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Noah and the Great Flood
by Robert D. Mock MD
Part Five in a Presentation to the Forum on Creation and Ancient History
Houston, Texas
Spring, 1998
Moving to a new Home – The Landing of the Ark of Noah
A New Year, when the calendar changed from 300 to a 360 day year.
The basic assumption in all traditional concepts of Noah and the Ark are based on an idealism that Noah’s world was basically like ours today. The major exception was that this was the first time man saw rain. So modern Bible stories depict the Great Flood as a giant thunderstorm, that kept going on and on and on until everything was covered. This is the result of modern myth-making by Biblical scholars.
Traditional Sequence of events during the flood:
Calendar Event during the Flood Genesis Chapter Number of Days
There were 40 days during which the rain fell 7:12 40
Throughout another 110 days the water continued to
rise, making 150 days in all. 7:24 110
The waters occupied 74 days in the “going and decreasing.”
was from the 17th day of the 7th month to the 1st day of the
10th month.
Forty days elapsed before Noah sent out the raven 8:6,7 74
Seven days elapsed before Noah sent out the dove for the 8:10 7
first time. This period is necessary for reaching the total
is given by implication from the phrase “other seven days.”
Seven days passed before sending out the dove for the 8:10 7
second time.
Seven more days passed before the third sending. 8:12 7
Up to this point 285 days are accounted for, but the next 29
episode is dated the 1st of the first month in the 601st year.
From the date in 7:11 to this point is 8:13 is a period of 314
days; therefore an interval of 29 days elapses.
From the removal of the covering of the Ark to the very 8:14 57
end of the experience was another 57 days.
Total Days 371 days (Fasold, Ibid, 43-44)
Revised events of the flood.
Event recorded in the Bible on the Flood Genesis chapter. Number of days
There were 40 days during which the rain fell 7:12 40
At the end of 40 days, Noah opened the window 8:6
It is at this time the birds were dispatched 7:24
The water prevailed upon the earth, 150 days 8:4 110
To 8th month, 17th day 30
To 9th month, 17th day 30
To 10th month, 1st day Tops of mountains seen 8:5 14
From the above,to the end of the tenth month. 29
Note: The narrative never suggests more than ten months.
601st year, 1st month, 1st day (grounding)…behold, the face 8:13 1
of the ground was dry.
From the above to the 2nd month, 27th day was the earth dried. 30
Until the 2nd month, 27th day was the earth dried. 8:14 26
Total Days. 310
(Fasold, Ibid, p.51)
The Days of the Flood using a calendar method:
Note: There is no scriptural evidence for a 11th and 12th month. The ancient calendar was 10 months
of 30 days per month, plus the flood lasted an additional 10 days beyond the solar year of the flood.
Year 600 2nd mon. 17th day Flood day beginning of the Deluge
3rd mon. 17th day 30
4th mon. 17th day 60
5th mon. 17th day 90
6th mon. 17th day 120
7th mon. 17th day 150
8th mon. 17th day 180
9th mon. 17th day 210
10th mon. 17th day 240
Year 601 1st mon. 17th day 270
2nd mon. 17th day 300 ending of the flood
plus 10 days 310 earth was dry
(Fasold, Ibid, p. 51)
Velikovsky on the 300 day year.- The concept of a shorter year associated with a smaller earth’s orbital rotation around the sun, was first proposed by Immanuel Velikovsky in his book, Worlds in Collision, significant evidence was presented to suggest that the post flood world calendar was 360 days which gave rise to the 360 degree sphere, the zodiac, the 360 degree arc of the constellations in the heavens. This era lasted for about 2000 years until about 700 BC when that catastrophic era of earth’s history was over.
He also suggested, “In a much earlier age, when the year was of an entirely different length, one revolution of the earth was equal in time to ten revolutions of the moon.” (Velikovsky, Immanuel, Worlds in Collision, New York, NY 1977, p. 350.)
Fasold on the 300 day year - David Fasold gives evidence that the calendar data of Tiahuanaco, the ancient megalithic city which now sits high in the Andean highlands of Bolivia at about 17,000 feet, had a solar calendar engraved on the giant Gateway to the Gods which depicted a solar year of 291.2 days which included a ten-month solar year with the lunar cycles approximating a ten to one ratio. (Fasold, Ibid, p. 62-63)
The Ark’s Navigational System
The Raven - “And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. (Genesis 8:6,7 KJV)
Within the ark, the raven had a significant function. Farm estimates suggest that a raven can consume nineteen bushels of insects during a season. So a true sanitary function was achieved by bird. The Genesis account suggests the real nature of the raven, always on the alert, whose watchful eye always is ready to sound an alarm if something new is different in the environment.
The Watchtower - All ships utilize some form of navigational aids. Before sonar, lookout areas were designed to watchers to spot danger. The first system on the ark was designed to detect danger at a short range and call out an audio alarm.
