by Tim Chaffey
There is some debate about whether Japheth was older than Shem due to plausible interpretations of Genesis 10:21. In this verse, some Bible translations identify Shem as “the brother of Japheth the elder” (KJV, NKJV, NIV) while several others describe Shem as the older brother of Japheth (NASB, NET, ESV, CSB). Based on the way the same Hebrew construction is translated elsewhere in the Old Testament, it seems that the latter option is a more natural way to render this verse. However, if Shem were the oldest and born when Noah was 502 or 503, how could Genesis 5:32 state that Noah was 500 when the first of his sons was born? Those who favor Shem as the oldest generally see Noah’s age as being a round number. But this would be inconsistent with the precision used throughout the rest of Genesis 5 when describing the age of each father at the birth of his son of record.
There is some legitimate debate over this issue, so Christians should hold their own view tentatively. For the story, we decided to make Japheth the oldest. While this is a questionable way to interpret Genesis 10:21 it makes better sense of other factors. Noah’s age at the birth of his first son is not simply a round number; thus, this position understands the ages in Genesis 5 consistently. Also, it fits with a common theme found throughout Genesis: the younger son often takes precedent over the oldest. Consider the following sets of brothers and think about which one becomes more important in the text: Cain or Seth, Haran or Abram, Ishmael or Isaac, Esau or Jacob, Reuben or Judah (or Joseph). Finally, if Shem is not the oldest, then Genesis 5:32 is consistent with Genesis 11:26 in listing first the most relevant son instead of the oldest.
How old was Cain when he murdered Abel and who was he afraid of?
In Chapter 19, Methuselah spoke about Cain and Abel, filling in some of the biblical backstory for Noah and his group. Most people tend to think of Cain and Abel as teenagers or twentysomethings when the murder occurred, but the Bible gives several clues indicating that they were likely much older than that, perhaps even 100 years older.
Genesis 4:25 explains that Eve gave birth to another son, Seth, and it is pretty clear that she viewed him as a replacement for Abel. She said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” In Genesis 5:3, we learn that this happened when Adam was 130 years old, and that Seth was just one of many other children that Adam and Eve had. Since Seth was viewed as Abel’s replacement, then he was almost certainly the next son born to them after Abel’s death. This means that Abel would have been murdered nearly 130 years after Adam was created. And if Cain was born within the first few years of Adam and Eve being banished from the garden, then Cain could have been over 120 years old at the murder of Abel. We have no reason to think that it would have taken very long for Eve to conceive since God created Adam and Eve with perfectly functioning bodies, and He instructed them to be fruitful and multiply. Genesis 4 and 5 show us that they certainly did that.
If Cain and Abel were over 100 years old at the time of Abel’s murder, then we can solve another question that has puzzled Bible readers: why was Cain worried that someone might find and kill him? As we explained in the non-fiction section of the first book of this trilogy, Noah: Man of Destiny, brother would have originally married sister in the first generation after Adam. If Cain and Abel were as young as many people assume, then there would not have been any other people in the world for him to fear. But if he were nearly 130 years old, there could have been plenty of people who might have sought to avenge Abel’s death. Abel may have already been married with many adult children and possibly even grandchildren and great grandchildren. This scenario is portrayed in the novel, as one of the Ark’s passengers happens to be a descendant of Abel. Also, if Cain and Abel had other siblings at this time, those siblings may have also been tempted to go after Cain.
You may recall from the non-fiction section of Noah: Man of Destiny that some Christians have proposed that God created other people apart from Adam and Eve, but this contradicts the clear teaching of the Bible that Eve was the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20). They think this solves the issue of Cain’s wife and explains who he would have been afraid of, but it does nothing of the sort. Cain’s fear is based on the possibility of retaliation, and the people who might want to retaliate would be those who knew the victim. If God created other people somewhere in the world unrelated to Adam and Eve, as is supposed by some, then why would these individuals be upset with Cain for killing someone that they had probably never heard of?
Why did you depict the cherubim at the Garden of Eden the way you did?
Dealing with the cherubim at the Garden of Eden required us to make numerous important decisions. What should we call them? What did they look like? How should they behave? How should they speak? How much do they know and how much could they tell Noah? This section will explain our rationale behind why we portrayed the cherubim the way we did.
Genesis 3:24 states that God drove Adam out “and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life” (NKJV). The Bible mentions cherubim being placed at the east side of the garden along with a flaming sword. Notice that the text does not say that the cherubim wielded the sword. Instead, it states the flaming sword turned every way to guard the tree of life. Also, cherubim is the masculine plural form of cherub, so there were at least two of these entities. In our story, we stationed two cherubim at the east side of the garden, and we had the sword protect the rest of it.
Readers may have noticed that we never referred to them as cherubim or angels in the book. The reason for this is that we wanted to think of what someone without the text of Genesis might have called them. How much did Noah know about angels? Was he aware of the many different types of heavenly beings described in Scripture? In the second book, Noah: Man of Resolve, Noah and Tubal-Cain discussed their thoughts about the existence of spiritual beings, but they had only a very limited understanding of them. Since we gave Noah a very restricted knowledge of angelic beings, we decided that he would not even know what they were actually called. So in the book, the cherubim are most often referred to as guardians since that describes their function at the garden.
