THE ARK OF NOAH Death infiltrated into the human race, to reveal another, more dangerous, hidden death, namely the inner death of the soul and its corruption, demonstrated in the withdrawal of the hearts of the sons of God toward the daughters of men, and in the corruption of the earth. The earth became in need of renewal through the great flood and the ark of Noah. * An introduction to the ark and the flood. 1- The sons of God and the daughters of men 1-4. 2- The righteous Noah 5-10. 3- Corruption of the earth 11-12. 4- The ark of Noah 13-22. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARK AND THE FLOOD The episode of the great flood occupied a main position in the history of salvation and the renewal of the world by water; as God declared: “The end of all flesh has come before Me” (Gen. 6:13), not to abolish man, but to renew the world; to turn the catastrophe of the great flood into a better goodness for humanity that delivered itself to eternal corruption. The outer great flood came to reveal the flood of sin, destructive to the soul within. Humanity inherited that episode, and presented it to peoples in various forms, which deviated from its original goal, and got mixed with numerous legends. The following is a concise account of some of the old traditions concerning that episode, revealed by the remains of ancient civilizations: a- The Babylonian antiquities: It came in the old monuments of Babylon, about the Egyptian priest ‘Perosos,’ of the third century B.C., that, in the days of King ‘Xisuthras,’ there had been a great flood, and the king built an ark, in which he escaped that flood together with his family and his close friends. He also took with them a number of birds and animals. As the rain stopped, he sent out some of the birds that came back with their feet covered with mud. The same happened for the second time. Then by the third time, it did not return. The ark landed at Aridina. The oldest tradition concerning the great flood was that of ‘Gilgamesh,’ in which Gilgamesh asking ‘Athnafishteem’ about the secret behind his reaching the eternal life, he narrated to him the story of the great flood, and how four gods decided to destroy the world by a great flood. Yet the god of wisdom instructed him to build an ark to escape therein from this flood, together with his family. He sent out some birds, some of which returned carrying olive leaves. After his exit, he offered thanksgiving sacrifices, and the god of wisdom came to bless him and his family and to grant them eternal life. b- The Indian antiquities: A picture of Noah inside the ark was discovered in one of the temples of Buddha. The goddess Coanin looks at him with compassion. Likewise, the drawing includes a dove flying towards the ark carrying a branch from an olive tree. Indian stories tell that the god Brahma appeared to Mano in the form of a fish, instructing him to build an ark, to enter in it together with seven righteous individuals. He tied the ark to the horns of a fish that swam dragging it for several generations; and coming out of that ark, he was instructed to recreate the world anew. 4 c- The Greek antiquities: It came that the god Jupiter instructed Diocalion, the righteous, to enter into an ark, together with his wife and the rest of his family. And as the ark landed on the mountain of Partasus, a dove told him that the rain had come to an end. So he came out to offer thanksgiving sacrifices. d- Monuments of Phrygia in Asia Minor: It was said that ‘Apachus,’ which is a word thought to be derived from ‘Noah,’ when he heard of the great flood, he cried for people’s sake. In ‘Apamia’ in Phrygia, some coins were discovered, on which the image of an ark with people inside, were engraved; with birds outside the ark, one of which carries a branch from an olive tree. On the side of the ark there was a picture of the same people offering thanksgiving sacrifices for their safety. The name ‘Noah’ was engraved on these coins. The old name of that city was ‘Kepotosh,’ meaning “ark,” for its people believed that the ark landed at their city. e- In Persia, China, Phoenicia, Syria, Armenia and the tribes of Mexican Indians: other similar stories were found among the remains of the peoples. These old traditions, although mixed with legends, yet they reveal the existence of a real actual episode, delivered to humanity, but distorted through pagan worships. 1- SONS OF GOD AND DAUGHTERS OF MEN “Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose” (Gen. 6:1-2). St. Augustine, in his work “The City of God,” mentioned two cities, one of them is earthly while the other is heavenly. The first represents the wicked, attached to the earthly, while the other represents the believers attached to the heavenly. That is why when dealing with that phrase before us, he saw in the marriage of the sons of God to the daughters of men, a mixing of the two cities, something that would corrupt the citizens of the heavenly city. Against this issue the apostle Paul warned saying: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) The expression “Sons of God” in the Septuagint version came as Angels, while the exact translation from the Hebrew is “Sons of gods.”