; each Story being fubdivided into different Apart- ments, Stalls, <&c. — Tho 1 Jofephus, Philo, and other Com- mentators, add a kind of fourth Story, under all the reft ^ being as it were, the Hold of the VeffeJ, to contain the Ba'llaft, and receive the Filth and Fasces of fo many Ani- mals.
'Drexelius makes 300 Apartments, Father Foumier 3335 the anonimous Author of the Queftions on Genefis, 400 .- Buteo , Temporarius, Arias Montanus, Hojlus, Wilkinsi Lamy, and others, fuppofe as many Partitions as there were different Sorts of Animals. — Pelletier only makes 72, viz. 35 for the Birds, and as many for the Beafts : His Reafori is, that if we fuppofe a greater Number, as 333 or 400 5 each of the eight Perfbns in the Ark muft have had 37, 41, or 50 Stalls to attend and cleanfe daily, which he thinks impoflible. But there is not much in this; to diminifli the Number of Stalls, without a Diminution of the Animals,. is vain; it being, perhaps, more difficult to take care of 300 Animals in 72 Stalls, than in 300. -
Buteo computes, that all the Animals contained in the Ark, could not be equal to 500 Horfes ; he even reduces the whole to the Dimenfions of 56" Pair of Oxen. Father Lamy enlarges it to 64. Pair, or 128 Oxen ; fo that fuppo- fing one Ox equal to two Horfes, if the Ark had Room for 256 Horfes, there muft have been Room for all the A.ni- mals. But the fame Author demonftrates, that one Floor would fuffice for 500 Horfes, allowing 9 fquare Feet to an Horfe.
As to the Food in the fecond Story, it is pbrerved by" Buteo from Columella, that 30. or 40 Pounds of Hay ordi- narily fuffices an Ox for a Day; and that a folid Cubit of Hay, as ufually preffed down in our Hay-racks, weighs about 40 Pound ; fo that a fquare Cubit of Hay is more than enough for one Ox one Day. — Now it appears that the fecond Story contains 150000 folid Cubits, which divided between zo6 Oxen, will afford each more Hay by two thirds, than; he can eat in a Year. —
Bifhop Wilkins computes all the carnivorous Animals equi- valent, as to the Bulk of their Bodies and their Food, to 27 Wolves ; and all the reft to 280 Beeves. For the former he allows 1825 Sheep/ and for the latter 109500 Cubits of Hay : All which will be eafily contained in the two firft Sto- ries, and a deal of Room to fpare. — As to the third Story, no Body doubts of its being fufficient for the Fowls, with Noah his Sons and Daughters. —
Upon the whole, the learned Bifhop remarks, that of the two, it appears much more difficult to affign a Number and Bulk of neccflary Things to anfwer the Capacity of the Ark, than to find fufficient Room for the feveral Species of Animals already known. — This he attributes fo the Imper- fection of our Lifts of Animals, efpecially thofe of the un- known Parts of the Earth ; adding, that the moft expert Mathematician at this Day, could not afEgn the Proportions of a Veffel better accommodated to the Purpofe, than is here done ; and hence concludes, that ' the Capacity of the ' Ark which had been made an Objection againft Scripture,
- ought to be efteemed a Confirmation of its divine Au-
' thority ; fince, in thofe ruder Ages, Men being lefs verfed
- in Arts and Philofophy, were more obnoxious to vulgar
- Prejudices than now ; fo that had it been an human Inven-
- tion, it would have been contrived according to thofe wild
- Apprehenfions which arife from a confufed and general
- View of Things; as much too big, as it has been repre-
- fented too little.—
Ark of the Covenant, in Scripture, is ufed for a kind of Cheft, wherein where kept the two Tables of Stone, where- on God had ingraven the ten Commandments given to Mofes on the Mount, and held in high Veneration among the Hebrews. See Covenant,
LI
The.
