Dutchman Builds Full-Scale Noah's Ark from the Bible

Photo taken from Wikipedia

Johan's Huibers replica
of Noah's Ark

Most of us are probably familiar of one famous story written in the Old Testament of the Bible. A story in which God sent a great flood into the world to cleanse and replenish it. The earth that time was so corrupt and full of violence in God's sight. Therefore God said to Himself that He'll destroy the earth and restore it to its initial state. And thus, God commanded Noah to build an ark in preparation for His judgement to come. And Noah, being righteous and faithful to God, build an ark according to God's own given design. Noah finished building the ark after 100 years.

Now, there was a man from Netherlands who replicated a "full-scale" version of Noah's ark. Sixty years old Dutch builder Johan Huibers was inspired in building the biblical Noah's ark after he had dreamed about Holland being engulfed by a great flood. Huibers spent 1.6 million dollars for the ship's construction since he had started it three years ago and is estimated to be finished next month (August 2011). According to him, the design informations from the Bible were strictly followed. (But I actually doubt about the type of wood he used. The wood that God instructed Noah to use in building the ark was Gopher wood. That kind of wood is actually termed to be the "unknown wood" by Bible scholars today.)

The Dutch builder actually owns a successful construction company in Holland. His great enthusiasm for building the ark started 20 years ago after he made about half the size of it and sailed the ark through the canals of Netherlands. It was a great success and was a big hit to tourists in which it became the source of financial needs for his great replica.

The ark's dimensions were 450 feet, the same as the Bible's account of 300 cubits ( a cubit is about 18 inches long, the distance of a man's elbow to the tip of his thumb). The ark weighs about 2,970 metric tons and is constructed in Swedish pine.

Source:
"The Philippine Star", click here to see article.