.. That is why St. Augustine, who depends more on the Septuagint translation, asked himself: Could angels marry human women? And as his answer was a somewhat long one, I shall concisely present its main points1: (1) The word ‘Angelos’ in Greek, means a “messenger.” So, the word ‘Angels’ may refer to the ministers of God, thus the Sons of God or His ministers were preoccupied with marriage to wicked women instead of being preoccupied with the ministry to God. (2) St. Augustine says that, in his days, certain myths appeared among pagans claiming that some demons assaulted on women carnally with profanity - this could never be attributed to the angels of God. So the saying of the apostle Peter: “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment” (2 Peter 2:4), does not imply their fall into carnal lusts with human women, but their fall into the sin of pride, 1 City of God قامت الدكتورة أمينة كمال متري بترجمة الكتاب الخامس عشر من "مدينة الله".. 15:23 5 before the creation of man. (3) The expression “the sons of gods” came in the translation of ‘Aquila.’ It applies to believers, of whom was said: “I said ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High’” (Psalm 82:6). In other words, what the Holy Scripture referred to, either by angels or sons of gods, are the descendants of ‘Seth,’ who were supposed to live like angels and ministers of God, inflamed with the divine fire of love, or like sons of God. But it happened that they were attracted to the wicked daughters of Cain, because of their beauty. Through that, the righteous intermixed with the wicked, and all were corrupted. And there was need for a general renewal of the whole creation through the water of the great flood. The Lord declared his dissatisfaction by saying: “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years” (Gen. 6:3). As man deviated to wickedness, God declared that His Spirit shall not strive with him forever. Namely, it will not abide in him as long as his conduct is evil, and that his days shall be shortened to 120 years. That was realized gradually after the great flood; and although He allowed some to live longer, yet they lived with no vitality (for they abode in evil). The 120 years probably meant the duration it took Noah to warn the people before he finally entered into the ark. His saying “My Spirit shall not strive with man” probably meant that, as long as man insisted on his evil and stubbornness, he will be deprived of the admonition of the Holy Spirit, for God will deliver him to an outcast spirit. Some believe that the expression “My Spirit” does not apply to the Holy Spirit of God, but to the spirit that God granted to man for it wouldn’t remain in the body forever, but He would withdraw it after 120 years. However, this view is not acceptable. It is to be noted, that as man deviated to carnal lust, God called him “flesh;” or “body’ as in the Septuagint version. It is as though, with his carnal behavior, he became like a body with no spirit; because the body with its lusts enslaves the spirit as well, and leads it according to its ways. Concerning this, St. John Chrysostom says: [As those with the wings of the Spirit, make the body spiritual; so also those who deviate and become slaves to their bellies and their lusts, would make the soul carnal, not in the sense of its essence, but would corrupt its noble origin1.] He also says: [Although they have souls, yet, as they became dead in them, He called them “flesh.” With a similar sense, the pious, although they have bodies, we say that they are all souls or all spirits... The apostle Paul says about those who did not consummate the works of the flesh: “But you are not in the flesh” (Romans 8:9). Whoever lives in luxury, is not living in soul nor in spirit, but in flesh2.] Thus, as the sons of God preoccupied themselves with matters of the flesh getting attached to the daughters of men, they turned into flesh and became nonspiritual. The fruit of that action was begetting giant children, who are fond of contemporary dignity, saying: “There were giants on the earth in those days... Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown” (Gen. 6:4). It is as though, every sin would drag on another; or as if man, delivering himself to weaknesses, would become sins’ toy, each throwing him to the other. The sons of God started by looking and admiring the carnal beauty of the sons of men; then they disregarded their spiritual mission, and turned to carnal thoughts; they became “body,” and begot violence, love of contemporary dignity, instead of the fruits of the Spirit, compassion, 1 In Rom. hom 8. 