Even so, the model proposed by the investigators of the Tendurek site, propose that the ark rose 15 cubits (25.75 feet) to the main deck and another 45 cubits (77.25 feet) from the main deck to the roof line. Noah scanning the horizen with a 360 degree visibility, could visualize 15.5 miles (13.4 nautical miles standing on the roof lookout 103 feet above the water level. This is estimated at 188.7 square statue miles of surface ocean area. “The storm was over and the rain of destruction had ceased. I looked forth, I called aloud over the waters. The sunlight suffused my countenance. I was dazzled and sank down weeping, and the tears streamed over my face. Everywhere I looked I saw water…(The Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet 11: 131;138)
The Dove or Pigeon - Today the progenitor of this family is known as the rock pigeon with more than 650 different varieties of species. It is conceptually nice to think that the dove sent out by Noah was the lily-white dove who later came back with the symbol of peace, the olive branch in its mouth. The Sumerians identify first the dove, then the swallow as the birds sent out by Utanapishtim. The Akkadian version agrees more closely with the Hebrew account.
The purpose of the dove is important in the flood story. The ancients preferred one variety above all others, the homer pigeon. Solid, sturdy and built for fast and long endurance journeys, the dove/pigeon could fly at about 50 miles per our, and distant flying for 200 miles was not uncommon. The dove was Noah’s long range radar, whose purpose was to be sent on a reconnaissance mission with the sole purpose to detect how far ahead land could be found.
The Direction of Travel - Velikovsky has observed, assuming a pole shift due to the rotation of the earth, then the waves of translation would have moved eastward due to the earth’s inertia and poleward because the equatorial bulge of the earth would shift the waters that direction. As such, the a large of drouge stones was found west of the Tendurek site at Kazan.
The Distance of Travel - Fasold has suggested the following: Assuming the dove was sent out and returned within four hours. At fifty miles per hour times four hours, it suggests the dove went a distance of eighty five miles beyond the fifteen mile visibility of Noah standing on the lookout viewpoint on the ark at 103 feet above the water surface.
If Noah waited 7 days to send the second dove out to test the distance to dry land, then we have a nautical drift rate of 14 miles per day. This may assume by merchant marines to be slow but not with reasonable understanding of the drag produced by the drouge stones. This low end assumption would suggest a travel distance of 2100 miles over 150 days till it came to rest by the drouge stones resting on the bottom land surface.
The second flight of the dove took longer to return, from sunrise to sunset. Assuming a 12 hour span, the drift rate would be increase to 1.78 knots. Over a period of 150 days at that speed, almost 6500 miles would be traversed.
This does not take into account, that the intensity of the first forty days of flood and cataclysmic activity could have produced faster travel speed or a less directional flow. (ie. Eastward) At 2100 miles, the west southwest, the point of origin would have put Noah just south of Barcelona, Spain near the Baleares Islands. At 6500 miles, and with the assumption that the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa approximated in the Pangea landmass, then Noah could have lived in the central to west coast of South America
The Landing Site of the Ark of Noah
Mount Ararat as Buyuk Agri Dagri
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Cover Drawsing byAhmet Ali Arslan in Berlitz’s The Ark of Noa
In the Bible, it states that the Ark of Noah came to rest in the area called the “mountains of Ararat” . Today, Mount Ararat is a spectacular mountainous peak at 16,950 feet on the Turkish border of Russia and Iran. The Turkish call it Buyuk (Big) Agri Dag, the Muslims call it, Jabal Al-Harith and the ancient Armenians call it Masis.
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Ararat in the era of the Ancients
Ararat was called Urartu in Assyrian records of Shalmaneser I in the 13th c. BC. Tiglath pilesar I in the 12th c. recognized it as west of Lake Nairi probably the modern Lake Van. Therefore the boundaries of the Kingdom of Urartu was recognized as “in the Qardu (Gordyene) Mountains)” with the Euphrates River on the west, the western Taurus Mountains on the south, the boundaries of the Kingdom of Manna (Minni or Mitanni) to the southeast where the Zagros Mountains peaked, and possibly to the extent of the plain where the Araxes River went to the north. According to Bailey, the political center was in the area of Lake Van with the capital city of Tushpa.
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Some ancient translations of the Bible say, the “mountains of Qardu” instead of the “mountains of Ararat”
The area of Urartu or Ararat was recognized as a region, not a site location which more closely resembled the Qardu area where the Taurus and Zagros collided rather than the more northern valley of the Araxes River, almost beyond Ararat where Agri Dagi (Mount Ararat is located)
Ararat in the Christian era:
This area to the north approximated the 4th and 5th c. kingdom of Armenia, which became Christianized in that era. The “mountains of Ararat” came to known as the “mountains of Armenia” and the more northerly location of Agri Dagri came to be popularized
The concept of Mount Ararat as the landing site of Noah’s ark was first introduced in the 4th and 5th century AD.
