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Noach (, ) is the second
Noach (, ) is the second weekly Torah portion
The weekly Torah portion refers to a lectionary custom in Judaism in which a portion of the Torah (or Pentateuch) is read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' (), is popularly abbre ...
(, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the ap ...
. It constitutes Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
6:9–11:32. The parashah tells the stories of the Flood
A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
and Noah's Ark, of Noah's subsequent drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...
and cursing of Canaan
CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
, and of the Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis (chapter 11) meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures.
According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language migrates to Shin ...
.
The parashah has the most verses of any weekly Torah portion in the Book of Genesis (but not the most letters or words). It is made up of 6,907 Hebrew letters, 1,861 Hebrew words, 153 verses, and 230 lines in a Torah
The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
Scroll (, ''Sefer Torah
file:SeferTorah.jpg, A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema
file:Köln-Tora-und-Innenansicht-Synagoge-Glockengasse-040.JPG, An Ashkenazi Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue
file:Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, Inte ...
''). (In the Book of Genesis, Parashat Miketz has the most letters, Parashat Vayeira has the most words, and Parashat Vayishlach
Vayishlach (—Hebrew language, Hebrew for "and he sent," the incipit, first word of the parashah) is the eighth weekly Torah portion (, ) in the annual Judaism, Jewish cycle of Torah reading. In the parashah, Jacob reconciles with Esau after wre ...
has an equal number of verses as Parashat Noach.)
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
s read it on the second Sabbath
In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...
after Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah (; Ashkenazi: ), also spelled Simhat Torah, is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Hebrew Bible ...
, generally in October or early November.
Readings
In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , '' aliyot'', and a shorter, concluding reading called the maftir (). In theMasoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
of the Tanakh
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''
. ''
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' peh'')). Parashat Noach has several further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (, ''setumah'') divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''
As the reading continues, chapter 10 sets forth the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, from whom the nations branched out over the earth after the Flood, a section known as the
Tablet 11 of the
Similarly, Rabbi Judah and
Rabbi Judah contrasted the words "Noah walked with God" in Genesis 6:9 with God's words to Abraham, "walk before Me," in Genesis 17:1. Rabbi Judah compared it to a king who had two sons, one grown up and the other a child. The king asked the child to walk ''with'' him. But the king asked the adult to walk ''before'' him. Similarly, to Abraham, whose moral strength was great, God said, "Walk before Me." But of Noah, who was feeble, Genesis 6:9 says, "Noah walked with God." Rabbi Nehemiah compared Noah to a king's friend who was plunging about in dark alleys, and when the king saw him sinking in the mud, the king urged his friend to walk with him instead of plunging about. Abraham's case, however, was compared to that of a king who was sinking in dark alleys, and when his friend saw him, the friend shined a light for him through the window. The king then asked his friend to come and shine a light before the king on his way. Thus, God told Abraham that instead of showing a light for God from Mesopotamia, he should come and show one before God in the 
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana read Genesis 6:7–8 together to report God saying, "I repent that I have made them and Noah." Thus even Noah, who was left, was not worthy, save that (in the words of Genesis 6:8) "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said that Naamah, the sister of 
The 
Rabbi Isaac taught that God told Noah that just as a pair of birds (''ken'') cleansed a person with skin disease (as instructed in Leviticus 14:4–8), so Noah's Ark would cleanse Noah (so that he would be worthy to be saved from the Flood).
Rabbi Yassa noted that in four places, Scripture uses the expression, "make for yourself (, ''oseh l'cha'')." In three of those instances, God explained the material from which to make the thing, and in one God did not. Genesis 6:14 says, "Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood"; Numbers 10:2 says, "make for yourself two silver trumpets"; and Joshua 5:2 says, "make for yourself knives of flint." But Numbers 21:8 says merely, "make for yourself a fiery serpent" without further explanation. So Moses reasoned that a serpent is essentially a snake, and made the snake of copper, because in Hebrew, the word for copper (, ''nechoshet'') sounds like the word for snake (, ''nechash'').
