I don't agree with you concerning how specific Genesis is as to the
resting place of the ark. The word `Ararat' occurs four times in the Old
Testament. In addition to Gen. 8:4 it occurs in II Kings 19:37 and Isa.
37:38, where it is called a land, and in Jer. 51:27, where it is called a
kingdom. Ararat was the Hebrew name for a country better known to us by
its Babylonian name Urartu. It was north of Assyria mostly in what is now
eastern Turkey. It is my understanding that the nearly 17,000-foot volcano
that we know as Mt. Ararat has only borne that name for approximately the
last 1000 years.
It seems to me that the Genesis account gives indications that the landing
site was somewhere other than the summit of the highest peak in the
region. For example, apparently olive trees grew at that altitude. Also at
a time when a bird couldn't find any land near the ark that wasn't covered
by water other mountains were visible.
Gordon Brown
Department of Mathematics
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0395
On Fri, 14 Aug 1998, Vandergraaf, Chuck wrote:
> The Genesis account appears to be quite specific as to what happened: waters
> kept coming for "40 days," the water covered the "highest mountain" to a
> depth of "20 feet," "all creatures, birds, livestock, wild animals and
> mankind" perished; the flooding lasted [another] "150 days," the ark came to
> rest "on the 17th day of the seventh month" [i.e. 6 x 29 + 17 = 191 days,
> assuming a lunar, 29-day calendar]; this is close to "40 days of flooding" +
> "150 days of water receding." The ark came to rest, not on any mountain,
> but one that was identified by name and one that we can still find on a map
> of the area. Similarly, the location of the Garden of Eden is identified in
> Gen 2:10-14.