Mount Ararat as Jabal Judi
Arabic tradition - “The Ark rested on Mount Judi” (Koran Surah 11:44)
The Moslem traditions state that the are is located on a north/south axis alongside a large rock on the west side of a hill in the mountainous range of Urartu, at a site called Al Judi, recognized today as Cudi Dagi.
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In Arabic, the root words Judi, Gudi, Kudi are interchangeable. Remove the r and Kurd become Kud. The ‘i’ at the end denoted inhabitant of, therefore Kudi translates as ‘inhabitant of Kud”. In the oldest Sumerian documents, the Kudi or Gutu were possessors of the land in the middle of Tigris region prior to 2000 BC. This includes the modern region of Bohtan in Turkey as well as portions of Iraq and Iran.
Cudi Dagi at Sirnak Cudi Dagi at Urfa
According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali, editor of The Meaning of the Holy Qur’am, “The Biblical legend of Mount Ararat being the resting place of Noah’s Ark is hardly plausible, seeing that the highest peak of Ararat is over 16,000 feet high. If it mean one of the lower peaks of the Ararat system, it agrees with the Muslim tradition about Mount Judi (or Gudi) and this is in accordance with the oldest and best local traditions. These traditions are accepted by Josephus, the Nestorian Christians, and indeed by all the Eastern Christians and Jews. d they are the best in touch with local traditions.
There are four known site of Cudi Dagi or Mount Judi. The first is south of Urfa, the second south of Sirnak, the third was named by a ark hunter, Dr. Chuck Willis of Fresno, CA at a 16,800 foot elevation at the base of a cliff below the 16,947 summit of Ararat and the fourth, the site of Tendurek, as found by Fasold on old Turkey maps and as described in this present study.
Mount Ararat as Mount Lubar-
Book of Jubilees - as quoted in the second BC Jewish book, Book of Jubilees, it states that the ark landed in Urartu, on a mountain named Lu-Bar (Jubilees 5:28)
Nicholas of Damascus in his voluminous history is quoted by Josephus as landing on Bar-is.
Book of Noah - The Midrash locate the Ark on Lu-Bar in the Book of Noah. (Fasold, p 232)
The Apocryphon 10:12 and 12:13 from the Qumran scrolls also notate Lu-Bar as the site of the Ark.
Epiphanius - states that the ark came to rest “in the mountains of Arjmenia and of Kurdistan (Gordyene), on a mountain called Lubar.” (Bailey, Ibid, p. 79
Mount Ararat as Mount Baris
Book of Jubilees - as quoted in the second BC Jewish book, Book of Jubilees, it states that the ark landed in Urartu, on a mountain named Lu-Bar (Jubilees 5:28)
Nicholas of Damascus - ninety-sixth book - “There is a great mountain in Armenia, over Minyas, called Baris, upon which it is reported that mamy who fled at the time of the Deluge were saved; and that one who was carried in an ark came on shore upon the top of it; and that the timber were a great while preserved. This might be the man about whom Moses, the legislator of the Jews wrote.” (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 3:6)
Book of Noah - The Midrash locate the Ark on Lu-Bar in the Book of Noah. (Fasold, p 232)
The Apocryphon 10:12 and 12:13 from the Qumran scrolls also notate Lu-Bar as the site of the Ark.
Epiphanius - states that the ark came to rest “in the mountains of Arjmenia and of Kiurdistan (Gordyene), on a mountain called Lubar.” (Bailey, Ibid, p. 79
Fasold - According to Fasold, this is one of several names that the Babylonians gave to Typhon including, Shu Besh, and Baba. He has identified Bar as Shem
Lu-Bar can now be identified as the Hills of Shem, probably in reference that Shem lived in this region for many years after the flood.
Mount Ararat as Mount Nisir
Atra-hasis - described as a “nasirat napistum” or the “lifesaver”.
Akkadian - Epic of Gilgamesh - This epic of antiquity date back to the Sumerian era. Seven texts have survived to the modern era. The schools of scribes kept this epic story alive through the Babylonian and into the Assyrian empires, where it was originally found in the palace library of Ashurbanipal who ruled from 668-627 BC.
In the epic, the landing site for the ship of Utnapishtim appears in tablet 11, lines 140 to 144 and translated as Mount Nisir. The translation of cuneiform Kur ni sir is translated more like “the place - helper and ally. (Fasold p. 110)
The village of Uzengili, located five hundred yards from the Tendurek remains is noted as noted in old Turkish maps was called Nasar. According to Aman Momin, Program Officer for the U.S. Information Agenfcy, Professor of Urdu, Nasar means, “To make a presentation or sacrifice” (Fasold, p. 112)
The Kurds were known to keep its site a secret and under guard during the era of the Achaemenian, who ruled prior for 200 years prior to the conquest of Alexander the Great. These Kurdish tribesmen were also known guardians of the ancient temples of the Magi. Were they guarding the real Nisir under the modern village of Uzengili?