2 In 1 Tim. hom 13. 6 meekness and humility! 2- THE RIGHTEOUS NOAH “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and the beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Gen. 6:5-7) It was not possible for God, the Holy One, to bear the evil that prevailed on the earth, or to accept encountering the soul He created as His dwelling place, to see that every intent of its thoughts was only evil continually. That is why He was sorry that He had made man on the earth. When the Scripture says: “was sorry” or “was grieved in heart,” we are not to understand these expressions as reactions of anger; but it is the language of the Scripture directed to us humans, to understand and comprehend the bitterness of sin in itself, and the impossibility of fellowship between the divine holiness and the human corruption. St. Augustine interprets the meaning of God’s regret that He had made man by saying: [The wrath of God is not a reaction that could disturb the clarity of His mind (God forbids!), but it is rather a verdict through which sin will be condemned1.] And he says: [The unchangeable (God), changes things, and does not regret - like man about anything He did; as His decision in everything is steadfast, and His knowledge of the future is a sure thing; But, in case, He does not use such expressions, it would not be possible be apprehended by people who need to be addressed in a way familiar to their minds, for their own benefit; in order to warn the arrogant, to wake up the loose, and to satisfy the prudent. That would never be realized unless He first bows, descends to where they are, and talks in their language. By proclaiming that all animals on the earth and in the air will die, he meant to reveal the enormity of the catastrophe that was about to happen. That does not imply that the dumb animals have committed any sin2.] Thus, St. Augustine sees in God’s proclamation that He was sorry that He had created man, a way of modestly addressing us in our own language, in order to realize how far it became impossible to keep our fellowship with God, the source of our life, not because of a change of God’s heart toward us, but because of our own change, through accepting the corruption which is foreign to God insistently. As to His threatening to destroy all animal and bird life, that was out of His supreme love, in the hope that we would reconsider our situation, and would appreciate its seriousness. So in case we repent He would accept us. It is amazing, that, amid this painful portrait, declared by God to human kind, He does not disregard a single individual who walked in righteousness amid a wicked generation; as the Holy Bible says: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8). In the middle of that pitch darkness, He does not disregard a beautiful shining, even if it seems to be a small and pale. In every generation, God rejoices in His saints, even if they were a small remnant amid the corruption that fills the earth. God testifies to Noah, “Noah was a just man, perfect in his generation” (Gen. 6:9). As to saying, “in his generation,” this reveals that his righteousness and perfection were not absolute; but if compared to the corruption that prevailed in his days, for man’s righteousness is relative. 1 City of God 15:25. 2 City of God 15:25. 7 3- CORRUPTION OF THE EARTH “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence... For all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Gen. 6:11-12). It is to be noted that the word “earth” is repeated several times in this chapter, especially between the verses 5 and 13, being mentioned 7 times. This repetition reveals how God longed to see in the human life a heavenly mark, yet as man got corrupted, he became a dusty earth carrying corruption. And in order not to think that the material of the earth, or what it carried of resources and fruits etc. had been corrupted, He confirmed: “for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth,” namely, that the corruption of man had distorted all the dumb creatures. 4- THE ARK OF NOAH God revealed to His servant Noah what He was going to do, saying to him: “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Gen. 6:13). God could have instructed Noah to build the ark, and he could have obeyed in faith and trust. But God, with His love for mankind, longs not to be the One who comments and is to be obeyed, but rather a loving Friend, who converses with man, to reveal to him His wisdom and mysteries, and as said by the Psalmist: “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant” (Psalm 25:14). He revealed to him that, although He is destroying them together with the earth, destruction is the natural consequence of the corruption they have chosen by themselves. That is obvious in His saying: “The end of all flesh has come before Me,” as though He is