Rav Adda taught that the scholars of Rav Shila interpreted "gopher wood" in Genesis 6:14 to mean ''mabliga'' (a resinous species of
While Genesis 6:14 tells that Noah's Ark had pitch "within and without", Exodus 2:3 tells that
The Gemara read the words, "and to a cubit shall you finish it upward," in Genesis 6:16 to ensure that thus would it stand firm (with the sides of the roof sloping, so that the rain would fall off it).
A Tanna read the words, "with lower, second, and third stories shall you make it," in Genesis 6:16 to teach that the bottom story was for the dung, the middle for the animals, and the top for Noah's family. A midrash, however, reported that some said that the words, "with lower, second, and third stories shall you make it," meant that the bottom story was for waste, the second for Noah's family and the clean animals, and the third for the unclean animals. And the midrash reported that others said that the bottom story was for the unclean animals, the second for Noah's family and the clean animals, and the top for the garbage. The midrash taught that Noah managed to move the waste by arranging a kind of trapdoor through which he shoveled it sideways.
Noting that Genesis 6:9 calls Noah "a man," a midrash taught that wherever Scripture employs the term "a man," it indicates a righteous man who warned his generation. The midrash taught that for 120 years (deduced from Genesis 6:3), Noah planted cedars and cut them down. When they would ask him what he was doing, he would reply that God had informed him that God was bringing a flood. Noah's contemporaries replied that if a flood did come, it would come only on Noah's father's house. Rabbi Abba taught that God said that one herald arose for God in the generation of the Flood—Noah. But they despised him and called him a contemptible old man.
Similarly, Rabbi Jose of 
And Rava interpreted the words of Job 12:5, "He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a stone despised in the thought of him that is at ease," to teach that when Noah rebuked them and spoke words as hard as fiery flints, they would deride him. They called Noah "old man," and asked him what the Ark was for. Noah replied that God was bringing a flood upon them. They asked with what God would flood the earth. If God brought a flood of fire, they said, they had a thing called alitha (that would extinguish fire). If God brought a flood of water up from the earth, they said, they had iron plates with which they could cover the earth (to prevent the water from coming up). If God brought a flood of water from heaven, they said, they had a thing called akob (or some say akosh) (that could ward it off). Noah replied that God would bring it from between the heels of their feet, as Job 12:5 says, "He is ready for the steps of your feet."
A midrash compared Noah to Moses and found Moses superior. While Noah was worthy to be delivered from the generation of the Flood, he saved only himself and his family, and had insufficient strength to deliver his generation. Moses, however, saved both himself and his generation when they were condemned to destruction after the sin of the 
Reading God's words to Noah in Genesis 6:18, "But I will establish My covenant with you", a midrash taught that God was telling Noah that he would need a covenant to ensure that the produce would not decay or rot on the Ark. Further, the midrash taught, Noah needed a covenant to prevent giants from plugging the openings of the deep and seeking to enter the Ark, and to prevent additional lions from coming into the Ark. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba explained that God was thus telling Noah that though he may have built the Ark, but for God's covenant, Noah could not have entered the Ark. Thus Noah's ability to enter the Ark at all was proof of the covenant God established with Noah in Genesis 6:18.
Rabbi Hanan said in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Isaac that as soon as Noah entered the Ark, God prohibited his family from cohabitation, saying in Genesis 6:18: "you shall come into the Ark, you, and your sons," speaking of them apart, and "your wife, and your sons' wives," speaking of them apart. When Noah left the Ark, God permitted cohabitation to him again, saying in Genesis 8:16: "Go forth from the Ark, you and your wife," speaking of them together. Similarly, Rabbi Joḥanan deduced from the same sources that God had forbidden cohabitation for all the Ark's inhabitants. The rabbis taught in a baraita that three nonetheless cohabited in the Ark—the dog, the raven, and Ham—and they were all punished.
Reading in Genesis 7:3 the command to take into the Ark "of the fowl also of the air, seven each," a midrash hypothesized that the command might have meant seven of each kind of animal (three of one gender and four of the other). But then one of them would lack a mate. Hence the midrash concluded that God meant seven males and seven females. Of course God did not need them, but they were to come (in the words of Genesis 7:3) "to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth."
