Early Christian Beliefs About Noah's Ark

Cyprian, Epistles Direct teaching

...n that baptism of the world, when its ancient wickedness was washed away, the person who was not in Noah's ark could not be saved by water, so also a person cannot seem to be saved by baptism if he has not been baptized in the Church, which is established in the unity of the Lord according to the sacred mystery of the one ark.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Direct teaching

..., then, gentlemen," I said, "that God has said in Isaiah to Jerusalem: 'I saved you in the flood of Noah.' What God meant by this is that the mystery of saved people was revealed in the flood. Righteous Noah, together with the other humans at the flood—meaning his wife, his three sons, and their wives, totaling eight people—symbolized the eighth day when Christ appeared by rising from the dead, forever the first in power. Christ, being the firstborn of every creature, became the leader of a new human race, regenerated by Himself through water, faith, and wood, symbolizing the mystery of the cross; just as Noah was saved by wood when he floated over the waters with his family. So, when the prophet says, 'I saved you in the times of Noah,' as I've already mentioned, he is addressing those who are equally faithful to God and bear the same signs. For when Moses had the rod in his hands, he led your nation through the sea. And you believe this was spoken only to your nation or to the land. However, the entire earth, as Scripture states, was flooded, and the water rose fifteen cubits above all the mountains, making it clear that this was not spoken to the land, but to the people who o

Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness

And as the Ark of Noah was nothing else than the sacrament of the Church of Christ, which then, when all without were perishing, kept those only safe who were within the ark, we are manifestly instructed to look to the unity of the Church.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

even as Noah was saved by wood when he rode over the waters with his household.

Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness

In the ark, says he, of Noah, few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water, as also baptism shall in like manner save you.

Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness

Even as also the Apostle Peter laid down, saying, Thus also shall baptism in like manner make you safe;

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

...ght the great flood upon the world because of the multitude of the ungodly, and delivered righteous Noah from that flood by an ark, 1 Peter 3:20, with eight souls, the end of the former generations and the beginning of those who were to come. You kindled a fearful fire against the five cities of Sodom, and turned a fruitful land into a salt lake because of the wickedness of those who lived in it, but snatched holy Lot out of the fire. You are He who delivered Abraham from the impiety of his forefathers, appointed him to be the heir of the world, and revealed Your Christ to him; who beforehand ordained Melchizedek as a high priest for Your worship; who made Your patient servant Job the conqueror of that serpent who is the patron of wickedness; who made Isaac the son of the promise, and Jacob the father of twelve sons, and increased his posterity into a multitude, and brought him into Egypt with seventy-five souls. You, O Lord, did not ignore Joseph, but granted him, as a reward for his chastity for Your sake, rule over the Egyptians. You, O Lord, did not ignore the Hebrews when they were afflicted by the Egyptians on account of the promises made to their fathers, but You delivere

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Supporting witness

For Noah was six hundred years old when the deluge came upon the earth, sweeping away the rebellious world, for the sake of that most infamous generation which lived in the times of Noah.

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

He, when six hundred years old, built an ark, as God had commanded him, in which he himself was saved, together with his wife and three sons, and as many daughters-in-law, when the water had covered all the loftiest mountains.

Julius Africanus, Extant Writings Supporting witness

And they came out of the ark in pairs, as may be found, and not in the manner in which they had entered, viz., distinguished according to their species, and were blessed by God.

Cyprian, Epistles Direct teaching

...he saving lava from the fountain which is enclosed within, and sealed with a divine seal? And since Noah's ark was nothing else than the sacrament of the Church of Christ, which at that time, when all outside were perishing, kept safe only those who were within the ark, we are plainly taught to look to the unity of the Church. As the Apostle Peter also laid down, saying, "Thus also shall baptism in like manner make you safe" (1 Peter 3:21). This shows that those who were not in the ark with Noah not only were not cleansed and saved by water, but at once perished in that deluge. So now also, whoever are not in the Church with Christ will perish outside, unless they are converted by penitence to the only and saving lava of the Church.

Cyprian, Epistles Direct teaching

...that the Church is one, and that only those who are in the Church can be baptized. He said, “In the ark of Noah, few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water; the like figure to which even baptism shall save you.” 1 Peter 3:20-21 In this way he proves and testifies that the one ark of Noah was a type of the one Church. If, then, in that baptism by which the world was expiated and purified, the person who was not in Noah’s ark could be saved by water, then the person who is not in the Church, to which alone baptism is granted, can also now be made alive by baptism. Moreover, the Apostle Paul, showing this same thing even more openly and clearly, writes to the Ephesians and says, “Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water.” But if the Church is one, and it alone is loved by Christ and cleansed by His washing, how can someone who is not in the Church be either loved by Christ, or washed and cleansed by His washing?

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Direct teaching

...eople were kept safe in the ark, which had been prepared by God's command, not by Deucalion, but by Noah. This Hebrew name means "rest," as we have shown elsewhere. Noah, when he announced to the people then living that a flood was coming, prophesied to them and said, "Come here, God calls you to repentance." For this reason he was fittingly called Deucalion. And this Noah had three sons, as we mentioned in the second book. Their names were Shem, Ham, and Japhet. They also had three wives, one wife for each man, each man with his wife. Some have given this man the surname Eunuchus. Therefore, all eight persons who were found in the ark were preserved. And Moses showed that the flood lasted forty days and forty nights. Torrents poured from heaven, and the fountains of the deep burst open, so that the water rose fifteen cubits above every high hill. And so the whole human race that existed at that time was destroyed, and only those who were sheltered in the ark were saved. As we have already said, these were eight. And the remains of the ark can still be seen to this day in the Arabian mountains. This, then, is the summary of the history of the flood.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

For righteous Noah, along with the other mortals at the deluge, i.e., with his own wife, his three sons and their wives, being eight in number, were a symbol of the eighth day, wherein Christ appeared when He rose from the dead, for ever the first in power.