For their appearance, we had several options in Scripture to choose from. When Solomon built the temple, the inner sanctuary boasted cherubim made of olive wood. They are described in 1 Kings 6:26 as being ten cubits tall. We know this passage is merely describing the height of the cherubim depicted in the temple, but we decided to make the living beings at the garden the same height. Also, such height would certainly make them extremely intimidating to Naamah’s army.
The Book of Ezekiel includes a few descriptions of cherubim that make them seem rather bizarre. The term cherub does not appear in the first chapter, but by comparing the description and role of the creatures in the first chapter with those called cherubim in chapter 10, we can be quite certain they are the same types of beings. Chapter 1 describes them as having feet like those of a calf (v. 7) and four wings, each with human-like hands under them (v. 8). Verse 10 also explains that each of them had four faces: the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle. Incidentally, the line about the feet of a calf is the main reason many portrayals of Satan show him with hooves (many Christians believe he is referred to as the “anointed cherub” in Ezekiel 28:13–14).
There are other places in the Bible that discuss cherubim while making no mention of them having four faces or calves’ feet. For example, Ezekiel 41:18 mentions cherubim with two faces (man and lion). In the story, we gave the cherubim four wings, but we chose not to give them four faces or calves’ feet. Part of the reason for this is that we wanted the guardians to focus straight ahead, so Noah would not have been able to see each of the four faces. And we did not want to introduce this idea during the battle at the garden because it would have been confusing for the reader.
For their behavior and speech, we used other angels in Scripture as our model. One of the angels mentioned that t
hey were fellow servants of God with Noah. These words echo what John was told by an angel in both Revelation 19:10 and 22:9. The Bible also indicates that angels are limited in knowledge, so in our story they could not answer all of Noah’s questions. They only knew what God had permitted them to know, and encouraged Noah to believe that the Most High would do what is right. We wanted them to be firm yet compassionate toward Noah, but unyielding and intimidating toward the Havilite army. At the same time, they urged Naamah to turn to the Creator, borrowing words from an angel in Revelation 14:7, and appealed to the one tender spot we have seen from her: Tubal-Cain.
How did you decide when certain characters would die?
One of the challenges in writing this series has been to keep it exciting and suspenseful even though most readers would know that only eight people would be alive at the end. This means that some of the characters we enjoy will not survive. Readers had to say goodbye to Ara, Aterre, Tubal-Cain, and others in the second novel. In this book, everyone except for Noah and his family perished. Readers who have been through the Ark Encounter and remember the names given to the women there may have immediately recognized Noah’s daughters-in-law in the story as soon as they were first mentioned.
Since many of the characters were fictitious, we had freedom regarding their deaths. However, two of the characters had to die at appointed times because Scripture tells us how long they lived. Noah’s father Lamech died five years before the Flood, and Methuselah passed away in the same year as the Flood. It is possible that he died in the Flood, but most Christians do not like that idea. So to avoid frustrating readers, we had Methuselah die about a month before the Flood.
This brings up an important issue to address. Many Christians have been taught that Methuselah’s name means something like “when he dies, judgment.” This is how Henry Morris defined it in The Genesis Record, although he was a bit tentative. People who follow this line of thinking believe Enoch, being a prophet, essentially uttered a prophecy about the Flood when he named his son. Some people have even claimed that when one combines the meanings of the ten names from Adam to Noah they spell out a message of redemption. However, this idea is full of problems in that the names often do not mean what has been claimed. For example, I could not find a single Hebrew lexicon that gives a meaning to Methuselah’s name that has something to do with judgment. It seems that his name might be related to a dart or javelin, which is why the Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon gives a plausible definition as “man of the dart.” We knew Methuselah needed to die in the same year as the Flood, but we also did not want to give credence to the idea that his name was prophetic, so we had him die about a month before the onset of the Flood.
Why did you describe the pitch as coming from trees instead of bitumen?
The early chapters of Genesis mention tar or bitumen on two occasions. The builders of the city and Tower of Babel used bitumen for mortar between their bricks (Genesis 11:3). And Genesis 14:10 describes the Valley of Siddim as being full of bitumen pits. Many people have assumed that Noah would have used something like this to coat the interior and exterior of the Ark per God’s command in Genesis 6:14. A petroleum-based substance like bitumen might work for preserving and sealing a wooden ship. However, it is unlikely that Noah would have used such a material because much of the petroleum-based substances we know today are likely a result of the huge amount of biotic material buried during the Flood.
Pine-derived tar was often used to preserve the wood that made sailing ships prior to the advent of iron and steel ships. Since Noah used an extraordinary amount of wood to construct the Ark, it makes sense that he would have used a tree-based tar or resin for pitch, especially if gopherwood produced the sticky substance.
Why didn’t you show more of the Ark being built?
