Ararat

After the flood, Noah releases a dove, which finds no rest ( manoach ; Gen 8:9). The ark finds rest ( nuach ) on Ararat (8:4). It is one of a dozen puns on the name of Noah in the flood story.

Centuries later, the ark of the covenant (not the same Hebrew word as the ark of Noah) finds rest in Jerusalem, in the ark-tent pitched by David ( manoach ; 1 Chron 6:31).

Between Genesis 8 and 1 Chronicles 6, the word manoach is used only twice (Deut 28:65; Ruth 3:1). It is not a common word. And the fact that it’s used in 1 Chronicles 6 hints at a connection with the flood narrative.

The mountains of Jerusalem are like the mountains of Ararat. As the fortunes and future of the human race was in the ark on Ararat, so the future and fortunes of humanity are housed in the tent of David on Zion, in the ark of the covenant. As the renewed remnant of the old creation streamed from Ararat to fill and subdue the earth, so a renewed creation streams from the temple.

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