This is the well-known story about Noah and his ark, the secret of salvation, which is hidden in the Bible. The history of humanity from Adam to Noah, which, unfortunately, ended tragically for most people.

So who is Noah? What did he do to deserve salvation? What qualities did he have? Is he special or not?

We can find the answer to all these questions by studying the Bible and looking at the whole picture. The Lord, as an artist, draws on the canvas of time his plan - his plan for man.

God's Plan

The Lord created the first man in His image and likeness. The Creator gave Adam possession of the whole earth to rule it, clothed him with God's glory and placed him in the most beautiful place, “Eden” (Genesis 1:26).

But soon, disobedience to God led man to sin, expulsion from the garden and loss of close fellowship with God. Humanity subsequently became fruitful and multiplied no longer with the righteousness of God, but with a sinful nature that resisted the ways of the Creator. Disobedience grew from generation to generation.

Man began to resemble the Creator less and less. Everyone had free will in thoughts and actions, choosing their own path.

But without God’s guidance, everyone’s life is doomed to a pitiful semblance of a “happy” life. Position, status, finances, fame, appreciation from others, power - all this does not give and does not guarantee a person real happiness, peace, tranquility and, even more so, salvation.

Biblical story of Noah

In the 182nd year of his life, Lamech, Noah's father, gave birth to a son. They gave him a name meaning “comfort” (Gen. 5:29). Nothing is said about Noah's upbringing, but it can be assumed that he grew up in reverence and respect for the God about whom his father spoke.

This is evidenced by the fact that Noah communicated with the Creator. The Lord warned him about what He wanted to do, how and what size to build the ark, etc. Scripture characterizes Noah as a righteous man and blameless in his generation, who walked with God (Gen. 6:9).

He was obedient to the word of the Lord, not only in the construction of the ark, but also in life, which pleased God. Noah’s amazing fortitude, courage and firmness speak of his trust in God, love and respect for the Creator.

Using common sense, Noah did the right thing - this does not mean that he did not make mistakes, but the life he lived speaks of a desire to please God with all his might.

What surrounded Noah? The absolute opposite. People living at that time did not care to have God in their minds, they were disobedient to His commandments, self-willed, evil, arrogant, and lacked moral purity (Gen. 6:5-7).

The Lord repented

In the Bible we see that God repented for creating man (Gen. 6:5-7). For evil deeds, God's judgment came - the flood. No one escaped punishment except Noah and his family. A sin that corrupted society - captured, enslaved and morally corrupted to such an extent that it could not be restored. Society is thoroughly “rotten”.

Man was able to choose to live the way he wanted, to listen or not to listen to God. The result of his choice is the life he chose.

The Lord has nothing to do with sin and does not encourage it in any way. The Creator is righteous and blameless, kind and merciful, does good and wants His creation to also resemble Him.

In the midst of the debauchery of that time, Noah maintained his faith in the Creator. At the age of 500 he had three children: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Noah subsequently predicted the future of his sons - Shem would continue to serve God, and Ham would be in slavery to his brothers.

Construction of the Ark

When Noah turned 600 years old, God spoke to him that he wanted to destroy everything living on earth, from people to animals. The Creator made a covenant with Noah that he and his family—his wife and sons and their wives—would enter a structure called the ark (Gen. 6:18).

The Lord told us how to build it and what size it should be. The Ark resembled a three-story ship, in which Noah's family, all types of animals, birds, mammals, and food supplies for everyone should fit. The ark was the first prototype of the ship (Gen. 6:14-16).

It is very likely that they laughed at Noah and considered him abnormal, but despite all the humiliation, he continued to build. When the ark was ready, God Himself closed the door of the ship of salvation (Gen. 7:16), after which the flood began.

The water poured out for 40 days, rising both from underground and in streams from the sky, reaching a level higher than the tops of the highest mountains (15 cubits = approximately 675 cm). No one could escape (Genesis 7:19-21).

After saving Noah and his family, God made a covenant with him that he would never again bring a flood on the earth (Genesis 8:21-22). The sign of this covenant was the rainbow in the sky, which appears to this day after rain.

Who can be saved?

God's plan continued in the person of the righteous Noah and his family. Therefore, Noah became the starting point for the education of humanity - those saved in the ark were commanded to be fruitful and multiply. All the days of Noah were 950 years.

A good, happy life without the Creator is impossible. Despite this, we see that people today choose to live without God.

The Bible says that as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the last times.

But as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also at the coming of the Son of Man: for as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they thought not until the flood came. and did not destroy them all, so will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matt. 24:37-39).

The Ark of Salvation of the Old Testament is a type of the Christ of the New Testament. Sin itself cannot be destroyed or cured; only God can do this. The Lord wants and has always wanted to communicate with His creation, but man, unfortunately, does not always want to communicate with the Creator.

The stories of the great empires of the past: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and Persia are strongly connected with biblical characters directly related to the sons of Noah Published on the web portal

Secular history provides ample evidence that the survivors of Noah's Flood were real historical figures, and their names are indelibly imprinted on many events and things of the ancient world. When Noah and his family left the Ark, they were the only people on Earth. It was the three sons of Noah - Shem, Ham, Japheth and their wives who were to repopulate the earth through their descendants after the Flood.

Genesis 10 talks about Noah's 16 grandchildren. God has left us with ample evidence that these grandsons of Noah actually lived, that their biblical names are their real names, and that after the Babylonian dispersion (Genesis 11) their descendants spread throughout the earth and gave rise to the various peoples of the ancient world. The first generations of people after the Flood lived long lives, some of them outlived their children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. This made them stand out a lot.

They were the heads of clans that grew and became large groups of people in their respective regions. Here's what happened:

1. People in different areas were called by the name of their common ancestor.
2. They named their land, and often large cities and rivers, after him.
3. Sometimes people slipped into the cult of ancestor worship. And when this happened, it was natural for them to call their god by the name of their common ancestor. Or they revered their long-living ancestor as a god.

