Q. How long did it take Noah to build the ark? Some say 120 years but I can find no scripture to back this up. (Submitted by: M. S. ) A. There is nowhere in Scripture that supports the 120 years for the construction of the ark. That span of time concerns the time God allowed mankind to live, from the time He made His pronouncement, to the flood - Genesis 6:3. God set a time limit (120 years), just in case humans would repent. God has used this principle again and again. Jonah 3:9-10 is a good example. It also gave Noah time to preach the ways of righteousness to the same end. In Genesis 6:13-16 we find God's instructions for building the ark, but there is no inkling as to when the work began or how long it took to construct the ark: "And God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.' " (Genesis 6:13-16, NKJV)
Other biblical references to Noah and the ark are found in 1 Peter 3:19-20 and Hebrews 11:7. Again, no mention of the time it took to build the ark. I also find nothing about the timeframe for building the ark on the Internet. Even the book of Jubilees is silent on this detail and so is Josephus. To allow 120 years to build the ark is extremely excessive, even with the many factors taken into consideration. Obviously, God didn't see the need to reveal this rather inconsequential detail. Does it matter how long it took Noah to build the ark? What's important is that we learn the spiritual lesson derived from it. "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages are come" (1Corinthians 10:11) | 