Rabbi Simeon ben Yoḥai taught that because the generation of the Flood transgressed the Torah that God gave humanity after Moses had stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (as reported in Exodus 24:18 and 34:28 and Deuteronomy 9:9–11, 18, 25; and 10:10), God announced in Genesis 7:4 that God would "cause it to rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights." Similarly, Rabbi Joḥanan taught that because the generation of the Flood corrupted the features that take shape after 40 days (in the womb), God announced in Genesis 7:4 that God would "cause it to rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights, and every living substance that I have made will I blot out."Genesis Rabbah 32:5
Reading in Genesis 7:4 that God said, "every living substance (, ''yekum'') that I have made will I blot out," Rabbi Abin taught that this included the one who rose up (, ''yakam'') against his brother—
In a baraita, Rabbi 
Similarly, interpreting the words, "and it went forth to and fro" in Genesis 8:7, Rabbi Judan said in the name of Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon that the raven began arguing with Noah. The raven asked Noah why of all the birds that Noah had in the Ark Noah sent none but the raven. Noah retorted that the world had no need of the raven; the raven was fit neither for food nor for sacrifice. Rabbi Berekiah said in Rabbi Abba's name that God told Noah to take that back, because the world would need ravens in the future. Noah asked God when the world would need ravens. God replied that (in the words of Genesis 8:7) "when the waters dry off from on the earth," a righteous man (
A midrash taught that when Psalm 142:8 says, "Bring my soul out of prison," it refers to Noah's imprisonment 12 months in the Ark, and when Psalm 142:8 says, "for You will deal bountifully with me," it refers to God's bounty to Noah when God told Noah in Genesis 8:16, "Go forth from the Ark."
Rabbi Joḥanan interpreted the words, "After their kinds they went forth from the Ark," in Genesis 8:19 to teach that the animals went out by their families, not alone. Rabbi Hana bar Bizna taught that Abraham's servant 
A midrash recounted that Noah fed and provided for the Ark's inhabitants for all of 12 months. But Rav Huna said in Rabbi Liezer's name that when Noah was leaving the Ark, a lion nonetheless set on him and maimed him, so that he was not fit to offer sacrifices, and his son Shem sacrificed in his stead. The midrash took this as an application of the words of Proverbs 11:31: "the righteous shall be requited on earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner." From this, the midrash inferred that if in spite of his comparative righteousness, Noah was punished for his sins, "how much more" was the generation of the Flood.
Rav Huna cited the report in Genesis 8:20 that Noah offered burnt offerings from every clean animal and bird to support the proposition in a baraita that all animals were eligible to be offered, as the words "animal" (, ''behemah'') and "bird" (, ''of'') refer to any animal or bird, and the term "animal" (, ''behemah'') includes wild beasts (, ''hayyah'').
Rabbi Ḥaninah cited the report of Genesis 8:21 that "the Lord smelled the sweet savor; and ... said ... 'I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the proposition that those who allow themselves to be pacified when drinking wine possess some of the characteristics of the Creator.
Rav Awira (or some say Rabbi 
The Gemara helped explain why (as Genesis 9:13 reports) God chose a rainbow as the symbol of God's promise. The Mishnah taught with regard to those who take no thought for the honor of their Maker, that it would have been better if they had not been born. Rabbi Abba read this Mishnah to refer to those who stare at a rainbow, while Rav Joseph said that it refers to those who commit transgressions in secret. The Gemara explained that those who stare at a rainbow affront God's honor, as Ezekiel 1:28 compares God's appearance to that of a rainbow: "As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." Thus, those who stare at a rainbow behave as if they were staring directly at God. Similarly, Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Naḥmani, the speaker for Resh Lakish, taught that because Ezekiel 1:28 compares God's appearance to that of a rainbow, staring at the rainbow harms one's eyesight.
The Talmud deduced two possible explanations (attributed to Rav and Rabbi Samuel) for what Ham did to Noah to warrant Noah's curse of Canaan. According to one explanation, Ham 
Rabbi Levi, or some say Rabbi Jonathan, said that a tradition handed down from the Men of the 
Rabbi Joḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Simeon that wherever you find the words of Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi 
Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Nehemiah disagreed over how to interpret Genesis 11:6, "And the Lord said: 'Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withheld from them, which they purpose to do.'" Rabbi Judah interpreted the words, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language," to mean that because the people lived in unity, if they had repented, God would have accepted them. But Rabbi Nehemiah explained that it was because "they are one people, and they have all one language," that they rebelled against God. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana taught that God gave them an opportunity to repent, for the words "and now" in Genesis 11:6 indicate repentance, for Deuteronomy 11:6 says, "''And now'', Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God." But the next word of Genesis 11:6, "No," reports their response. The continuation of Genesis 11:6, then reports God's reply, "Then let all that they purpose to do be withheld from them!"