All this means is that the evidence of history is preserved in such a way that it simply cannot be lost, and human ingenuity cannot simply be erased. Let's take a closer look at this evidence.

Seven sons of Japheth

Genesis 10:1-2 says:

“This is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth. After the flood, their children were born. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. Sons of Gomer: Askenaz, Riphat and Togarmah"

The first grandson of Noah mentioned in Scripture was Homer. He was the progenitor of the Cimmerians, who originally settled on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Ezekiel wrote that the descendants of Gomer, as well as the descendants of Togarmah (son of Gomer), lived in the northern reaches (Ezekiel 38:6). There is an area in modern Turkey that in New Testament times was called Galatia. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the people who in his time (93 AD) were called Galatians or Gauls were formerly called Gomerites.

They moved west to the area now called France and Spain. For many centuries, France was called Gaul, named after the descendants of Homer. Northwestern Spain is still called Galicia to this day.

Some of the Gomerites moved further into the area now called Wales. Historian Davies reports the traditional Welsh belief that the descendants of Homer "arrived in the land of the British Isle from France, about 300 years after the Flood."2 He also writes that the Welsh language is called Gomeragh (after their ancestor Homer).

Other clan members settled in areas along the route of settlement, including Armenia. The sons of Gomer were “Askenaz, and Riphat, and Togarmah” (Genesis 10:3). The Encyclopedia Britannica says that Armenians traditionally consider themselves descendants of Togarma and Askenaz.

The borders of ancient Armenia extended into the territory of Turkey. The name Turkey probably comes from the name Togarm. Others moved to Germany. Ashkenaz is the name of Germany in Hebrew.

The next grandson mentioned in Scripture is Magog. According to Ezekiel, the descendants of Magog lived in the northern lands (Ezekiel 38:15, 39:2). Josephus writes that those whom he calls Magogitians were called Scythians by the Greeks.

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the ancient name of the region that today includes part of Romania and Ukraine was Scythia.

The next grandson is Madai. Together with Elam, the son of Shem, Madai is the ancestor of modern Iranians. Josephus says that the Greeks called the descendants of Madai the Medes. Whenever the Medes are mentioned in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word Madai (medai) is used. After the reign of King Cyrus, the Medes are always mentioned (except once) together with the Persians. These two peoples became one kingdom, ruled by one law - “the law of the Medes and Persians” (Dan. 6:8, 12, 15). Later they were simply called Persians. Since 1935, they began to be called in accordance with the name of their country - Iranians. The Medes also "settled in India."

Javan is the Hebrew name for Greece. The names Greece, Greece, or Greeks appear five times in the Old Testament, and always in the form of the Hebrew word Javan. Daniel speaks of “the king of Greece” (Daniel 8:21), which literally means “the king of Javan.” The names of Javan's sons were Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim (Genesis 10:4). All of them had family ties with the Greek people. The Aeolians (an ancient Greek people) got their name from Japheth's grandson Elisha. Tarshish or Tarsus was located in an area called Cilicia (modern Türkiye).

The Encyclopedia Britannica states that Kittim is the biblical name for Cyprus.6 The Greeks worshiped Jupiter under the name Jupiter Dodeneus, who received his name from the fourth son of Javan (Dodim). The name Jupiter comes from the name Japheth. His oracle was located in the city of Dodona.

The next grandson is Tubal. Ezekiel mentions him along with Gog and Meshech (Ezekiel 39:1). Tiglath-pileser I, king of Assyria, reigning around 1100 BC, names the descendants of this grandson as Tabali. Josephus called them Tobelites, who later became known as Iberians.

“In the time of Josephus, the Romans called this territory Iberia. Iberia was located where Georgia is today, the capital of which to this day bears the name of Tubal - Tbilisi. From here, having crossed the Caucasus Mountains, the people moved further to the northeast, calling the Tobol River after their tribe, and hence the name of the famous city of Tobolsk.”

Meshech, the name of Noah's next grandson, is the ancient name of the city of Moscow. Moscow is both the capital of Russia and the region that surrounds the city. One of the geographical areas, the Meshchera Lowland, is still called by the name of Meshekha, having undergone virtually no changes over the centuries.

According to Josephus, the descendants of Thirasan were called Tyrians. The Greeks changed their name and they became known as Thracians.

Thrace stretched from Macedonia in the south to the Danube River in the north and to the Black Sea in the east. The territories of Yugoslavia known to us belonged to this area. The World Encyclopedia says: “The people of Thrace were brutal Indo-Europeans who loved to fight and plunder.”

The descendants of Firas worshiped him under the name Turas, that is, Thor - the god of thunder.

Four sons of Ham

Next come the four sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Puth and Canaan (Genesis 10:6). The descendants of Ham mainly populated the southwestern part of Asia and Africa. The Bible often speaks of Africa as the land of Ham (Ps. 104:23, 27; 106:22).

The name of Noah's grandson Cush is a Hebrew word for ancient Ethiopia. The word Ethiopia in the Bible is always, without exception, a translation of the Hebrew word Cush. Josephus, who calls them Hus, wrote that “even in our days the Ethiopians themselves call themselves Husseins (Hussians), as the inhabitants of Asia also call them.”

Noah's next grandson is Mizraim. Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt. The name Egypt appears hundreds of times in the Old Testament and (with one exception) is always a translation of the word Mizraim. For example, at the burial site of Jacob, the Canaanites saw the crying of the Egyptians and named the place Abel Mizraim, which means the crying of the Egyptians (Genesis 50:11).

The stories of the great empires of the past: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and Persia are strongly connected with biblical characters directly related to the sons of Noah. The origins of most tribes and peoples can be traced back to the sons of Noah - and this can be easily verified by examining their family tree

Fut is the name of the next grandson - the Hebrew name for Libya. This ancient name appears three times in the Old Testament. The ancient Fut River was located in Libya. By the time Daniel lived, the name had been changed to Livia. Josephus says: “Futians inhabited Libya and called the inhabitants of the country Futians after themselves.”

