English: “Three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high” — Bar Ḥunya derives a practical proportion from these measurements: a vessel intended to remain afloat should have a width of one-sixth its length and a height of one-tenth its length.
In context: Bereshit Rabbah uses the ark’s measurements as a lesson in practical proportions for a vessel that is to remain afloat; it does not state here that the measurements were calculated as a capacity formula for every species.
Type of Learning
Custom (significance of the given dimensions).
What Is Learned
The ark’s proportions also teach a practical principle: for a vessel intended to remain afloat, its width should be one-sixth of its length and its height one-tenth.