Adrian asked a question that I’d never heard before:
If Noah had obligate carnivores (carnivores that must eat meat to thrive) on the ark, what did they eat? I have asked other people and they give me a cliche answer of ‘God told them to eat grass’ or something along those lines. But I don’t think they could survive for 40 nights and 40 days on strictly grass. Since they would die of malnutrition in a short period of time. Thanks in advance.
Thanks, Adrian. The first step to clearing up any confusion is to actually go directly to the source material in question. In this case, it’s the Bible…specifically, Genesis 6. Go read the events surrounding Noah’s ark and you’ll see that Noah was instructed by God to do very specific things. Here’s a quote (verses 19-22):
You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them. Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
They were on the ark to be kept alive, so Noah brought along not just animals, but food as well. I’m not sure why those other people you asked weren’t able to just look it up, but there you go. Easy peasy.
Thanks for asking, Adrian.
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Not 40 days and 40 nights
You are correct, Gerry. It rained for that long, but they were in the ark for much longer. The question was about food, so that was my focus.
This may sound like I’m joking but I’m actually serious. Would they have taken a boy and a girl of each animal or was it just random?
Casey:
Thanks for writing! The key is to actually read the text itself. In Genesis 6 we see verse 19, which should answer your question:
You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.
I’m curious: do you believe that there really was a flood, and an ark? I do, but I’d like to know what you think. Thanks!
Well in answer to your question, I do believe that there was a flood and an ark. My only other question is, when God asked Noah to build an ark, what made Noah do it immediately without question?
Casey:
We don’t know whether Noah spent a few weeks thinking about it, or whether he said, “You’re kidding…right?” or whether he just followed instructions without questioning anything. The text doesn’t say what Noah thought at that point, so we don’t have that info. A good principle is ‘where Scripture speaks, we speak…where Scripture is silent, we are silent.’ It’s totally fine to speculate, but without more information we just can’t say for sure what happened.
Maybe Noah figured that when God tells you something, you should pay attention and follow His lead.
Were all animals still herbivores at that time?
It’s quite possible there was no storm, probably not even waves. Hence the Ark didnt need to be of seagoing shape- literally was a box that floated on a massive millpond! Folding/faulting/earthquakes hadn’t begun -mountains weren’t as high …where did all the water go? -the deepest ocean -now- is 11000m!
James:
I see no reason to assume that there were no carnivores on the ark. I see nothing in the text to suggest it.
Yes, you may be right. It may be there was no big storm. There may have been.
Where did you learn that those kind of earthquakes hadn’t begun? When did they? Can you show me?
I always assumed that there were no carnivorous animals on the ark. Adam and Eve were vegetarians, at least until they left the garden of Eden, and animals before the fall were like animals will be in the end times; “The lion shall eat straw like the ox.” (Is. 11.7). Noah and his family did not eat flesh until after the flood (Gen. 9.3), but it is not unlikely that other people were eating flesh long before that, and that animals had begun killing and eating each other soon after the fall as well. So if carnivorous animals on the ark required fresh meat, then perhaps Gen. 7.2 provides a clue as to where that meat came from. “Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal.” Only two of each UNCLEAN species were required for their preservation, but the six extra CLEAN animals could have been food for carnivores… as well as for sacrificing (Gen 8.20).
Noah is still confusing.Who cleaned up after the animals.How did the bugs survive not getting squished by accident.Did any animals not produce after the ordeal.What did Noah and his family eat.Did they argue about when will they land families fight.Did t b ey argue w
Donna:
There were eight people on the ark, so they had to clean up after the animals. While the Bible doesn’t mention bugs on the ark, it seems safe to conclude that the bugs we see today are the “children” of the bugs that survived the flood. The Bible also doesn’t mention whether any animals were born on the ark, but it does mention that Noah brought along food for himself and for the animals. You can read all about it in Genesis, chapters 6 through 9.
I liked the sincerity of Donna’s questions. As a retired pastor, the Lord has graced my wife and me with a small 5-acre horse ranch to enjoy in our very golden years while still serving Him.
Yup, we have to do cleanup mucking of the horse apples daily and deal with the blow flies that bother them and us.
Although we have pasture land, droughts or hot summers can happen so we well-stockpile the needed grass-hay, vitamin and mineral licking blocks, provide daily fresh water, and medical care when needed.
If two geezers can do it, younger family members can do it too in aiding Noah.
Jokingly, the family enjoyed burgers, fries, and sodas.