Canaan - the next grandson of Noah - is the Hebrew name for the territory that was later called Palestine by the Romans, i.e. modern territory of Israel and Jordan. It is worth saying a few words about the descendants of Ham (Genesis 10:14-18). They were: Philistae, who is undoubtedly the ancestor of the Philistines (from whom the name of Palestine was derived), Sidon, the founder of the ancient city named after him, and Hitt, the founder of the ancient Hittite Empire.

Canaan is also spoken of in Genesis 10:15-18 as the progenitor of the Jebusites (Jebus is the ancient name of Jerusalem - Judges 19:10), the Amorites, the Gergesites, the Hivites, the Arkeites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites and the Himathites - the ancient peoples who inhabited the earth Canaan. The most famous descendant of Ham was Nimrod, the founder of Babylon, as well as Erech, Akkad and Chalneh in the land of Shinar (Babylonia).

Five sons of Shem

And finally, the sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram (Genesis 10:22). Elam is the ancient name of Persia, which itself is the ancient name of Iran. Before the reign of King Cyrus, the people who lived here were called Elamites, they are even mentioned several times under this name in the New Testament. In Acts 2:9, the Jews from Persia who were present on the Day of Pentecost are referred to as Elamites. Thus, the Persians are descendants of both Elam, the son of Shem, and Madai, the son of Japheth (see above).

Since the 1930s, they have called their land Iran. It is very interesting to note that the word "Aryan", which so fascinated Adolf Hitler, is a form of the word "Iran". Hitler wanted to create a pure Aryan “race” consisting of superhumans. But the term “Aryan” itself denotes a mixed line of Semites and Japhetites!

Assur is the Hebrew word for Assyria. Assyria was one of the great ancient empires. Whenever the words Assyria or Assyrian are found in the Old Testament, they are translated from the word Assur. Assur was one of the first people to be deified and worshiped by his own descendants.

“Throughout the entire existence of Assyria, i.e. before 612 BC, reports of battles, diplomatic and foreign relations were read aloud, referring to the image of Assur; all the Assyrian kings believed that they wore their crown only with the divine permission of the spirit of Assur"

Arphaxad was the progenitor of the Chaldeans. This fact "is confirmed by the Hurrian (Nuzi) tablets, where his name appears as Ariphurra - the founder of Chaldea." His descendant, Eber, passed on his name to the Jewish people through the Eber-Pelek-Raghab-Serukh-Nachor-Terah-Abram line (Genesis 11:16-26).

Eber's other son, Joktan, had 13 sons (Genesis 10:26_30), all of whom settled in Arabia. Lud was the ancestor of the Lydians. Lydia was located in what is today Western Türkiye. The ancient capital of Lydia was the city of Sardis. One of the seven churches of Asia was located at Sardis (Rev 3:1).

Aram is the Hebrew name for Syria. Every time the word Syria appears in the Old Testament, know that this word is translated from the word Aram. The Syrians call themselves Aramaic, and their language is called Aramaic. Until the expansion of the Greek Empire, Aramaic was the international language (2 Kings 18:26ff). When Jesus hung nailed to the cross and spoke the words: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” (Mark 15:34), He spoke in Aramaic, the language of the majority of the people.

Conclusion

We've only talked briefly about the 16 grandchildren of Noah, but enough has been said to show that all these people actually lived, that they were exactly what the Bible says they are, and that they and their descendants are real, recognizable characters in the pages. stories. The Bible, far from being a collection of myths and legends, is the only key to the history of the earliest eras of our world.

One of the most remarkable and at the same time terrifying stories in the Bible is when a flood occurred on earth, taking away many lives.

The scale of this disaster makes us wonder about its causes. Life is so fragile and precious that it is worth preserving what the Creator has entrusted to us.

After all, according to the Bible, we are created in the image and likeness of God. We are creatures who are like Our Creator and created to do good works.

So why did the flood happen? Why were only eight souls saved, what made them special? What role did Noah and his children play in human history?

Cause of the flood

The only reason for the flood is that man allowed himself to be corrupted by sin. The earth was filled with atrocities, and disobedience to the Creator led to the fall of all mankind.

Man himself decided who to serve, who to listen to and how to live, since God gave everyone choice and free will.

The Bible says that every intent of the thoughts of man's heart is always evil (Genesis 6:5). Society has descended to the very bottom of perversion; life is worthless. The depravity of man had reached its limit - such concepts as kindness, decency, mercy, meekness were completely absent.

The Lord repented that he had created man and was grieved in His heart. The Creator decided to destroy His creation and, along with it, all animals, birds and reptiles.

Only eight souls were saved (Noah, his wife and three sons with their wives) and animals of different pairs.

Why Noah and his children

The answer is simple. Noah was the only righteous and blameless man to walk with God (Gen. 6:9). This means that Noah's thoughts were pure, without any evil thoughts.

The Bible talks about how he loved, honored and respected the Creator - his obedience to God was great. This connection with God helped to cope with sin, to be who he was.

Noah had three sons: Shem, Japheth, Ham. It can be assumed that Noah raised his children in reverence, respect and obedience to the Creator. But, unfortunately, righteousness and integrity are not inherited - everyone chooses for themselves whether to be a good or a bad person.

Sim

So, Shem, which means “name,” is the firstborn of Noah. He is the only son who followed his father's example. The descendants of Shem worshiped the Lord, revered and respected the Creator.

This belongs to the race from which, according to the flesh, Jesus Christ comes. The same Christ who will take away the sins of the whole world will be crucified and resurrected.

The descendants of Shem are Jews, Arabs, and Assyrians. His sons: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, Aram (Genesis 10:21-22).

Japheth

Japheth is the second son of Noah, which means "extension." Japheth's descendants settled Europe.

His sons - Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, Firas (Genesis 10:2) became the ancestors of the tribes and peoples of Rus', Ugra, Lithuania, Prussians, Varangians, Romans, Germans, etc.

