or Noah's Ark, a floating vessel built by Noah, for the preservation of his family, and the several species of animals, during the deluge.

The ark has afforded several points of curious inquiry among the critics and naturalists, relating to its form, capacity, materials, &c.

The wood whereof the ark was built is called in the Hebrew Gopher wood, and in the Septuagint square timbers. Some translate the original cedar, others pine, others box, &c. Pelletier prefers cedar on account of its incorruptibility, and the great plenty of it in Asia; whence Herodotus and Theophrastus relate, that the kings of Egypt and Syria built whole fleets thereof, instead of deal.

The learned Mr Fuller, in his Miscellanies, has observed, that the wood whereof the ark was built was nothing but that which the Greeks call κυπαρισσος, or the cypress tree; for, taking away the termination, kupar and gopher differ very little in sound. This observation the great Bochart has confirmed, and shown very plainly that no country abounds so much with this wood as that part of Assyria which lies about Babylon.

In what place Noah built and finished his ark is not made a matter of dilutation. But the most probable opinion is, that it was built in Chaldea, in the territories of Babylon, where there was so great a quantity of cypresses in the groves and gardens in Alexander's time, that that prince built a whole fleet out of it for want of timber. And this conjecture is confirmed by the Chaldean tradition, which makes Xisuthrus (another name for Noah) let fall from that country.

The dimensions of the ark, as given by Moses, are 300 cubits in length, 50 in breadth, and 30 in height; which some have thought too scanty, considering the number of things it was to contain; and hence an argument has been drawn against the authority of the relation. To solve this difficulty many of the ancient fathers and the modern critics, have been put to very miserable shifts: But Buteo and Kircher have proved geometrically, that taking the common cubit of a foot and a half, the ark was abundantly sufficient for all the animals supposed to be lodged in it. Snellius computes the ark to have been above half an acre in area. Father Lamy shows, that it was 110 feet longer than the church of St Mary at Paris, and 64 feet narrower; and if so, it must have been longer than St Paul's church in London, from west to east, and broader than that church is high in the inside, and 54 feet of our measure in height; and Dr Arbuthnot computes it to have been 81062 tons.

The things contained in it were, besides eight persons of Noah's family, one pair of every species of unclean animals, and seven pair of every species of clean animals, with provisions for them all during the whole year. The former appears, at first view, almost infinite; but if we come to a calculation, the number of species of animals will be found much less than is generally imagined; out of which, in this case, are excepted such animals as can live in the water; and Bishop Wilkins shows that only 72 of the quadruped kind needed a place in the ark.

By the description Moses gives of the ark, it appears to have been divided into three stories, each ten cubits or 15 feet high; and it is agreed on, as most probable, that the lowest story was for the beasts, the middle for the food, and the upper for the birds, with Noah and his family; each story being subdivided into different apartments, hulls, &c., though Josephus, Philo, and other commentators, add a kind of fourth story under all the rest; being, as it were, the hold of the vessel, to contain the ballast and receive the filth and feces of so many animals: but F. Calmet thinks, that what is here reckoned a story, was no more than what is called the keel of ships, and served only for a conservatory of fresh water. Drexelius makes 300 apartments; F. Fournier, 333; the anonymous author of the questions on Genesis, 400; Buteo, Temporarius, Arias Montanus, Hofius, Wilkins, Lamy, and others, suppose as many partitions as there were different sorts of animals. Pelletier makes only 72, viz. 36 for the birds, and as many for the beasts. His reason is, that if we suppose a greater number, as 333 or 400, each of the eight persons in the ark must have had 37, 41, or 50 stalls to attend and cleanse daily, which he thinks impossible to have been done. But it is observed, that there is not much in this: to diminish the number of stalls without the diminution of animals is in vain; it being perhaps more difficult to take care of 300 animals in 72 stalls than in 300. As to the number of animals contained in the ark, Buteo computes that it could not be equal to 500 horses; he even reduces the whole to the dimensions of 56 pair of oxen. F. Lamy enlarges it to 64 pair of oxen, or 128 oxen; so that, supposing one ox equal to two horses, if the ark had room for 256 horses, there must have been room for all the animals. But the same author demonstrates, that one floor of it would suffice for 500 horses, allowing nine square feet to a horse.