Julius Africanus, Extant Writings Supporting witness

and when it was finished, there entered it Noe himself and his sons, his wife and his daughters-in-law, and firstlings of every living creature, with a view to the duration of the race.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Supporting witness

...ce he embodies all the wickedness that occurred before the flood due to the apostasy of the angels. Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came upon the earth, sweeping away the rebellious world because of that infamous generation in Noah's time. The Antichrist also embodies every error of false idols since the flood, along with the killing of the prophets and the destruction of the just. The image set up by Nebuchadnezzar was sixty cubits tall and six cubits wide; Ananias, Azarias, and Mishaell, who refused to worship it, were thrown into a furnace of fire, prophetically indicating the wrath against the righteous that will arise towards the end times. That image, in its entirety, prefigured this man’s arrival, decreeing that he alone should be worshipped by all men. Thus, the six hundred years of Noah, during which the flood occurred because of apostasy, and the dimensions of the image for which these just men were thrown into the fiery furnace, indicate the number of the name of that man in whom the entire apostasy of six thousand years, unrighteousness, wickedness, false prophecy, and deception are concentrated; for these reasons, a cataclysm of fire will also come upo

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Supporting witness

..., and the father of Caïnan was Arphaxad, whose father was Shem, and the father of Shem was Noah. In Noah's time there was a flood over the whole world, which neither Egyptians, nor Chaldeans, nor Greeks remember. For the floods that happened in the time of Ogyges and Deucalion reached only the places where those people lived. So then, in the case of these patriarchs, that is, from Noah to Heber inclusive, there were five generations and 495 years. This Noah, since he was a very reverent man and one who loved God, alone escaped the flood that followed, along with his wife, his children, and their three wives. He was preserved by an ark. And both the measurements and the remains of this ark are, as we have explained, shown to this day in the mountains called Ararat, which lie in the direction of the land of the Adiabeni. Therefore, those who are willing to examine the matter carefully can see how clearly it has been shown that there existed a nation of worshippers of the true God, older than all the Chaldeans, Egyptians, and Greeks. What need is there now to name those who, before Noah, were devout men and were allowed to speak with the true God, since, as far as the subject befor

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Direct teaching

...descendants. This invention of the poets can be refuted by many arguments. Everyone agrees that the flood took place for the destruction of wickedness and to remove it from the earth. Now philosophers, poets, and writers of ancient history say the same thing, and in this they especially agree with the words of the prophets. If, therefore, the flood happened to destroy wickedness, which had increased because of the excessive number of men, how was Prometheus the maker of man, when the same writers say that his son Deucalion was the only one who was preserved because of his righteousness? How could one line of descent and one generation have so quickly filled the world with men? But it is clear that they have corrupted this account also, as they did the earlier one, since they did not know at what time the flood happened on the earth, or who it was that deserved to be saved because of his righteousness when the human race perished, or how and with whom he was saved. All these things are taught by the inspired writings. It is clear, therefore, that the account they give about the work of Prometheus is false.

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

...he human race, He chose one man who, when all others were corrupt, stood out above them all as a remarkable example of righteousness. When this man was six hundred years old, he built an ark, as God had commanded him. In it he was saved, together with his wife, his three sons, and his three daughters-in-law, when the water had covered even the highest mountains. Then, when the earth was dry, God condemned the wickedness of that former age. So that long life might not again become a cause for devising evil, He gradually shortened the lifespan of man in each succeeding generation, and set a limit of one hundred and twenty years, which it would not be permitted to exceed. But when he came out of the ark, as the sacred writings tell us, he carefully farmed the land and planted a vineyard with his own hand. By this fact, those who think that Bacchus was the inventor of wine are refuted. For this man not only lived before Bacchus, but also many generations before Saturn and Uranus. And when he had first taken fruit from the vineyard, he became merry, drank even to the point of intoxication, and lay naked. When one of his sons, whose name was Cham, saw this, he did not cover his father

Julius Africanus, Extant Writings Supporting witness

... were 20 years old. God instructed Noe, who pleased Him because of his righteousness, to prepare an ark. When it was finished, Noe himself entered it, and his sons, his wife, and his daughters-in-law, and the firstlings of every living creature, for the continuation of the race. And Noe was 600 years old when the flood came upon the earth. When the water went down, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat, which we know to be in Parthia. But some say they are at Celaenae in Phrygia, and I have seen both places. And the flood prevailed for a year, and then the earth became dry. And they came out of the ark in pairs, as may be found, and not in the way in which they had entered, that is, distinguished according to their species, and they were blessed by God. And each of these things points to something useful for us.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness

...nants were given to humanity: one, before the flood, under Adam; the second, after the flood, under Noah; the third, the giving of the law, under Moses; the fourth, that which renews humanity and sums up all things in itself through the Gospel, raising and carrying humans upon its wings into the heavenly kingdom.

Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Supporting witness

He preserved the most righteous Nöe from the perils of the deluge, for the merit of His innocence and faith;

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

and Noah, who, having believed, was saved; and Abraham, who for his faith and hospitality was called the friend of God, and was the father of Isaac.