of the elemental waters are regarded as simultaneous (Di.); but that does not quite meet the difficulty. See, further, p. 155 above.—3b. at the end of the 150 days] (724). See the footnote.—4. The resting of the ark.—on (one of) the mountains of 'Ărārāṭ] which are probably named as the highest known to the Hebrews at the time of writing; just as one form of the Indian legend names the Himalayas, and the Greek, Parnassus. Araraṭ (Ass. Urarṭu) is the NE part of Armenia; cf. 2 Ki. 1937 = Is. 3738, Jer. 5127. The name Mount Araraṭ, traditionally applied to the highest peak (Massis, Agridagh: c. 17,000 ft.) of the Armenian mountains, rests on a misunderstanding of this passage.
The traditions regarding the landing-place of the ark are fully
discussed by Lenorm. Or.2 ii. 1 ff.: cf. Tu. 133-136; Nö. Unters. 145 ff.—The
district called Araraṭ or Urarṭu is properly that named in Armenian
Ayrarat, and is probably identical with the country of the Alarodians
of Herod. iii. 94, vii. 79. It is the province of Armenia lying NE of
Lake Van, including the fertile plain watered by the Araxes, on the
right (SW) side of which river Mt. Massis rises.[1] Another tradition,
represented by Berossus (p. 177 below) and TO S (
Hebrew characters)[2], locates the
mountain in Kurdistan, viz. at Ǧebel Ǧûdî, which is a striking
mountain SW of Lake Van, commanding a wide view over the Mesopotamian
plain. This view is adopted in the Koran (Sur. xi. 46),
and has become traditional among the Moslems.—The 'mountain
of Niṣir' of the cuneiform legend lies still further south, probably
in one of the ranges between the Lower Zab and the next tributary
to the S, the Adhem (Radânu) (Streck, ZA, xv. 272). Tiele and
Kosters, however (EB, 289), identify it with Elburz, the sacred
mountain of the Iranians (S of the Caspian Sea); and find a trace of
this name in the (Greek characters) indicated as
the mountain of the ark by Nicolaus Damascenus (Jos. Ant. i. 95).—What
the original Heb. tradition was, it is impossible to say. The
writers just named conjecture that it was identical with the Bab.,
Araraṭ being here a corruption of Hara haraiti (the ancient Iranian
name of Elburz), which was afterwards confused with the land of
Urarṭu. Nö. and Ho. think it probable that TO and S preserve the
oldest name (Ḳardu), and that Araraṭ is a correction made when it was
Jer. 526, Est. 21 710.—3b. (Hebrew characters)] Rd. (Hebrew characters) (Str. Ho. Gk.).
[E] (Hebrew characters).—4. For 17th G has 27th (711).