Ham

Ham is the third son of Noah, and means "hot." The descendants of Ham are the peoples of North and East Africa, the Egyptians, Libyans, Ethiopians, Phoenicians, Philistines, etc.

The story of the Bible describes how Ham did not show due respect to his father, for which Noah cursed Ham's son Canaan, predicting his future (Genesis 9:18-27): Canaan will be a slave to his brothers, which subsequently happened.

The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Puth, Canaan (Gen. 10:6).

Who can be saved?

From the sons of Noah the whole earth was populated, whose descendants we are. Just as from Adam the earth was populated by people before the flood, so from Noah the settlement began right up to the present day.

This terrible flood will not happen again - this is what the Lord promised by concluding a covenant with Noah, evidence of which is a rainbow in the sky.

The flood is a prototype of the end times. People will behave as they did in the time of Noah: they will love money (which is the root of all evil), they will be angry, selfish, proud, arrogant, slanderous, ungrateful, cruel, and the list goes on for a long time.

In a word, their thoughts and desires will be evil at all times. And this life is a dead end.

Salvation is available to absolutely everyone who believes in Him (John 3:16). Although the Lord repented that he created man, He still loves him.

Loves you at all times, reader. If you can understand this, you will see the door of salvation.

The release of Hollywood with its interpretation of biblical events, which is very far from the original, means the creation in modern mass culture of a distorted image of the Old Testament patriarch, whom the Orthodox Church reveres as a saint. Therefore, I would like to remind you of what the real Noah was like, what is known about him from the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition. And it must be said that a lot is known, and he was certainly an outstanding figure.

Chapters six through nine of Genesis are devoted to the life of Noah. His name appears in many other places in the Bible. Thus, in the book of the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord mentions Noah among the three greatest righteous people of ancient times, along with Job and Daniel (Ezek. 14:13–14, 20). In the book of the prophet Isaiah, God mentions His covenant with Noah as an example of an unchangeable promise (Isaiah 54:8–9).

In the Book of Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, the forefather is praised: “Noah turned out to be perfect, righteous; in times of anger he was a propitiation; therefore he became a remnant on the earth when the flood came” (Sir.44:16-17). In the third book of Ezra he is called the one from whom “all the righteous came” (3 Ezra 3:11). And in the book of Tobit, Noah is mentioned among the ancient saints who should be imitated (Tob. 4:12).

Noah is mentioned repeatedly in the New Testament. The Lord Jesus Christ refers to his story as very real and uses it to explain what will happen before the end of our world (Matthew 24:37-39). The Apostle Paul cites Noah as an example of a true believer (Heb. 11:7). In turn, the Apostle Peter mentions the events associated with Noah and the flood as proof that God does not leave the sinner without reward and does not leave the righteous without help and salvation (2 Peter 2:5,9).

According to St. Augustine, in the story of Noah, “no one should think that all this was written for the purpose of deception; or that in the story one must look only for historical truth, without any allegorical meanings; or, on the contrary, that all this did not really happen, but that these were just verbal images.”

So, let's look at what and why happened in the time of Noah and what spiritual significance it has.

According to the testimony of St. John, thanks to such a prophecy, “this child, growing little by little, served as a lesson for everyone who saw him... this man, who lived before the eyes of everyone, reminded everyone of the wrath of God.”

From the Bible, all that is known about the first five hundred years of Noah’s life is that during this period he married and had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth (Gen. 5:32). Saint Cyril of Alexandria writes that Noah “attracted general attention, was very famous and famous.”

During the life of Noah, “the wickedness of men was great on earth, and every thought of the thoughts of their hearts was evil continually” (Gen. 6:5), “for they sinned not only at times, but constantly and at every hour, not by day.” , never ceasing to fulfill your evil thoughts at night.” However, the Old Testament patriarch differed from his contemporaries: “But Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8). Why? Because “Noah was a righteous man and blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9).

Saint John Chrysostom notes the main personality trait of Noah - unprecedented firmness and determination on the path of virtue: “how devoted this righteous man was to virtue, when among so many people, with great strength striving for wickedness, he alone walked the opposite path, preferring virtue - and there was no unanimity , not such a great multitude of evil people stopped him on the path of good... Imagine the extraordinary wisdom of the righteous man, when, among such unanimity of evil people, he could avoid infection and not suffer any harm from them, but retained firmness of spirit and avoided sinful unanimity with them ".

A truly unbending will was required in order to be alone against the whole world, especially if you consider that “for his determination to strive in virtue in spite of everyone, Noah endured great reproach and ridicule, since all the wicked usually always mock those who decide to withdraw from wickedness and cling to virtues."

The holy forefather was not indifferent to the plight of his contemporaries: “during all this time he preached to all people and urged them to give up wickedness,” but no one responded or came to their senses, and in response to his preaching he received new ridicule.

And “Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9), that is, he conformed all his actions, aspirations and thoughts to His will, remembering that God sees and knows everything. So Noah “was able to neglect and rise above such a great multitude of those who mocked him, attacked him, reviled him, and dishonored him... He constantly looked at the never-slumbering Eye of God and directed the gaze of his soul towards it; therefore, I no longer cared about all these reproaches, as if they had never happened.”

When Noah was five hundred years old, he received a revelation from God: “The end of all flesh is come before Me, for the earth is filled with their evildoings; and behold, I will destroy them from the earth. Make yourself an ark... And behold, I will bring a flood of water on the earth... everything that is on the earth will lose life. But I will establish My covenant with you, and you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives will come into the ark with you” (Genesis 6:13–14, 17–18). The Lord also commanded Noah to bring into the ark pairs of all animals, birds and reptiles (and seven clean species of livestock and birds), and stock up on food for himself and for them. “And Noah did everything: as [the Lord] God commanded him, so he did” (Gen. 6:22).

