One lingering mystery concerning Noah’s ark is: How many animals were on board? Since DNA has a very good reputation for solving mysteries in the courtroom, now it’s time to unleash its powers and reveal Noah’s passenger list.
As we look about the earth, we see a multitude of animals reproducing after their kind, each retaining their distinction as a kind/species. How does this happen? Two things are required for kinds/species to remain distinct:
(1) They must have the desire (instincts coded in their DNA) to mate with their own kind/species and
(2) They must have the ability (compatible DNA) to produce viable offspring like themselves.
These two requirements are the basis for both the Biblical and secular scientific definition of species/kinds. The words species and kinds are synonyms, but usually “species” is used by the secular scientific community, and “kinds” is used by the Biblical community. Nonetheless, both words should define the same creatures, and we conclude that they do. Our position is as follows:
Fundamentally, all of the species currently defined by modern science were on the Ark
Consider humans; we have the desire and ability to produce more humans like ourselves. We know that we cannot produce a pig or a chimpanzee because we do not have the genetic ability in our DNA
to do so.
Next, consider the great horned owls, they desire to mate with other great horned owls, and they can produce other great horned owls. However, their DNA does not produce the desire or the ability to create a bluebird, a barn owl, or even an eagle owl which is the same genus as the great horned owl.
We wrote a technical paper, The Genetics of Kinds – Ravens, Owls, and Doves, and found that not one of the owl kinds/species we examined could produce any other owl kinds/species. That is also true for the ravens and doves. They differ from one another by too much genetic information. We also wrote a technical paper, A Study of Biblical Kinds Using 62 Species of Mice; which showed the various species/kinds of mouse DNA differed from one another by significant amounts with distinct DNA gaps between the kinds/species. It would be impossible to bridge these gaps using any natural process.
Our study of the mouse was very interesting in that we found that there are more than one hundred
mouse kinds/species and they all remain distinct. How do they do it? They have been magnificently designed with the desire and ability to reproduce after their kinds. Here are a few facts: They can read each other’s genetics like a barcode (Ref 1). They mate only with their own species (Ref 2). They don’t breed with close relatives (Ref 3), and the males do not mate with underaged females (Ref 4). All of this is coded in the DNA and not only does it preserve their distinctiveness, but also maintains good genetic health. You may read all about it, get all of the references, and gain access to all of the DNA sequences at A Study of Biblical Kinds Using 62 Species of Mice.
If only a few kinds would have been on the Ark, there would only be a few kinds now. The scriptures are clear: “every” kind was created (Genesis 1); “every” kind was loaded on the Ark (Genesis 6:19-20); and “every” kind disembarked from the Ark (Genesis 8:17-20). The kinds were distinct and remain distinct.
Our conclusion would necessitate that on the order of 6000 amphibia, 10,000 bird, 6,000 mammals, and 8,000 reptile kinds/species were aboard the Ark. Accounting for pairs, sevens of clean animals, and those that have gone extinct since the flood, the total number aboard the Ark would be on the order of 100,000. This would be no problem for the very large Ark with all of the animals in Biblical “deep sleep” (Ref 5)
As we look at this glorious creation, we see that the kinds are distinct. They are distinct because they have both the desire and ability to mate with their kind and produce offspring of like kind. God always does things right, and to replenish the earth properly, He gave every kind a berth on the Ark. All of the passengers were peacefully asleep being transported to a new world filled with adventure and hope.
Keywords:
Animals of the Ark, Species on the Ark, Kinds on the Ark, Noah’s Ark, Noah’s Ark, species vs. kinds, and DNA Noah’s Ark
Additional Suggested Reading:
Noah’s Ark Hermetically Sealed and Safe
References:
1. Beynon, R.J. and Hurst, J.L., 2003. Multiple roles of major urinary proteins in the house mouse, Mus domesticus., Biochem Soc Trans. 2003 Feb;31(Pt 1):142-6. PMID:12546672.
2. Lane, R.P., Young, J., Newman, T., and Trask, B.J., 2004. Species specificity in rodent pheromone receptor repertoires. Genome Res. 14: 603-608. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
3. Sherborne, A.L., Michael D., Thom, M.D., Paterson, S., Jury, F., Ollier, W.E.R., Stockley, P., Beynon, R.J. and Hurst, J.L., 2007. The Genetic Basis of Inbreeding Avoidance in House Mice, Current Biology 17, 2061–2066, December 4, 2007.
4. Ferrero, D.M., Moeller, L.M., Osakada T., Horio, N., Li, Q., Dheeraj S.R., Cichy, A., Spehr, M. Touhara, K. Liberles, S.D., 2013. A juvenile mouse pheromone inhibits sexual behaviour through the vomeronasal system.
Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature12579
5. https://www.genesisandgenetics.org/2013/07/20/122/
Genesis 1 does not say every kind was created, it says they were re created after their kind,this implies there was first a kind or pattern of that kind in which to re create from.
The pig after its kind was created from the pattern of the pig god created earlier in time. It is wrong to suggest that in the creation week was when all creatures were created, they were re created because they were destroyed some time before the creation week.
Gen. 1.1 is the time of creation,
Gen. 1.2 is the result of the judgment of the earth where it was left in the condition of void and formless, never has god ever created anything which was and is not perfect and functional.
There are several problems with this blog post.
First you don’t mention the millions of species of insects, (which are animals) which wouldn’t have survived for a year with no land.
Second, to encompass the entire earth with water would put it 25,000 ft. over current sea level. At that altitude all water would have been frozen, and the polar caps would have been solid ice over 5 miles thick!
Third, you don’t address indigenous animals which only exist on certain continents, climates, etc etc. Not to mention aquatic life requiring either pure salt water, or fresh, and many species of fish which require warm shallow water etc etc.
Since the time of Noah, was but a mere 4500 years ago, earth would still not have recovered from a global event such as you describe.
Noah’s flood would have had to of been regional, which is understandable. Language used to translate earth is more often translated land. So the water covered the whole land, (of that region), and all the animals of that region were aboard the ark, as it was common for rulers in that day to have large menageries of animals.
Zak,
Very good questions. I will attempt to answer them all to your satisfaction.
(1) We cannot tell from the Bible if the insects were on the Ark or not. However, here are two point that should help (1) there were huge mats of debris that could have accommodated the insects or (2) although there are millions of insect species, they could fit into a very small volume of the Ark, especially since they would be in a deep sleep. The Ark was very large and there was plenty of room.
(2) Most creationist, myself included, have concluded that the tall mountains came up after the flood. I think is was approximately 250 years after the flood.
(3) I have concluded that all creatures great and small have position instincts. That coupled with the concept that all continents were connected by land bridges before the end of the ice age allowed these creatures to migrate to where they belonged. Let me just say here that everything about the global flood and restoration of the new world was a miracle. I believe in miracles and am happy to have them in the creation and in my life. The absence of miracles is chaos. Those who accept evolution as the explanation for the creation also believe in miracles; for example the zebra evolved from a wet rock on another planet. Any way you go you must accept miracles. Concerning the fish, there were many pockets of fresh water to house the fish. Also, pet stores put in a bit of salt to ship fish or heal them.
(4) You are correct, and we are still experiences fallout from the flood.
(5) You can believe what you like, but I believe that it was a global flood. I believe that the flood happenings are written in stone. Every time I drive down the highway I see it in the sedimentary rock formations. Then there are the marine fossils on top of Mount Everest. But, I believe it because the Bible says it; it was peer reviewed by God himself when He was on the mountain with Moses, and later peer reviewed by Jesus, the only human being to conquer sin and death.
Thank you so much for these questions,
James
Hi Zac,
First, I must gave credit to James’ Blog. It is the first I have seen that admitted to the definition of species/after-its-kind, and have 100,000 animals inside the ark (but minus the insects). [Unlike John Woodmorappe’s book, which most ‘Global Floodists’ turn to, works at the genus level to have only 16,000 animals.] I am not saying that biblical definition should follow modern taxonomy. In fact, biblical definition is even more stringent – Lev 11:22: “Even these of them ye may eat; the locust[H697] after his kind, and the bald locust[H5556] after his kind, and the beetle[H2728] after his kind, and the grasshopper[H2284] after his kind.” In modern taxonomy, locusts are grasshoppers that had changed color and behavior when their population exploded. With this biblical definition, ‘after their kinds’ is not just to procreate, not just on look, but also on color and behavior.
Second, the water that rose to 25,000 feet (or 29,000 if it covered up Mt. Everest) would not freeze because that was the new “sea-level” (i.e. everything get ‘pushed’ upwards, and not ‘at that altitude’). The polar caps underneath would likely have melted over the nearly 300 days under water. The real questions are where did that 5.5 miles thick volume of water come from in 150 days, and where did they disappear to in the next 164 days after the flood?
But I agreed with most of your “arguments” here and in your reply to James. It is very difficult to convince a believer who put his faith in the Bible (and it should be) BUT without working his faith, without 1Th 5:21, without realizing that the Bible we have were translated by men with denominational attachment, and could also make judgmental errors in the translation. Take your example of “Earth”/”Land” example. Throughout the KJV’s OT, the hebrew word ‘eh-rets’ (H776) was translated to ‘land’ 1,543 times, to ‘earth’ 712 times and to ‘ground’ 98 times. But in Genesis chapter 6 to 9, every occurrence of H776 was translated to ‘earth’. Go figure.
James,
Thanks for responding. I too believe in miracles. However, it seems like YEC try to explain their position logically until they run into an impossibility, then use the miracle card or simply invent opinions to solve the issue.
