Noah was on the ark for a total of approximately one year. The timeline can be pieced together from several biblical references in the book of Genesis.
1. **Duration of the Rain**: Genesis 7:12 states that rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights. This marks the beginning of the flood.
2. **Waters Prevail**: According to Genesis 7:17, the waters prevailed on the earth for 150 days.
3. **The Waters Recede**: In Genesis 8:3, it is mentioned that the waters began to recede after 150 days.
4. **Timing of the Ark’s Resting**: Genesis 8:4 states that the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month.
5. **Further Waiting for Waters to Recede**: It wasn’t until the first day of the tenth month that the tops of the mountains became visible (Genesis 8:5).
6. **Sending Out the Raven and Dove**: In Genesis 8:6-12, Noah waits further and sends out a raven and a dove to check if the waters had receded.
7. **Exiting the Ark**: Finally, in Genesis 8:13-14, Noah and his family exited the ark on the twenty-seventh day of the second month of the following year after the flood began.
Putting this all together, from the time the flood began (the seventh month of the year) until the time Noah and his family left the ark (the second month of the following year) is roughly 1 year and 10 days. Therefore, Noah was on the ark for about one year.