Rabbi Joḥanan taught that wherever heretics have taken Biblical passages as grounds for their heresy, another passage nearby provides the refutation. Thus (the heretics questioned the use of the plural regarding God in Genesis 11:7): "Come, let us go down and there confound their language." (But nearby, in Genesis 11:5, it says in the singular): "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower." Rabbi Joḥanan taught that God says, "let us," in the plural in Genesis 11:7 (and elsewhere) to show that God does nothing without first consulting God's Heavenly Court.
Rabbi Simeon said that God called to the 70 angels who surround the 
The sages taught that the God who punished the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion would take vengeance on people who renege on their word after money has been paid.
The Gemara asked what the name Babel (which can mean "to mix" or "confound," as in Genesis 11:9) connotes. Rabbi Joḥanan answered that the study of Scripture, Mishnah, and Talmud was intermingled (in the study reported in the Babylonian Talmud).
The Mishnah observed that there were ten generations from
The
The ''
Some scholars who follow the
The '' Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' read the words of Genesis 9:5, "And surely your blood of your lives will I require," to refer to "foolish pietists" who needlessly endanger their lives by refusing to be healed on the Sabbath. The ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' taught that one overrides the Shabbat as well as other commandments (except for idol worship, incest, and murder) if there is danger to life and one who hastens to disregard the Sabbath for an ill person who is in danger is praiseworthy.
Similarly, the ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' read the words of Genesis 9:5, "And surely your blood of your lives will I require," to support the proposition that one who commits suicide is considered an evildoer of the highest degree. For God created the world for a single individual, Adam, so anyone who destroys a soul destroys a whole world. The ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' therefore taught that Jews should not carry out for one who committed suicide anything to honor that person, but Jews should bury the body after cleansing and dressing it in a shroud. The principle is that everything for honoring the living relatives should be done for them, as opposed to for the honor of the person who committed suicide.
The ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' taught that upon arising in the morning, one should wash one's face in honor of one's Creator, as Genesis 9:6 states, "for in the image of God made He man."
chapter 3
of ''
chapter 5
of ''Pirkei Avot'' thereafter.
The Book of Noah
Jerusalem, early 2nd century BCE.
''The Genesis Apocryphon''
book 1, chapter 3, ¶¶ 2–3, 5, 7–8
Circa 93–94. In, e.g., ''The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by
Chagigah 2:1Nedarim 3:11Bava Metzia 4:2Sanhedrin 10:3Avot 3:145:3
6. Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. In, e.g., ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, pages 330, 411–12, 537, 604–05, 680, 686. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. *
Berakhot 40a45aPesachim 2a
78b; Rosh Hashanah 2a
22a
Taanit 4a, 7b; Megillah 12a, 18a
Moed Katan 17a
Yevamot 44a; Sotah 46b; Kiddushin 2a; Bava Metzia 13b; Sanhedrin 30a, 68a; Makkot 9a.4:65:16:414:316:617:222:31223:3724:325:226:1–428:830:1–38:1439:742:449:250:853:5
Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 16, 32, 35, 44, 112, 131–33, 181, 191, 194, 197, 200, 207, 209–12, 229, 233–312, 315, 346, 421–22, 439, 464; volume 2, pages 511, 522, 531, 546, 561, 612, 669, 689. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *
Berakhot 25b40a61aShabbat 31b109a113b137a150a151bEruvin 18a–b53a65aPesachim 3a54aYoma 9b–10a52b75a76a85aSukkah 52aRosh Hashanah 10b11b–12aTaanit 19a27bMegillah 9b10b14a17a31bMoed Katan 25bChagigah 11b–12a16aYevamot 62a63b64bKetubot 8a77b112aNedarim 31aSotah 12a34b45bKiddushin 13a30bBava Kamma 91bBava Metzia 44a106bBava Batra 16b74a123aSanhedrin 17a24a38b44a56a–57b58b–59b69b–70a72b84b91a100b108a–09aMakkot 8b11aShevuot 36aAvodah Zarah 5a–6a11b19a23b51aHorayot 13aZevachim 108b113b115b–16aChullin 23a89a102a139bBekhorot 46b57aTemurah 28bKeritot 6bMeilah 16a
Genesis 6–11
''Hilchot Avodat Kochavim V'Chukkoteihem (The Laws of the Worship of Stars and their Statutes)'', chapter 1, halachah 2
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Avodat Kochavim V'Chukkoteihem: The Laws of the Worship of Stars and their Statutes''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 3, pages 16–21. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1990. . *Maimonides. ''
''The Negro Race Not Under a Curse: An Examination of Genesis IX. 23.''
