A window shalt thou make to the Ark

Genesis 6: 16: A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

Genesis 8: 6: And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

God instructed Noah to make a window for the Ark, but this window has a different meaning in Hebrew to the window that Noah opened when releasing the raven and the dove. The window that Noah made for the Ark is the Hebrew word “tsohar,” meaning, “light of the noon day sun,” whereas the window that Noah opened to release the raven and the dove is the Hebrew word “challown,” meaning, “piercing of a wall.”

In the deluge of the Flood, the light of the sun was blocked out by a combination of black storm clouds and volcanic ash that blanketed the planet with a deep darkness during the immense convulsions that shook it at that time. With no natural light of the sun available, Noah had to install a special lighting system to provide illumination for the interior of the Ark during the months of darkness that enveloped the earth. It was this lighting system that is called the “tsohar” in Genesis 6: 16, and is very distinct from the actual window or “challown” that Noah opened later on, and through which the sunlight streamed when the clouds parted.