As Noah's Family Grew, They Expanded Their Settlements Throughout the Araxes Valley (Ararat Plain)

As we discussed earlier, we must take certain things into account as we look for evidences. As Noah's family grew, (but before they had left for Babel), and as the animal population grew, there would be the need to expand and establish settlements at some distance from one another. Abraham and Lot had to separate because the land couldn't accommodate all their herds: GEN 13:7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle:... 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. This passage tells only of 2 families having to distance themselves from each other to provide enough pasturage for their animals. Certainly, as Noah's family grew, they would also face the same situation and need to expand. To illustrate the importance and vital necessity of land to these earliest of peoples, there is the example of the Aryans who invaded India at a much later date- "...They wanted land, and pasture for their cattle; their word for war said nothing about national honor, but simply meant `a desire for more cows.'." (OH, p. 397.)

As we explained earlier, the Ararat Plain, or Araxes Valley is about 80 to 90 miles long, beginning a little west of Mt. Ararat and extending through present-day Iran into the USSR. After careful study, we believe the evidence shows that this valley was the general area that Noah's family expanded throughout, and since the ark (the region of Noah's home) is in the region of the western portion of this plain, the direction of general expansion would have been to the east.

Abraham's Family Lived in the Area Just South of Babel

Just as some food for thought- the Bible records that the rebellious against God migrated west. What did those who remained faithful do? Did they migrate to the east? Or did they remain in the area? The next Biblical event in Genesis is the selection of Abram (Abraham) to be the father of the chosen people, and we discover that he is living in Ur of the Chaldees (called "Urfa" today), which is within 100 miles of Babel. Given the call to go to Canaan, he and his family set out, stopping in Haran (Harran) about 35 miles south of Ur, where Terah dies. The evidence shows conclusively that Abraham's family settled in the region a little south of Ron's site for Babel, in the area of the Euphrates "loop" and the tributary, the Balikh River. Sarûgi (Serug, Abraham's great grandfather's name) today called Sürüç, is located halfway between the Euphrates and Harran. A town called Nahuru (Nahor, the name of Abraham's grandfather as well as a brother) is known from both the Cappadocian tablets and the Mari texts to be in the same region. The name of Abraham's father, Terah, is preserved at Til-sa-Turah, the "ruin of Terah" in the Balikh Valley. "What is remarkable is that all these geographical names are found in the district of Haran- according to the Biblical traditions it is precisely in this region that Abraham's family stayed." (EH, pp. 195-6.) Where the rest of the righteous, if any, went, we have no way of knowing. But, this evidence of Abraham's family in the region indicates that they remained here when the others migrated to various other regions. They must have been a very prominent family due to the fact that the cities are named after his family members which indicates that they were the founders of these cities, or that they took up residence in existing cities which were abandoned (we'll cover this more in depth later) and renamed them.

Nakhichevan in Soviet Armenia- Founded by Noah?

Near the eastern end of this valley is a town called Nakhichevan (just east of the Iranian border in the Armenian USSR.) Numerous Armenian traditions ascribe the founding of the city of Nakhichevan to Noah (EN, vol VII, p. 172). The evidence Ron found indicates that Noah and his wife were buried at the ancient complex we discussed earlier near the final resting place of the ark. We have assumed that therefore Noah and his wife most likely continued to maintain their original home here until their death. However, it seems very logical that as the patriarch of the family, Noah would have traveled with his younger family members as they explored the region in search of suitable areas to establish new settlements, then returning to his own home. Therefore, the traditions that state that he founded Nakhichevan could be based on actual fact.

Willem van Ruysbroeck of France, who spent Christmas day 1254 AD in this city, wrote about his travels in this region for the French king, and related the following: "Near this city [Nakhichevan] are mountains in which they say that Noah's Ark rests; and there are two mountains, the one greater than the other; and the Araxes flows at their base; and there is a town there called Cemanum, which interpreted means "eight," and they say that it was thus called from the eight persons who came out of the ark, and who built it on the greater mountain." (QN, pp. 85-86). This account is interesting because it does contain some very important statements which indicate that the people WERE aware of the true site of the resting place of the ark. Notice that he says the ark rests in the" mountains" (plural), not ON the "greater" mountain. His account is the most accurate of any of the ark stories we have read, especially considering that he is relating stories about events which occurred over 3,500 years earlier. He gives 2 basic statements- that near Nakhichevan are some mountains which contain the remains of the ark. THEN, he mentions the "greater and lesser" mountains (Greater and Lesser Ararat) which are located next to the Araxes River, and that the town called "eight" is "on the greater mountain". His account is accurate with one exception- the town called "eight" (Kazan where Noah and his wife were buried, and where most of the anchorstones are found) is not ON the mountain, but several miles from the base of it.

The traditions connecting Noah to this eastern end of the Araxes Valley seem to confirm the fact that Noah's family spread out in this direction. Until the people left for Babel, this was the most logical region for expansion because it was easily accessible and flat, it followed the Aras (Araxes) River and it is extremely fertile. It also gives more insight into why the Biblical account was so precise in stating that those who founded Babel traveled "from the east"- Noah's family had spread out in an eastward direction from the original landing site of the ark and Noah's home. When the time came that this group banded together and left for "parts unknown", the only direction they could travel was west (or "from the east") as there were mountains to the north, the Caspian Sea to the east, and no major river going south for them to travel along.

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