It took Noah a hundred years to build the ark. “Noah’s work became known throughout the entire universe, and his words were transmitted everywhere that such and such a man was building a ship of extraordinary size and talking about a flood that would cover the whole earth. Many came from afar to look at this ship in progress and listen to the sermon to Noah. The Man of God, urging them to repentance, preached to them about the approaching flood vengeance on sinners. That is why he was named by the Holy Apostle Peter preacher of truth(2 Peter 2:5)."

If Noah’s contemporaries had repented and corrected their lives, they could have averted punishment from themselves, just as the Ninevites did when they believed Jonah’s three-day sermon. However, “the people did not repent, despite the fact that Noah, by his holiness, served as a model for his contemporaries, and with his righteousness he preached to them about the flood for a whole hundred years, they even laughed at Noah, who informed them that all generations of the living would come to him to seek salvation in the ark creatures, and they said: “How will the beasts and birds come, scattered throughout all the countries?”

And so, when Noah was six hundred years old, God said to him: “You and all your family go into the ark, for I have seen you righteous before Me in this generation... and take every clean beast... also from the birds of the air... to preserve a tribe for all the earth, for in seven days I will cause rain to fall on the earth for forty days and forty nights; And I will destroy everything that exists that I have made from the face of the earth” (Genesis 7:1–4).

“And Noah, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, went into the ark...” (Gen. 7:7). According to St. John Chrysostom, the members of Noah’s family “although they were far inferior to the righteous in virtue, they were also alien to the excessive wickedness of their corrupt contemporaries.” They were among the saved because they believed Noah’s preaching and obeyed him, unlike Lot’s sons-in-law, who did not believe the same preaching of their relative and died along with all of Sodom: “And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were taking for himself his daughters, and said: Arise, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But it seemed to his sons-in-law that he was joking” (Gen. 19:14). In addition, according to Chrysostom, the salvation of family members was a reward from God to Noah for his righteousness.

“On that very day, elephants began to come from the east, monkeys and peacocks from the south, other animals gathered from the west, others hurried to come from the north. The lions left their oak groves, fierce animals came out of their lairs, the animals that lived on the mountains gathered from there. Noah’s contemporaries flocked to such a new spectacle, not for repentance, but to enjoy seeing how lions entered the ark before their eyes, oxen rushed after them without fear, seeking refuge with them, wolves and sheep, hawks and doves entered together.” .

St. Filaret of Moscow indicates that “the longitude of the ark was more than 500, the latitude was more than 80 and the height was more than 50 feet,” that is, the ark was approximately 152 meters long, 25 meters wide and 15 meters high - this size was quite enough to accommodate animals, birds and reptiles. “Experts of nature find that all the genera of animals that were supposed to be in Noah’s ark extend only to three hundred or a little more. Of these, no more than six are larger than a horse; few are equal to him."

After Noah, along with his family and animals, entered the ark, by the mercy of God, the time of the flood was postponed for another week: “God gave people a hundred years to repent while the ark was being built, but they did not come to their senses. He gathered animals that had never been seen before, but the people did not want to repent... Even after Noah and all the animals entered the ark, God delayed for another seven days, leaving the door of the ark open... but Noah's contemporaries... were not convinced to leave the wicked their affairs."

The Lord Jesus Christ testifies that Noah’s contemporaries carelessly continued their lives, with ordinary everyday activities: “In the days before the flood they ate, they drank, they married and were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they did not think until the flood came and He did not destroy them all” (Matthew 24:37–38).

And so “after seven days the waters of the flood came to the earth... all the sources of the great deep opened up... and rain poured on the earth for forty days and forty nights... the water increased and greatly multiplied on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters. And the water on the earth increased exceedingly, so that all the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered... And every creature that was on the surface of the earth lost its life; from man to cattle, and creeping things, and birds of the air - everything was destroyed from the earth, only Noah remained and what was with him in the ark. And the waters increased on the earth for an hundred and fifty days” (Genesis 7:10–12, 18–19, 23–24).

Saint John Chrysostom draws attention to the fact that the water rose gradually for forty days before everyone died, and asks: “Why is this so? Couldn't God, if He wanted, bring all the rain in one day? What am I saying - in one day? In an instant. But He does this with intention... Out of His great goodness, He wanted at least some of them to come to their senses and avoid ultimate destruction, seeing before their eyes the death of their neighbors and the disaster threatening them.” Saint Philaret also speaks about this: “The forty days of the beginning flood were the last gift of God’s patience for some sinners, who, even at the sight of their well-deserved execution, could feel their guilt and cry out to God’s mercy.”

And this happened - many people of the former world, having seen with their own eyes how Noah’s prediction was coming true, remembered his preaching and only now, in the last days of their lives, they repented to God and humbly accepted death from the flood as a well-deserved punishment for their sins. Thanks to this, albeit belated, conversion, Noah’s contemporaries found themselves among those dead ancients to whose souls the preaching of Christ was addressed when He descended with His human soul into hell after death on the cross, as the Apostle Peter testifies to this: “Christ... was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, by which He went down and preached to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient to God’s long-suffering that awaited them, in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved from the water” ( 1 Peter 3:18–20).

Thus, the global flood was not only an act of punishment for sins, but also O to a greater extent, the saving action of God, since the people who lived then brought themselves to such hardness of heart that only the contemplation of the destruction of the whole world and the awareness of their imminent death could awaken their hearts and, through repentance, save them from eternal death. Those of them who sincerely repented in those forty days and nights and turned to God subsequently found themselves among the souls of Old Testament believers saved by Christ from hell.

This was a blessing even for those who did not want to repent - with this last resort it was possible to “tear away incorrigible sinners from sin, who every day inflict new wounds on themselves and make their ulcers incurable.”

The flood also had a beneficial meaning for subsequent humanity - “it was necessary to exterminate them and destroy their entire race, like unusable leaven, so that they would not become teachers of wickedness for subsequent generations.” The flood interrupted both the tribe of Cain and all other clans that deviated into evil. God made righteous Noah the founder of a new humanity. And if even despite the fact that everyone now living has as their ancestor a great righteous man, so many have turned to sin, then what would be the spread of evil on earth if the majority of humanity were the descendants of those clans rooted in vice?

