Bible Questions and Answer

The Bible doesn't say where Noah lived or built the ark. Genesis tells us only that the ark came to rest "on the mountains of Ararat" after the flood, which is in eastern Turkey and Armenia. Since the ark floated for months, it could have been built far from there. Many people look to Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern Iraq. The reasons are that the early chapters of Genesis are set in that region, with Eden near the Tigris and Euphrates and the Tower of Babel in Shinar, and that Noah's descendants spread out from there. Ancient Mesopotamian flood stories, like those of Gilgamesh and Atrahasis, also place their flood heroes in Sumerian cities. One tradition names Shuruppak, in southern Iraq. Some Christians believe the world before the flood looked very different, making any modern location a guess. The honest answer is that the Bible leaves it unknown.