London: Wertheim, MacIntosh & Hunt, 1853. *
"Has Science Dated the Biblical Flood?"
''
"The Image of God in the Book of Genesis—A Study of Terminology."
''Bulletin of the
"The 'Babel of Tongues': A Sumerian Version."
''
. '' peh'')). Parashat Noach has several further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (, ''setumah'') divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''
samekh
Samekh or samech is the fifteenth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''sāmek'' 𐤎, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''sāmeḵ'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''samek'' 𐡎, and Syriac alphabet, Syr ...
'')) within the open portion divisions. The first open portion is from the first reading through the fifth readings. The second and third open portion divisions divide the sixth reading. And the fourth and fifth open portion divisions divide the seventh reading. Closed portion divisions divide the first reading, set off the third and fourth readings, and further divide the sixth and seventh readings.
First reading—Genesis 6:9–22
In the first reading, the Torah tells thatNoah
Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...
was a righteous man, blameless in his age, who walked with God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
. Noah had three sons: Shem
Shem (; ''Šēm''; ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible ( Genesis 5–11 and 1 Chronicles 1:4).
The children of Shem are Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to unnamed daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of Jews, Christ ...
, Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...
, and Japheth
Japheth ( ''Yép̄eṯ'', in pausa ''Yā́p̄eṯ''; '; ; ') is one of the three sons of Noah in the Book of Genesis, in which he plays a role in the story of Noah's drunkenness and the curse of Ham, and subsequently in the Table of Nation ...
.
God saw that all flesh on earth had become corrupt and lawless. The first closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Noah that God had decided to bring a flood to destroy all flesh. God directed Noah to make an ark of gopher wood and cover it with pitch inside and outside. The Ark was to be 300 cubit
The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding Noah ...
s long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. It was to have an opening for daylight near the top, an entrance on its side, and three decks. God told Noah that God would establish a covenant with Noah, and that he, his sons, his wife, his sons' wives, and two of each kind of beast—male and female—would survive in the Ark. Noah did everything that God commanded him to do. The first reading ends here with the end of chapter 6.
Second reading—Genesis 7:1–16
In the second reading, in chapter 7, seven days before the Flood, God told Noah to go into the Ark with his household, and to take seven pairs of every clean animal and every bird, and two pairs of every other animal, to keep their species alive. When Noah was 600 years old, the Flood came, and that same day, Noah, his family and the beasts went into the Ark, and God shut him in. The second reading ends here.
Third reading—Genesis 7:17–8:14
In the third reading, the rains fell 40 days and 40 nights, the waters swelled 15 cubits above the highest mountains, and all flesh with the merest breath of life died, except for Noah and those with him on the Ark. When the waters had swelled 150 days, God remembered Noah and the beasts, and God caused a wind to blow and the waters to recede steadily from the earth, and the Ark came to rest on themountains of Ararat
In the Book of Genesis, the mountains of Ararat (Biblical Hebrew , Tiberian ', Septuagint: ) is the term used to designate the region in which Noah's Ark comes to rest after the Great Flood. It corresponds to the ancient Assyrian term Urartu ...
. At the end of 40 days, Noah opened the window and sent out a raven
A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...