However, not only people died in the flood, but also all creatures living on land. Saint Ambrose of Milan writes: “What have the foolish creatures done wrong? They were created for man's sake; and after the destruction of man, for whose sake they were created, they should also be destroyed: after all, the one who would use them would no longer exist.” And Chrysostom explains it this way: “Just as during the pious life of man and creation participates in human well-being, according to the word of Paul (see: Rom. 8:21), so now, when man must suffer punishment for his many sins and undergo the final destruction, and with it livestock, creeping things, and birds are subject to the flood that is about to cover the entire universe,” since they share their fate with the one who is their head. And just as many animals shared death with many sinful people, so few animals shared salvation in the ark with a few righteous people. In addition, if, with the death of almost all of humanity, God had preserved all animals without exception, then this would have led subsequent generations of people to the conviction that animals are more important and superior to humans, and the pagan deification of animals, which arose in some nations, would have received even greater and greater significance. fastest spread.

Saint John Chrysostom draws attention to the fact that the ark did not have constantly open windows and, moreover, God Himself confined it from the outside. This was done out of mercy towards Noah, in order to save him from the painful and terrifying vision of the destruction of the world.

"The beginning of the flood" O it is false to believe in the last half of autumn,” and it lasted a year. And “a year of this life, it seems to me, is worth a whole life: Noah had to endure so much sorrow there, being in such cramped conditions... Imprisoned in the ark as if in a prison, he rushed back and forth, could not see the sky there, nor fix his eyes to some other place - in a word, he did not see anything that could give him some comfort... Noah lived for a whole year in this extraordinary and strange prison, not being able to breathe fresh air... how could this righteous man, as well as sons and wives, can they endure being together with livestock, animals and birds? How could he bear the stench? ...I am surprised that he has not yet fallen under the burden of despondency, thinking about the destruction of the human race, and about his own loneliness, and about the difficult life in the ark. But the reason for all that was good for him was his faith in God, for which he endured and endured everything complacently.”

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Apostle Paul praises Noah precisely for his faith: “By faith Noah, having received a revelation of things not yet seen, fearfully prepared an ark for the salvation of his house; by it he condemned (the whole) world, and became heir of the righteousness of faith” (Heb. 11:7). “It is not that Noah himself condemned his contemporaries; no, the Lord condemned them by comparing them with Noah, because they, having everything that the righteous man had, did not follow the same path of virtue with him,” explains St. John Chrysostom.

Here is what the Scripture says about what happened next: “The waters began to subside at the end of one hundred and fifty days. And the ark stopped in the seventh month... on the mountains of Ararat. The water continually decreased until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared. After forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent out a raven, [to see if the water had subsided from the earth,] which flew out and flew back and forth" (Genesis 8:3-8). A week later, Noah “released a dove from the ark. The dove returned to him in the evening, and behold, a fresh olive leaf was in his mouth, and Noah knew that the water had fallen from the earth” (Gen. 8:10-11). Even later, “the water on the earth dried up; and Noah opened the roof of the ark and looked, and behold, the surface of the earth was dry... And God said to Noah: Come out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons, and your sons’ wives with you; Bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you, of all flesh, birds, and cattle, and every creeping thing that moves on the earth: let them scatter throughout the earth, and let them be fruitful and multiply in the earth” (Genesis 8:13, 15 –17).

Saint Philaret draws attention to the perfect obedience of the righteous man to God: “Despite the fact that after the opening of the ark for about two months, Noah saw the state of the drying up earth, he did not dare to come out of it until a command from God.” And the Monk John of Damascus notes: “When Noah was commanded to enter the ark... God separated husbands from wives so that they, maintaining chastity, would escape the abyss... after the end of the flood He says: come out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives with you, because marriage is again allowed for the propagation of the human race.”

Noah fulfilled the command of God, but also did what the Lord did not order him, and which was dictated by the movement of his soul: “immediately upon leaving the ark, he shows his gratitude and offers thanks to his Lord, both for the past and and for the future” - “And Noah built an altar to the Lord; and he took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered them as burnt offerings on the altar” (Gen. 8:20). Here, for the first time in human history, we see the creation of a place of special worship of God. If Abel and Cain had already made sacrifices to God, then Noah built a special altar to the Lord. However, Saint Philaret says that in reality Noah was not the first to build an altar, since, knowing the humility of the righteous, “one cannot think that Noah would dare to introduce anything new in the rituals of sacrifice adopted from pious ancestors.”

“And the Lord smelled a sweet aroma, and the Lord [God] said in His heart, I will no longer curse the earth for man’s sake... and I will no longer smite every living thing” (Gen. 8:21). These words mean that God “accepted the sacrifices. After all, God does not have an organ of smell, since the Deity is incorporeal. True, what is lifted up is fat and smoke from burning bodies, and there is nothing more fetid than this. But so that you know that God looks at the sacrifices made and accepts or rejects them, Scripture calls this smoke a pleasant aroma.” So " the Lord smelled not the smell from the meat of animals or the burning of wood, but He looked and saw the purity of heart in the one who sacrificed to Him from everything and for everything.”

Seeing the piety of the patriarch, “God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth; Let all the beasts of the earth fear and tremble at you, and all the birds of the air, everything that moves on the earth, and all the fish of the sea: they have been given into your hands; everything that moves and lives will be food for you... only flesh... with its blood, do not eat; I will require your blood... from every beast, I will also require the soul of a man from the hand of a man, from the hand of his brother; Whoever sheds the blood of man, his blood will be shed by the hand of man: for man was created in the image of God... And God said to Noah and his sons with him: Behold, I have established my covenant with you and with your descendants after you... that all flesh shall no longer be destroyed. waters of the flood, and there will be no more flood to destroy the earth... I set my rainbow in the cloud, that it might be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth” (Genesis 9:1–6, 8–9, 11, 13).

