Noah, << NOH uh, >> according to the Bible, was the only righteous, God-fearing man of his time. Genesis 6-9 tells that he was chosen by God to keep some people and animals alive during the Deluge, or great Flood (see Deluge ). Noah warned people for 120 years that the Flood was coming. During that time, he built a ship, called the ark, which was 450 feet (137 meters) long. He took into the ark his family and enough birds and animals to repopulate Earth. The rain poured down for 40 days and 40 nights (Genesis 7:12, 24).
The waters dropped enough 150 days after the Flood started that the ark was able to rest on the mountains of Ararat (see Ararat ), in what is now Turkey. Noah let loose a raven that only flew back and forth because the waters had not yet dried up. Then he sent out a dove, and it returned because it could find no place to perch. He sent out the dove two more times. On the second flight, it returned with an olive branch in its mouth. Noah and the animals left the ark later to begin a new life. Noah offered sacrifice to God for deliverance, and God promised that he would never send another flood to destroy Earth. God made the rainbow a sign of that promise. He commanded Noah and his descendants to respect human life and to punish murder with the death penalty.
Noah’s sons were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Shem became father of the Semitic peoples, including the Jews and the Arabs. Ham was the father of the Hamitic peoples. Japheth was the father of peoples of Asia Minor and Europe. In traditions originally unrelated to the Flood, Noah is pictured as a gardener and credited with the discovery of wine (Genesis 9:18-27).