It might seem strange to some readers that in a book about Noah we only spent a few chapters showing the family working on the Ark. This was not an oversight on our part; it was a conscious decision to keep such descriptions to a minimum. While it is true that the Ark’s construction was extremely important and undoubtedly took up many years in Noah’s life, reading a story about the Ark’s construction would likely be quite boring. This novel needed to span 100 years in Noah’s life, from the time when he and his wife were expecting their first son to the onset of the Flood. Since we needed to make significant leaps in the timeline, the natural places for those were during the Ark’s construction. Still, we included some planning and details throughout those chapters to keep the Ark in constant focus and to connect with ideas displayed at the Ark Encounter, from animal enclosures to systems for collecting fresh water and much more.
How many people worked on the Ark?
The Bible does not necessarily tell us how many people built the Ark. Hebrews 11:7 says that Noah built the Ark for the saving of his household, and we know that only eight people were on it during the Flood. Did Noah build it by himself or did only eight people work on the Ark? We cannot know the answer with any certainty, or as I like to say, “We just don’t Noah.” Sorry, bad pun.
Given that Noah apparently had a maximum of 50–75 years to work on the project, it is certainly plausible that his small group could have built the Ark (see non-fiction section of Noah: Man of Resolve for details on how long it took Noah to build the Ark). However, it is also possible that many others were involved in the work. As we have seen, Noah’s father died five years before the Flood and his grandfather died in the same year the Flood started. If they lived near Noah, then they might have helped him build it. Noah could have also had many other family members and friends helping, and he might have even hired construction workers. The Bible does not preclude any of those possibilities.
In our story, we kept the number of people to a relatively small group of 15: Noah, Emzara, Japheth, Rayneh, Shem, Ar’yel, Ham, Kezia, Lamech, Methuselah, Purlek, Evet, Elam, Garun, and Laleel. We also had Noah purchase supplies and goods from Jabal’s group, so technically there were others involved in the work.
Does the Ark in the book match the design of the Ark at the Ark Encounter?
The way we described the exterior of the Ark in the novel matches the design seen at the Ark Encounter. However, the Ark’s interior is laid out differently than what guests experience when they visit the theme park. Keep in mind that the massive Ark in Williamstown, Kentucky, built to the biblical dimensions, was made to accommodate thousands of visitors every day, so it has wide walkways, a huge ramp system with a gentle slope for wheelchairs and powered carts, emergency exit stairwells, restrooms on each deck, and dozens of world-class exhibits.
The Ark described in the book follows the design of the Half-Ark Model seen on the first deck of the Ark Encounter. This model was made to show what Noah’s Ark might have looked like on the inside, taking into account all of the animals, food, water, and storage needed. Narrower hallways along with smaller and steeper ramps could have been used on each deck. The family’s living quarters may have been on the second floor, which would rock less in the water compared to the third deck, and it would put the family in closer proximity to most of the animals.
Besides the design of the Ark, how well do the novels line up with what visitors see at the Ark Encounter?
For the most part, the details about Noah and his family described at the Ark Encounter are consistent with the novels. Of course, the novels go into far more detail than the signage in the themed exhibits and serve as sort of the semi-official story for the characters on the Ark. For example, the Who Was Noah? exhibit on Deck Two of the Ark Encounter is essentially an abbreviated form of these novels, from Noah’s boyhood longing to build boats to the construction of the Ark. Many of the answers given by the animatronic Noah in Noah’s Study are derived from this story. Also, the information on the signs that give a bit of backstory for each of Noah’s family members in the Living Quarters are drawn from the story told in these novels.
Some very minor differences can be found, such as the fact that the novels neve
r have Noah wearing the hat that can he can be seen wearing at the Ark. Future exhibits at the theme park may not line up perfectly with the novels. For example, one of the future phases at the park is the Walled City, and there has been talk of placing Noah’s house within the city walls. This leads us to the next question.
Why did you have Noah move far away to build the Ark? Doesn’t the Bible teach that people mocked him while he worked?
Movies and books often depict Noah building the Ark just outside of a city. This gives him the benefit of hiring laborers and obtaining needed supplies, but it also provides the opportunity to include a healthy amount of scoffers who made fun of Noah for building the Ark.
As we have done throughout this series, we sought to go against many of the popular ideas about Noah and the Ark that are not found directly in Scripture. The reason for this is to challenge people to look closely at the Bible and base their ideas on it rather than on popular retellings of Noah. This is one reason we chose to move Noah away from a city for the Ark’s construction. While there may have been advantages for building near a city, the disadvantages might have outweighed them. For example, since the people were so violent and immoral prior to the Flood, would they have even let Noah finish building the Ark? Of course, ultimately, they could not really stop him, since God commanded him to do it, but it seems likely that some of these wicked people would have sought to destroy the Ark if they lived near it. So, by moving Noah away from populated areas in our story, he was able to build the Ark and raise his sons in a relatively safe environment. Interestingly enough, the Jewish historian Josephus stated that Noah moved away from the populace to build the Ark, but there is no way he could have known this with certainty. Since Scripture is silent on this issue, we really cannot be certain where he built it.