First of all, it is clear here, as Chrysostom notes, that “Noah again receives the blessing that Adam received before the crime. Just as he, immediately after his creation, heard: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28), so this one now: “Be fruitful and multiply on the earth,” because just as Adam was the beginning and the root of all who lived before the flood, so this righteous man becomes, as it were, leaven, the beginning and root of all after the flood.”

God then gives permission for people to eat animals, birds and fish. Blessed Theodoret explains the reasons for this: “foreseeing that those who have fallen into extreme madness will deify everything, God, in order to stop wickedness, allows the use of animals for food, because to worship what is used for food is a matter of extreme little thought.”

After this, God establishes a ban on eating meat with the blood of animals, which is subsequently repeated in the Law of Moses (Deut. 12:23) and in the regulations of the Apostolic Council (Acts 15:29). This is explained by the fact that the soul of animals is in the blood. Promise " I will require your blood too... from every beast“God “predicts the resurrection... meaning that he will collect and resurrect the bodies devoured by beasts.” Then God prohibits murder, warning of severe punishment for it, and “declares that every murderer must be put to death.”

After this, “God says: “ I establish my covenant", i.e., I conclude an agreement. Just as in human affairs, when someone promises something, he concludes an agreement and thereby provides the proper confirmation, so the good Lord speaks here.” God raises his relationship with people to such a height. He does not simply prescribe and command as an omnipotent Lord, He enters into an agreement in which He voluntarily undertakes to never again destroy the human race through a flood.

It is no coincidence that the rainbow was chosen as a sign of this covenant - since the global flood began with rain, then the rainbow appearing through rain becomes a sign that no rain will be the beginning of the destruction of humanity. Saint Philaret admits that “the rainbow could have existed before the flood, just as water and washing existed before baptism,” but after the flood it was chosen by God as a sign of His covenant with Noah.

It goes on to say: “ the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were: Shem, Ham and Japheth... and from them the whole earth was peopled"(Genesis 9:18–19). The truth of this is confirmed by the universality of the legend of the flood. The most ancient legends of different nations tell of a righteous man who was able to survive the global flood in a specially constructed ark or ship. The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh calls him Utnapishtim, the ancient Greek writers called him Deucalion, and the Indian text Shatapatha Brahmana calls him Manu. Legends about the global flood are found everywhere - in China, in Australia, in Oceania, among the indigenous peoples of South, Central and North America, in Africa. All these peoples trace themselves to the descendants of the few survivors of the Flood. Traditions recorded in ancient times show significant similarities in major details with the story of the Bible, and traditions recorded more recently show more differences, which is not surprising, since retellers have introduced many interpretations and conjectures into the story over the past millennia. Nevertheless, the memory of the Flood is a truly universal phenomenon.

It is appropriate now to talk about the allegorical meaning of the events associated with the sweat and salvation of Noah, which was indicated by the holy fathers.

According to St. Augustine, everything “that is said about the structure of this ark means that it relates to the Church.” And in Noah himself, as well as in his sons, the image of the Church was revealed. They were saved from the flood on the tree of salvation... foreshadowing that on the tree [of the cross] the life of all nations would be established.” Saint Cyril of Alexandria also speaks about this, pointing out that Christ is “the truest Noah, who in the prototype of this ancient and glorious ark built the Church. Those who enter it avoid the destruction that threatens the world... So Christ saves us by faith and, as if into an ark, brings us into the Church, staying in which we will be delivered from the fear of death and will escape condemnation along with the world.”

Saint Bede the Venerable offers a detailed interpretation: “The ark means the universal Church, the waters of the flood - baptism, the clean and unclean animals [in the ark] - spiritual and physical people staying in the Church, and the planed and tarred logs of the ark - teachers strengthened by the grace of faith. The raven flying out of the ark and not returning signifies those who become apostates after baptism; an olive branch brought into the ark by a dove - those who were baptized outside the Church, that is, heretics, but who nevertheless have the fat of love and are therefore worthy to be reunited with the universal Church. The dove, which flew out of the ark and did not return, is a symbol of those [saints] who have renounced their bodily bonds and rushed to the light of their heavenly homeland, never to return to the labors of their earthly journey.”

The last episode of the patriarch's life, described in the Book of Genesis, concerns the period when he began to organize the life of his family in the new world. At that time, his son Ham already had his first child, Canaan:

The same saint writes: “Notice here, beloved, that the beginning of sin lies not in nature, but in the disposition of the soul and in free will. Now, after all, all the sons of Noah are of the same nature and brothers among themselves, had one father, were born from the same mother, were raised with the same care, and, despite this, they showed unequal dispositions - one turned away to evil, while others showed their father due respect."

Ham's act "revealed in him pride, consoled by the fall of another, a lack of modesty and disrespect for his parent." “Disregarding respect for the parent, he strives to make others witnesses of this spectacle and, having made the old man into a kind of theatrical stage, he persuades his brothers to laugh.” He, “having left the house, subjected his father to ridicule and reproach as much as he could, and wanted to make his brothers accomplices of his vile act; and then, as he should have, if he had already decided to announce to his brothers, to call them into the house and there to tell them about his father’s nakedness, he went out and announced his nakedness in such a way that if there were many other people here, he would do them too would be witnesses to the shame of the father."

But the event that contributed to the fall of Ham served to the glory of Shem and Japheth: “Do you see the modesty of these sons? He divulged it, but they don’t even want to see it, but they walk with their faces turned back so that, coming closer, they can cover their father’s nakedness. Look also how, despite their great modesty, they were still meek. They do not reproach or strike their brother, but, having heard his story, they only care about one thing, how to quickly correct what happened and do what was required for the honor of the parent.”

Having learned about what happened, Noah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, pronounces one curse and two blessings. The Holy Fathers examined the question of why, if Ham sinned, then it was not he himself who was cursed, but his eldest son Canaan?