saying: I did not want it that way, but they have created for themselves a destruction that would bring about their end; they have chosen it with their own free will. Now, although the wicked have done that to themselves, bringing destruction even to the whole earth, yet God, in order not to let His children be destroyed together with them, He instructed Noah to build an ark for his deliverance. The Holy Scripture presented to us a very detailed and accurate account of the story of the ark, and with some detail because of the symbolic significance of the ark in connection to our salvation by the cross. (1) Importance of the ark: In our study of Baptism1, we noticed how the liturgies of the Church, and the sayings of the Fathers, have cast the light on the ark of Noah, on account that the great flood was a symbol of the true work of renewal of the human nature, and the ark, a symbol of the cross that carried Christ nailed for our sake, thus carrying in Him the Church, which is His holy body. The old man had to be destroyed in the water of Baptism, so that the new man, that had been made in the image of its Creator, would be set to carry the newness of life, or that life raised from the dead in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:3-4). It is as though the great flood, as a symbol of Baptism, separates between the old life of darkness, and the life shining with the light of the resurrection of the Lord Christ Jesus. That thought of Church Fathers came as an extension of the apostolic thought; as the apostle Peter says: “When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism, not the removal of filth of the flesh, but the .٣٢- 1 للمؤلف: الروح القدس بين الميلاد الجديد والتجديد المستمر، ١٩٨١ ، ص ٢٩ 8 answer of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:20- 21). Since we have already presented the liturgical and patristic thought in this concern1, I shall only mention few more words: God created man from dust, renewed him by water, let him grow by His Spirit, and trained him by the word of adoption and salvation, guiding him by the holy commandments, in order to turn man, born of dust, into a heavenly sanctified being, on His coming2. St. Clement of Alexandria In the great flood - in the days of Noah - all people died, except for Noah and his family... So, the outer man perishes, but the inner one is renewed. This does not only happen in the water of Baptism, but also by repentance, when the lusts of the flesh perish, and the spirit grows. As we are taught by the apostolic authority, saying: “For indeed as absent in body, but present in spirit, have already judged, as though I were present… deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Corinthians 5:3- 5)3. St. Ambrose (2) Material of the ark: “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood” (Gen. 6:14). According to the Septuagint version “of square boards.” St. Augustine believes that it refers to the Church4, or to the steadfast and well-established life of saints as the square boards, whatever their movement is, remain standing upright5. St. Ambrose says: [You see water, wood, and a dove! Do not get confused! In the water, the body is emerged to get all its sins cleansed, and all its evil buried. On the wood, the Lord has been nailed as He suffered for our sake. And in the appearance of a dove, the Holy Spirit descended, as we read in the New Testament. He who grants peace to your soul and mind and the raven is a symbol of sin that goes not to return, as righteousness is kept in you in the side and outside6.] Origen7 sees in the wooden square boards with right angles a reference to the prophets and apostles, through whom the library of divine knowledge is set in the soul. Seeing in the ark a symbol of entrance into the secrets of the knowledge of God through His Divine Word. (3) Dimensions of the ark: If the ark refers to enjoyment of free salvation of the Lord Christ, and to entrance into knowledge of exalted secrets of God through the cross; to be called by Origen “the library of divine words” or “the library of divine knowledge,” that is why its dimensions, from length, to width, to height, would refer to faith, love, and hope, as he says: [Whoever is capable of listening to the words of God, and to the divine commandments, despite the burden of evil and the enormity of transgressions, disregarding the corruptible things, would be able to build in his heart an ark of deliverance, and to dedicate in his soul a library of divine words; and so would be granted faith, love, and hope, as length, width and height. Faith in the Holy .٣٢- 1 للمؤلف: الروح القدس بين الميلاد الجديد والتجديد المستمر، ١٩٨١ ، ص ٢٩ 2 Paedagogus 1:7. 3 Duties of the Clergy 3:18 (108). 4 On Ps. 87. 5 City of God 15:26. 6 On Mystr. 3:11. 7 In Gen. hom 2:6. 