As to the food in the second story, it is observed by Buteo from Columella, that 30 or 40 pounds of hay ordinarily suffices for an ox a-day; and that a solid cubit of hay, as usually pressed down in our hay ricks, weighs... weighs about 40 pounds; so that a square cubit of hay is more than enough for one ox in one day. Now, it appears, that the second story contained 150,000 solid cubits; which divided between 206 oxen, will afford each more hay, by two-thirds, than he can eat in a year. Bishop Wilkins computes all the carnivorous animals equivalent, as to the bulk of their bodies, and their foods, to 17 wolves, and all the rest to 280 beeves. For the former he allows 1825 sheep; and for the latter, 109,500 cubits of hay: all which will be easily contained in the two first stories, and a deal of room to spare. As to the third story, nobody doubts of its being sufficient for the fowls; with Noah, his sons, and daughters. Upon the whole, the learned bishop remarks, that of the two, it appears much more difficult to assign a number and bulk of necessary things to answer the capacity of the ark, than to find sufficient room for the several species of animals already known to have been there. This he attributes to the imperfection of our list of animals, especially those of the unknown parts of the earth; adding, that the most expert mathematician at this day could not assign the proportion of a vessel better accommodated to the purpose than is here done: and hence he finally concludes, that the capacity of the ark, which had been made an objection against Scripture, ought to be esteemed a confirmation of its divine authority; since, in those ruder ages, men, being less versed in arts and philosophy, were more obnoxious to vulgar prejudices than now; so that, had it been a human invention, it would have been contrived, according to those wild apprehensions which arise from a confused and general view of things, as much too big as it had been represented too little.

But it must be observed, that, besides the places requisite for the beasts and birds, and their provisions, there was room required for Noah to lock up household utensils, the instruments of husbandry, grains, and seeds to sow the earth with after the deluge; for which purpose it is thought that he might spare room in the third story for 36 cabins, besides a kitchen, a hall, four chambers, and a space about 43 cubits in length to walk in.

Ark of the Covenant, a small chest or coffer, three feet nine inches in length, two feet three inches in breadth, and two feet three inches in height, in which were contained the golden pot that held manna, and Aaron's rod, and the tables of the covenant. This coffer was made of shittim wood, and covered with a lid, which was made of solid gold. The ark was repolished in the holiest place of the tabernacle. It was taken by the Philistines, and detained 20, some say 40 years, at Kirjath-jearim; but the people being afflicted with emerods on account of it, returned it with divers presents. It was afterwards placed in the temple.

The lid or covering of the ark was called the propitiatory or mercy-seat; over which were two figures placed called Cherubims, with expanded wings of a peculiar form. Here the Schechinah rested both in the tabernacle and temple in a visible cloud: hence were issued the Divine oracles by an audible voice; and the high priest appeared before this mercy-seat once every year on the great day of expiation; and the Jews, wherever they worshipped, turned their faces towards the place where the ark stood.

In the second temple there was also an ark, made of the same shape and dimensions with the first, and put in the same place, but without any of its contents and peculiar honours. It was used as a representative of the former on the day of expiation, and a repository of the original copy of the holy Scriptures, collected by Ezra and the men of the great synagogue, after the captivity. And in imitation of this, the Jews to this day have a kind of ark in their synagogues, wherein their sacred books are repolished. This they call aron. Leo of Modena gives a description thereof in his Account of the Customs and Ceremonies of those of his Nation. "The Jews (says he), in the eastern side of their synagogues, have an ark, or armory, called aron, in memory of the ark of the covenant. In this are preserved the five books of Moses, written on vellum, with ink made on purpose," &c. Some have supposed that the figure of this ark, is still remaining on the triumphal arch of Titus at Rome; though Villapandus and others, with greater reason, are of opinion, that it is the table of shew bread. Prideaux's Con. vol. i. p. 209. Tertullian calls this ark Armarium judaicum; whence the phrase, to be in the armory of the synagogue, q. d. in the number of canonical writings.

A chest or coffer, very nearly resembling the Jewish ark, and called the house of the God, was found in Huanheine, one of the islands in the southern sea. Mr Banks could obtain no other information concerning it than what the name imports. Hawkesworth's Account, &c. vol. ii. p. 252.