Did Noah Take Fish Or Water Living Animals Into The Ark?

Did Noah take fish or fresh water fish with him or other water living creatures into the ark?

The Judgment of the Flood

Do you believe that the “good old days” were always better? Not so fast. Read how it was just prior to the flood of Noah’s day, where it was said that “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). Think about that. It’s as if all they ever thought about were new ways to sin. Every sinful thing that their imaginations could come up with, they probably did. Every single thought and intention of the human heart was now “only [to do] evil continually.” That means sin is all they thought about. Doesn’t it seem similar to the way the world is today? Jesus thought so as this was one of the signs of His second coming (Matt 24:36-44), and just as it was then, so today “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Gen 6:11-12). Solomon wrote that there’s nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9) because every generation repeats these sins (Eccl 1:4-11), but today, the world seems to be growing more wicked, evil, and certainly, more violent with every passing generation. The reason God brought judgment in Noah’s day is the same reason He’s going to bring judgment again and this judgment will fall upon all that reject Jesus Christ, because in their lives, “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

God Brings the Animals

Noah never brought any animals onto the ark. This was all done by God. We never read in Scripture where Noah is coaxing the animals into coming into the ark or he’s standing at the entryway of the ark and herding them all in. God tells Noah that “of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them” (Gen 6:19-21). The fact that Noah is to “bring in two of every sort” means he is to allow God to send two of every sort or specie. Can you even imagine Noah trying to herd all of these creatures in by himself? This was clearly a supernatural act of God.

Extinctions?

If you look at the layers of fossilized remains, it appears that most of the creatures were fossilized are fossilized in a relatively short period of time (Cambrian explosion), and they are found in much of the same layers. Is this when the dinosaurs became extinct or did they begin to die out long before the flood? If you read much of the Old Testament, it seems as if some of the patriarchs and prophets were eye witnesses to some of these creatures (John 40:15-24, 41:-134; Isaiah 27:1; Psalm 104:26), but perhaps they were seeing dead dinosaurs skeletons littering the surface of the earth as a result of the flood. As to if Noah actually take dinosaur eggs with him, we just don’t know because the Bible is silent on this, however, that doesn’t mean the silence removes the possibility.

Freshwater Fish

God brought the animals, insects, and other creatures into the ark, but what about freshwater fish? Or, what about fish and other life forms in the rivers or creeks; were they brought into the ark too? Here is a case where Noah may have had to bring them himself, although the Bible doesn’t say. The Bible does say that Noah was to take of “every living thing of all flesh” (Gen 6:19) and “the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive” (Gen 6:20), so does “every living thing of all flesh” include freshwater fish and other aquatic life? It would seem so, but remember, the life that was already in the seas might have been unaffected by the rapid rise in the ocean levels during the flood. Other ocean species (including aquatic dinosaurs?) could have died when ocean waters became mixed with freshwater and other freshwater creatures that weren’t on the ark would have died when their waters were exposed to salty sea brine. The truth is, we just cannot say with certainty, so I won’t make any conclusion. We know that much of the freshwater fish did survive because they’re here today. We also know that much of the sea life must have survived because we have an abundance of life in the sea, but beyond that, we can’t put into Scripture what is not already there. The verses that say “They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in” (Gen 7:15-16), you would think would include all oxygen-breathing creatures and that even sea creatures need oxygen (even though they get it in the waters).

Conclusion

Ultimately, if God had wanted us to know more of the specific details about whether Noah took fish and other water living creatures with him, He would have recorded it in the Bible. All we really need to know is what we must know, and that’s the fact that God can bring a person to repentance and then they can put their trust in Christ. The main things are always the plain things. We don’t have to guess about how we can be saved (Acts 4:12). Our salvation means we’ll be spared from the coming wrath of God that is approaching all who reject Jesus Christ. There is another judgment coming but it won’t be by water this time; it will be by fire (Rev 21:8)

More on this subject: How Did Noah Fit All the Animals in the Ark?

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Ark, fish, noah, sea life, water life