9 Trinity is the length that extends to eternity; the width is love displayed in delicate emotions; and height is hope that would carry him to where heavenly Truth is, as while we are on earth, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20)1.] In more detail he says that length is 300 cubits, as the figure 100 refers to the reasonable flock of Christ (Luke 15:4-5), of which the Lord Christ is keen not to lose a single sheep; that flock is sanctified through its knowledge of the Holy Trinity (100 x 3), or faith in Him. As for the width of the ark, it was 50 cubits, and as we saw in our study of the Book of Exodus, and that of Numbers, that the figure 50 refers to forgiveness of sins2, as what used to occur in the year of the Jubilee (50 years), when a general amnesty is proclaimed, together with a liberation of slaves and land. And as also happened on the day of the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended over the disciples in the upper room, to grant the Church a heavenly nature, free from sin. Width refers to love, that forgiving love of God, and our love that covers the weaknesses of others. As to the height of 30 cubits, that refers to the rise of man to God, as Joseph did, when he set forth, at the age of 30 years, from the prison to the palace, to take over the government of Egypt. Therefore, let the spiritual ark be built in us, so that we would have the true experimental knowledge: its length being the living faith in the Holy Trinity; its width, the true love for God and men, and its height, the hope in heavenly. St. Augustine3 sees in the dimensions of the ark (300 x 50 x 30), a symbol of the body of the Lord Christ: A mature man, according to this saint has a length equal to 6 times his width between his sides (300 x 50), and 10 times his height (his thickness from the back to the chest) (300 x 30). It is as though the ark refers to the Incarnated Word of God, who carried us in Him to deliver us from the great flood, to His new land. (4) Covering it inside and outside with pitch: As Origen says: [He wants us to be saints from outside, and with pure heart inside, well protected from every side with the virtue of fulfillment (the outer pitch), and purity (the inner pitch)4.] (5) The side door: St. Augustine says: [This, no doubt refers to the wound by the spear, in the side of the crucified, through which those coming to Him would enter, and from it secrets by which believers in Him would enter into His fellowship would pour out5.] (6) The three decks: St. Augustine6 sees in these three decks a living portrait of the Church assembled of all peoples and from all nations, consummated from the descendants of the three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The three decks may also refer to the three virtues instructed by the apostle Paul: faith, hope, and love. He also sees in them the believers who delivered three different quantities of crop: hundred-, sixty-, and thirty fold (Matthew 13:23; Mark 4:8), or represents the heavenly city or eternal Church, that embraces in its membership pure married people, as well as widows, and pure virgins. Origen7 sees in the three decks a reference to the three ways of interpretation: the literal, the moral or ethical, and the spiritual interpretations. Whoever stops at the 1 In Gen. hom 2:6. .٣٤ ¡ 2 الخروج، ١٩٨١ ، ص ١٨٢ ؛ العدد ١٩٨١ ، ص ٣٣ 3 City of God 15:26. 4 In Gen. hom 2:4. 5 City of God 15:26. 6 City of God 15:26. 7 In Gen. hom 2:6. 10 literal interpretation, will be like him who settled down in the lower deck, together with the animals; while he, who rises to the moral then enjoys the spiritual interpretation, will be like the righteous Noah and his family in an encounter with God. (7) Noah and his family in the ark: Origen says: [Through ascending the successive decks of the ark, we reach Noah himself whose name means (comfort) or (righteousness); Noah is Jesus Christ, as, the words of his father Lamech do not apply on the old Noah, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed” (Gen. 5:29... Look at our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom is said: “Behold; The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29); “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’” (Galatians 3:3). And He also says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Here you are, seeing Him as truly granting rest to humanity, and redeeming the earth from the curse1.] And St. Peter, the apostle, noticed that the souls saved by the ark were eight (1 Peter 3:20-21); This figure refers to the Church hidden in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ; or refers to its heavenly nature, and its new features, through its enjoyment of the resurrected life in Jesus Christ. We know that figure 8 refers to life after time; as the figure 7 refers to the days of the week, the figure 8 signifies crossing the frontier of time. 1 In Gen. hom 2:3.
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