Mount Ararat as Mountain of Cordyaeans
Berosus (Chaldean - “It is said there is still some part of this ship in Armenia, at the mountain of the Cordyaeans; and that some people carry off pieces of the bitumen, which they take away, and use chiefly as amulets for the averting of mischiefs.” (Berosus as quoted by Josephus 3:6)
The Kurds were known to keep its site a secret and under guard during the eraof the Achaemenian, who ruled prior for 200 years prior to the conquest of Alexander the Great. These Kurdish tribesmen were also known guardians of the ancient temples of the Magi.
Berosus’s Location - Using cryptic measurements by this ancient historian, Fasold in his book, The Ark of Noah, feels he has determined the landing site to be 515 minutes of the sun’s arc west of the Asaru, recognized as the Persian empire prime meridian. In that era the geodetic navel of the world was centered in Persapolis and determining 36 degree angle from this center at the present longitude 39 degree 26’N or southeast of the present villege of Dogubayazit.
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The Site of the Ark according to the measurements by Berosus (Fasold, The Ark of Noah, p. 210)
Summary: Is the story of the Ark of Noah Truth or Fantasy?
Ten Modern Myths and the Truths they evolved from:
Myth #1:
Evolution: Modern man came forth from the watery mass and ooze out of chaos from an unknown past.
Fact: Noah, the primeval man and his family emerged from an alluvial mud and slime basin as they moved from an old world age to a new world age.
Myth #2:
The gods of antiquity were immortal.
Fact: Noah and the first two generations after the flood achieved a longevity that produced a god-like
status and hero worship to the ancient minds. Abraham lived ten generation after Noah, yet he
died before Noah. How would we treat a 900 year old man today?
Myth #3
The fall of angels occurred only in heaven.
Fact: The Ezekiel account of the fall of Lucifer from heaven due to pride is scripturally sound.
The ancient writers in Hebrew and non-Hebrew traditions also leave a written legacy that states
loud and clear that the pre-flood inhabitants walked and worked with angelic beings that were
superior to and not of Adam’s descent. These angelic beings, called Watchers, watchmen, judges
and rulers, clearly set out to genetically distort and destroy the creation of God.
Myth #4
Primeval man was a brute and technologically illiterate being.
Fact: The ark is a legacy of the technological skills of the antediluvian man. Even more so, the genetic
tampering by pre-diluvian man and his instructors: the Watchmen, the Judges, the Rulers or the
Angels totally corrupted the pure genetic pool that God had placed on earth at creation is also a
legacy of what corrupt technology can do to our modern world today.
Myth #5
The year in the ancient era was 290-300 days per year.
Fact: The world before the flood was completely different than today. This included a different rotation
cycle around the sun. Evidence suggests that the ancient year was 290-300 days in length.
Myth #6
The Great Flood was just a big rainstorm that wouldn’t quit.
Fact: The Great Flood was the most devastating cataclysm witnessed on earth by historical man. It
featured interplanetary wars, icy comet explosion, continental crust splitting and shifting, polar
reversals and tilting, planetary vulcanism, and the extinction of 99.999% of all life on the
planet.
Myth #7
The Ark was made of wood.
Fact: The ancient historical documents and archeological evidence suggests that the Ark was a giant
reed raft which was insulated, encapsulated, protective and extremely strong and stable especially in stormy seas.
Myth #8
The Ark is still on the high slopes of Mount Ararat.
Fact: Mount Ararat is a late tradition in the ark story. The many ancient names were actually
descriptive and not actually place names and do not suggest the local of Agri Dagri (Mount
Ararat)
Myth #9
The Easter Egg is a pagan myth with no religious significance.
Fact: The Easter Egg is a symbolic motiff of Noah’s Ark as an encapsulated and protective shell,
which protected the inhabitants within.
Myth #10
The Hebrew creation and flood story is a myth.
Fact: The Hebrew, Sumerian, Akkadian, Vedic, Chinese, Mayan, Hopi, and any other flood traditions
do not borrow from each other but reflect a common tradition from a single source, the family
of Noah. It is this authors opinion that the Hebrew account is the most accurate.
Credits: This article series was stimulated by the travels and research by David Fasold and put in the book, The Ark of Noah. It was well researched, sound in its interpretation of scripture, profound in its depth of understanding. I give thanks to David Fasold. Though the concepts of his research have been highly controversial, acrimonious and litigious, it still stands as a remarkable and new comprehension to an event 3500 years ago. To order his book, contact: http://www.eskimo.com/~dwpatten/index.html