This chapter explores the turn within Western thought about the story of Noah towards its historical meaning. Crucially, the production of new ‘knowledges’ in the secular arts and sciences during the late medieval and early modern periods generated critical reflection on the ‘knowledge’ contained within the Bible. This chapter explores late medieval and early modern discussions on the size and shape of the ark, what animals were on the ark, and how the ark could feed and house them all. It details the role of the ark in the early modern classifications of animals, the relation of the shape of the ark to contemporary ship building, the problem created for the ark by the discoveries of animals in the New World, the story of the dispersal of Noah and his descendants to Europe, Africa, and Asia, and the connection of the Indians of America to Noah and his family.