Huiber’s ark on display, according to an article in the Telegraph 10 December 2012. Johan Huibers, a Dutchman, has built a “full-scale replica” of Noah’s Ark in Dordrecht, Netherlands. Huibers “interpreted the description given in Genesis to build his ark” and constructed the vessel “130 metres (427 feet) long, 29 metres (95 feet) across and 23 metres (75 feet) high”. It is the realisation of a 20 year dream “to educate people about history and faith”. Huibers has some live animals and birds on display, including parakeets, pheasants, peacocks and rabbits, along with some models of tigers, giraffe, an elephant and bison. The vessel is open for visitors and special events, and includes a cinema (movie theatre) and restaurant. For photo, click on link below.
Editorial Comment: This is certainly an impressive feat, although we do wonder about the size of his Ark. The original measurements for the Ark recorded in Genesis 6-9 were: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high (Genesis 6:15). The cubit is the length from the elbow to the fingertips and is generally considered to be an average of 45 cm or 18 inches. Using the basic cubit made the Ark 135 metres (450 ft) long, 23 metres (75 ft) wide and 14 metres (45 ft) high. Since in ancient times there were also the longer royal and sacred cubits, we can say for sure that the 135 m length is the smallest the ark would have been and may have been considerably larger.
There may have been no official definition of the cubit in Noah’s day so he may well have used his own cubit, i.e. the length of his own forearm and hand, as the basis for the measurement, which means if he was a big man, then the ark could have been much larger than the usual measurements of 450 ft given in the footnotes of many Bibles. Nevertheless, Huibers’ construction does remind people the account of Noah is real history, and it is possible to build a wooden vessel of the size given in Genesis. We can understand him having models of tigers, giraffe, elephant and bison, as live ones would be difficult to care for today, but we would also recommend he has models of dinosaurs. They were just as much air-breathing, land dwelling animals as the mammals and birds in Huibers’ display. (Ref. exhibitions, Europe, models)
Evidence News 12 December 2012