But let’s get back to a few of the problems I pointed out. The relocation of the animal population is a good example. Take the sloth, it would have taken them years to migrate to Central and Southern America. No fossils of sloths have been found outside the America’s, even the extinct giant sloth only has been found in North America. To say two sloths could have migrated to and populated the Americas all the way from the middle east is improbable is a gross understatement.
Another problem for literalists are what exactly were carnivores supposed to eat after they left the ark? How about birds of prey who live off mice, rabbits, etc.? Many carnivores who have needed to consume many other smaller animals before they even had a chance to begin to reproduce.
Not only does it simply not make any sense, but the story of the flood recorded in Genesis is completely silent on any of the problematic issues of a global flood and it’s aftermath.
Jesus spoke predominantly in parables, which was common in his time on earth. Earlier in history, poetic language, stories, etc were even more extreme and understood at the time to not be taken in a strict literal sense.
It’s hard for us to understand today, just as it’s a bit hard for us to even understand the 1611 King James bible. Ever tried it? That’s just a few hundred years. Imagine how language, expressions, and etymology in general has changed over the last 4000 years.
Your thoughts on the mountains appearing hundreds of years after Noah are too preposterous for me to even comment on. I will just point out that the peek on Borneo for example is still growing at the rate of 1/4 inch per year, so saying it’s only 4000 years old is just ridiculous.
The fact that populations existed in mass before and continued after Noah’s time uninterrupted prove the flood couldn’t have been global. Genesis itself documents numerous population centers and unique cultures within a short period of time after the flood which could not have been populated by Noah’s three sons.
Zac,
You are correct about me; I connect the dots between Genesis and science as much as I can. If they don’t connect, I go with the Bible. I will not address your specific questions this time because I presume you will not accept them. However, please allow me to talk philosophically just a bit. I am 72 years old and have given much thought to all of this, and my conclusion is that you have four choices concerning the creation: you can believe one of the four: (1) the Bible, (2) evolutionary hypotheses, (3) your personal reasoning, or (4) something else or combination of the other 3. No matter which you decide, you end up believing in miracles. The origin of matter is a miracle. The origin of life is a miracle. Meiosis is a miracle. The packing of cells in accordance with epigenetics is a miracle. The constants in the cosmos are a miracle. Space expansion is a miracle. Everything is a miracle. And I accept them as that.
The fact that mount Everest has marine fossils on it peak is a miracle. I do not know when Everest rose up, but with my knowledge of the Bible. I have concluded it happened in around the year 250 after the flood. Could I be wrong? Of course. But, I will be anxiously waiting the time when I can be with Jesus and see if I was right. If I am wrong, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I believe that Jesus created all things. He didn’t say when Everest came up, but we know it came up and when it did and it had marine fossils on its peak. I am very interested in the creation. I do not understand every scripture, but I do believe every scripture.
The fact that the sloth is in south america is interesting. I believe that he had hundreds of years to crawl there and I believe he had a strong desire to get there, but maybe Jesus carried the sloth in His arms. I have no problem with that either. Some day I will know and I will have much to talk to Jesus about. I will ask Him all these questions because I am interested.
I do trust the King James version of the Bible. I have found it to be the closest to the Hebrew Scriptures, and Jesus had the Hebrew scriptures in the temple. I read other versions, but when I have a question, I go to the King James, the Hebrew scriptures and the Septuagint. Jesus peer reviewed the Hebrew and the Septuagint.
I am not a literalist, an infallibilist, or a inerrantist; I am a face-valuist. I believe that God made the Bible so that any level of intellect can understand it.
Another point of philosophy is that we creationists cannot change the scriptures. Evolutionists make huge changes to their theories all the time. We cannot. If we do we toss away our faith. I have wanted to change the scriptures many times, but have always realized that they are just right the way they are. For instance, the ten commandments are scripture and written in stone. If you read and accept the one concerning keeping the Sabbath ( Exodus 20:8), you will see that the days must be literal days, they are not millions of years. I fought this for many years, but now I realize that the literal days is correct. I no longer want to change the Bible, I want it to change me.
Zak, I wish you the best in your quest for truth. I truly respect your views. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us.
james
The only way all of animal creation could be on one boat is if it was in the form of DNA. Any other theory is totally impossible and diminishes the faith of many people because it remains an unrealistic explanation. You would be better to find alternative answers that don’t include the negation of scientific (evolutionary) theory which is evident in the natural world. God is the ultimate scientist and his time is very different than time on this planet. You should give him credit for evolution instead of having such disdain for it. It makes many Christians seem irrational to open theological discussion. Why can we not maintain faith in a God who is so great and created a universe so complex that we are not yet able to understand the scientific laws involved in his fascinating but still (to us) mysterious plans involved in creation.