The Monk Ephraim writes that by “younger son” cannot mean Ham, who was the middle son of Noah, but his grandson is meant, since “this young Canaan laughed at the nakedness of the old man; The boor went out with a laughing face and, in the midst of the haystack, announced it to his brothers. Therefore, one can think that although Canaan is not cursed with all justice, as he did this in childhood, it is not against justice, because he was not cursed for another. Moreover, Noah knew that if Canaan had not become worthy of a curse in his old age, then in his adolescence he would not have committed a deed worthy of a curse... Therefore, Canaan is cursed as the one who laughed, and Ham is only deprived of blessing because he laughed with the one who laughed.” Saint Philaret also writes about this: “Canaan... was the first to see the nakedness of his grandfather and told his father about it.” And Chrysostom says that “the son of Ham, who was cursed, suffered punishment for his own sins.”

In addition, the holy fathers explained that by placing a curse not on Ham, but on his firstborn Canaan, Noah frees all the other sons of Ham from inheriting the curse, and also avoids placing a curse on the one who, among others who left the ark, was honored to receive God’s blessing. According to Blessed Theodoret, there is also justice in this, that “since Ham himself, being a son, sinned against his father, he accepts punishment by cursing his son.” “The boor is punished in that son or in that tribe to whom he leaves his sins as an inheritance.”

The punishment was to subject the descendants of Canaan to the descendants of Shem and Japheth. As Saint Philaret says, “this was fulfilled on the Canaanites, who were partly destroyed by the Israelites, the descendants of Shem, and partly conquered from Joshua to Solomon.” Blessed Augustine draws attention to the fact that “in Scripture we do not meet a slave before the righteous Noah punished the sin of his son with this name. Thus, it is not nature, but sin that deserves this name."

Finally, Noah utters a blessing to his youngest son: “May God extend Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem.” And this prophecy was also fulfilled: “the descendants of Japheth occupied Europe, Asia Minor and the entire north, which then was a nest and breeding ground for nations... Shem's tents mean the Church, preserved in the descendants of Shem, and, finally, taking into its shelter and participation the heritage of its own and the pagans, the descendants of Japheth.”

“And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years” (Gen. 9:28). The Lord allowed Noah to live for a long time after the flood in order to preserve longer the living example of a righteous man for the first generations of renewed humanity. Indicating that all people descended from his three sons born before the flood (Gen. 9:18-19), Scripture reports that Noah himself after the flood did not give birth to any more children, spending his life in abstinence.

“All the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died” (Gen. 9:29), and subsequently became one of the Old Testament righteous whose souls Christ saved from hell, descending there between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection from the dead.

As St. John says, “This righteous man can teach our entire race and guide us to virtue. In fact, when he, living [before the flood] among such a multitude of evil people, and not being able to find a single person similar to him in morals, reached such high virtue, then how will we be justified, who, having no such obstacles, don’t we care about good deeds?”

Many people are interested in the question “How many years did it take Noah to build the ark?” Let's try to figure it out. Many believe that it took 120 years to build this structure. This term is taken from chapter 6 of the Bible, which details the construction of the ark and the story of Noah.

Who is Noah and why did he build his ark?

Noah is one of the direct descendants of Adam. When he started building his structure, he was 500 years old. He had 3 sons - Shem, Ham and Japheth. They were all the same age. Scientists agree that he did not want to have children because he knew that the end of the world would come. But still, by the command of the Lord, he was forced to marry.

It was Noah who was the only one who led a righteous life and received alms from the Lord. He was chosen by the Almighty so that after the flood life would be reborn in the world.

The Lord God believed that people were mired in their sins. The punishment for people was to be their complete destruction. He brought down a lot of water on the ground. All living things disappeared under its waves.

Only Noah's family remained alive. This grace was sent to him by God in the form of the so-called instructions:

1. God explained to Noah in detail how to build the ark so that it would not go under water or leak.
2. He told me what to take with me on the ship in order to survive and not die of hunger.
3. He ordered to take with him his wife and sons with their wives, as well as a pair of each creature.

Of course, the Lord God could have helped Noah, and he would have built the ark in just a few days. But still, the Almighty hoped that people would come to their senses and come to ask for forgiveness for their sins. Then he would have left life on earth with his mercy. However, sinners were in no hurry to go to repent.

Noah also warned them about the coming end of the world. He planted trees that were later used as material for the ship. All the preparation and construction lasted for 120 long years, and not a single living soul listened to the advice and turned to God.

The flood lasted for more than a month. Only after 40 days did the ark surface. There was so much water that only the tops of sunken mountains protruded from it. It was impossible for any living creature to escape.

The water remained for 150 days, then began to decrease. The Ark washed up on Mount Ararat. But only 9 months later, Noah noticed the tops of the mountains, and only 40 days later he sent the raven free, but he returned without finding dry land. Three more times he released the dove, and only on the 3rd time the bird did not return. This means that it was now possible to go ashore.

After such an end of the world, only Noah’s family remained alive on earth. So that the Lord would no longer punish his descendants, Noah brought sacrificial gifts. And the Almighty promised that he would never again punish people with complete extermination. He blessed every living thing on this earth and made an agreement with Noah. The symbol of this is the rainbow, which appeared as a sign that water will no longer be able to destroy humanity.

It was necessary to start a new life. Noah's main occupation was farming. He planted many vineyards and made the first wine.

This is where another legend comes from. One day, Noah, drunk on wine, lay naked in a tent. When Ham saw this, he laughed at his father and told his brothers about everything. But they hid their father and condemned their brother. Noah cursed the entire family of Ham.

After the flood, Noah worked for another 350 years and died when he was 950 years old.

Noah gave birth to life to all the peoples who live on Earth. These are the descendants of his sons: Ham, Japheth and Shem. It was Noah's righteous and godly life that contributed to the way you and I live.

Now you know the answer to the question “How many years did Noah take to build his ark?” The Lord gave a lot of time for people to come to their senses and stop committing sinful acts. For 120 years, people laughed and mocked the man who was destined to become the forefather of modern humanity.