Since we were little children, if we were brought up in a Christian home, we have heard about Noah, his family, the animals, and of course, the great ark that he and his sons built from gopher wood. It is said that the measurements were sent to him directly from God. It took Noah and his sons many years to complete the building of the ark and to gather the animals and supplies that they needed to survive the great flood that God told Noah was coming.

The story goes that as Noah and his offspring built the ark, the people who lived around them laughed and made fun of them as they constructed this huge vessel. It did not rain during that time and they all thought that the prospect of water falling from the sky was ridiculous. In the end they were supposedly proven wrong when the rains did begin and the earth began to flood. The only safe place to be found was inside the ark and after the door was closed no one could get inside.

While Noah, his family, their supplies, and all of the creatures both large and small waited patiently for the rain to stop, they became increasingly afraid that they might be trapped inside for who knew how long. It is said that after forty days and forty nights of rainfall, it finally came to a stop. Noah opened the window, but all he could see surrounding them on all sides was water. There was no land anywhere to be seen. Not even a mountain top peeked through the water.

After a while, Noah released a dove into the air, but it eventually came back because there was no where for it to rest except on the ark. Later, Noah released another dove and it did not come back because it had apparently found a dry place to make a nest. This was wonderful news for Noah and his family. They believed now that their days left inside the ark were numbered.

So the end of the story goes that the ark finally came to rest on a mountainside and the family was able to leave the ark. The animals they had captured were released back into the wilds of the world to repopulate themselves. Noah and his family somehow did the same. This was achieved because the sons of Noah had brought wives with them into the ark and the rest we suppose is history.