He is the first North American pontiff to be elected leader of the Catholic Church
Drunk and in a deep slumber, Noah was found in a state of undress by his son Ham, who went and told his brothers.
God's blessing of Noah was a benediction extended to his family, a reward, if you like, for Noah's righteousness. But there was one notorious lapse in his virtue.
God decides to flood the Earth, destroying all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Well, not all.
Once completed, the ark was ready to receive its precious cargo. The vessel would serve as a safe haven for representatives of all the kinds of air-breathing land animals and birds that God created.
Noah is the man that led the animals two by two onto the ark he built for the flood.
It takes Noah and his team 75 years to build the ark. That's an awful long time, and tested God's patience to the limit.
Seven days after having having closed the doors, the heavens opened up. The Bible says that the rains that created the Noachian Flood lasted for 40 days (Genesis 7:17).
Along with the animals, the ark was stocked with enough food and water to last the days and months ahead.
In Genesis 6, we are told that there is great wickedness in the world. The Lord recognizes evil in humanity, in their hearts and minds.
Noah then labors faithfully to build the ark at God's command. His three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, are on hand to help him put together the giant wooden vessel.
The deluge was an almighty act of God and the religious meaning of the flood is conveyed after Noah's heroic survival.
God accepted the sacrifice, and made a covenant with Noah, and through him with all mankind, that he would not waste the Earth or destroy humanity by another deluge.
In the story of the Deluge, he is represented as a lawful and righteous man, a patriarch who finds favor in the eyes of the Lord.
God decides to rid the Earth of humanity because of how awful it has become. Noah, though, is seen as blameless and handed an important task.
As a sign of the promise, the Lord conjured up a rainbow in the sky, a visible guarantee of his word.
Besides the flood narrative, what else do we know about Noah? Well, for one thing, he was an elderly gentleman. In fact, according to Genesis 5, he was 500 years old when he became father to his three sons.
Eventually Noah's ark ran aground on the mountains of Arafat. A little over a year later, the ground was dry enough for the occupants to disembark the vessel.
He instructs Noah to build an ark, a huge boat big enough to take on board male and female specimens of all the world's species of animals, from which the stocks might be replenished.
Noah was an obedient man. The fact that he took his mission seriously and was faithful to God is testament to his sense of duty.
We first hear about him in Genesis 5 as the son of Lamech and distant relative of Adam. In fact, Adam was Noah's great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandpa.
Worship was a central part of Noah's life ,so after the flood Noah built an altar and offered sacrifices to God, according the Genesis 8:20.
As the last animals were being herded onto the ark, the first spots of rain began falling from the sky, a portent of the calamity to come.
Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives followed the wildlife into the vessel and battened down the hatches. Then they waited.
Noah's burnt offerings, a ritual cleansing of animal and bird, was in thanks for the receding of the waters and the preservation of the ark and its occupants.
The floodwaters prevailed on the Earth for 150 days, after which they slowly receded.
Noah led his charges off the boat and released the animals. In doing so, he reestablished the global ecosystem.
After the flood, Noah proceeded to plant a vineyard using seeds carried on the ark. When he drank some its wine, it went straight to his head.
The siblings preserved their dad's modesty by covering the intoxicated Noah with a blanket.
The drunkenness of Noah is recorded in the Bible and serves as proof of human weakness and imperfection. But his embarrassing encounter with alcohol didn't do any harm. Noah lived another 350 years after the flood, and died at the ripe old age of 950.
Sources: (Bible Study Tools) (Answers in Genesis) (National Center for Science Education)
The Lord gives Noah fair warning of the impending disaster. He makes a deal with him, promising to save him and his family in return for a favor.
Noah is famous as the man who built a huge boat, loaded it up with wildlife, and survived the greatest flood ever to inundate the Earth. But why was he called to do this, and what kind of man was he?
Click through the following gallery and find out more about this biblical figure who is central to the Genesis flood narrative.
How much do we know about Noah from the Bible?
Who was the man at the center of the Genesis flood narrative?
LIFESTYLE Religion
Noah is famous as the man who built a huge boat, loaded it up with wildlife, and survived the greatest flood ever to inundate the Earth. But why was he called to do this, and what kind of man was he?
Click through the following gallery and find out more about this biblical figure who is central to the Genesis flood narrative.