, and it went to and fro. Then he sent out a dove
Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
to see if the waters had decreased from the ground, but the dove could not find a resting place, and returned to the Ark. He waited another seven days, and again sent out the dove, and the dove came back toward evening with an olive leaf
Olive leaf is the leaf of the olive tree (''Olea europaea''). Although olive oil extracted from the fruit of the tree is well known for its flavor and possible health benefits, the leaf and its extracts remain under preliminary research with un ...
. He waited another seven days and sent out the dove, and it did not return. When Noah removed the covering of the Ark, he saw that the ground had dried. The third reading and a closed portion end here.
Fourth reading—Genesis 8:15–9:7
In the fourth reading, God told Noah to come out of the Ark with his family and to free the animals. Then Noah built analtar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...
to God and offered burnt offerings of every clean animal and of every clean bird. God smelled the pleasing odor and vowed never again to doom the earth because of humankind, as human imaginings are evil from their youth, but God would preserve the seasons so long as the earth endured. God blessed Noah and his sons to be fertile and increase, and put the fear of them into all the beasts, which God gave into their hands to eat. God prohibited eating flesh with its life-blood in it. God would require a reckoning of every person's and beast's life-blood, and whoever shed the blood of a human would have their blood shed by humans, for in God's image did God make humankind. God told them to be fertile
Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate is ...
and increase.. The fourth reading and a closed portion end here.
Fifth reading—Genesis 9:8–17
In the fifth reading, God made a covenant with Noah, his sons, and every living thing that never again would a flood destroy the earth. God set therainbow
A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
in the clouds as the sign of God's covenant with earth, so that when the bow appeared in the clouds, God would remember God's covenant and the waters would never again flood to destroy all flesh. The fifth reading and the first open portion end here.
Sixth reading—Genesis 9:18–10:32
In the sixth reading, Noah became the first to plant a vineyard, and he drank himselfdrunk
Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...
, and was uncovered within his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness
Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...
and told his two brothers. Shem and Japheth placed a cloth against both their backs and, walking backward, covered their father, without seeing their father's nakedness. When Noah woke up and learned what Ham had done to him, he cursed Ham's son Canaan to become the lowest of slaves to Japheth and Shem, prayed that God enlarge Japheth, and blessed the God of Shem. Noah lived to the age of 950 and then died. The second open portion ends here.
As the reading continues, chapter 10 sets forth the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, from whom the nations branched out over the earth after the Flood, a section known as the table of nations
The Generations of Noah, also called the Table of Nations or ''Origines Gentium'', is a genealogy of the sons of Noah, according to the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, Genesis ), and their dispersion into many lands after Genesis flood narrative ...
. Among Japheth's descendants were the Japhetites
The term Japhetites (sometimes spelled Japhethites; in adjective form Japhetic or Japhethitic) refers to the descendants of Japheth, one of the three sons of Noah in the Book of Genesis. The term was used in ethnological and linguistic writings ...
, which are the maritime nations. Ham's son Cush had a son named Nimrod
Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...
, who became the first man of might on earth, a mighty hunter, king in Babylon
Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
and the land of Shinar
Shin’ar ( ; ; ) is the name for the southern region of Mesopotamia used by the Hebrew Bible.
Etymology
Hebrew ''Šinʿār'' is equivalent to the Egyptian ''Sngr'' and Hittite ''Šanḫar(a)'', all referring to southern Mesopotamia. Some Assyr ...
. From there Asshur went and built Nineveh
Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...
. Ham's son Mizraim
Mizraim (; cf. ) is the Hebrew and Aramaic name for the land of Egypt and its people.
Mizraim - king of Egypt
Linguistic analysis
'' Mizraim'' is the Hebrew cognate of a common Semitic source word for the land now known as Egypt. It is similar t ...
had sons from whom came the Philistines
Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia.
There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...
and Caphtorim. A closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Canaan's descendants—Sidon, Heth
Heth, sometimes written Chet or Ḥet, is the eighth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician ''ḥēt'' 𐤇, Hebrew ''ḥēt'' , Aramaic ''ḥēṯ'' 𐡇, Syriac ''ḥēṯ'' ܚ, and Arabic ''ḥāʾ'' . It is also related to ...
, the Jebusite
The Jebusites (; ) were, according to the Book of Joshua and Books of Samuel from the Hebrew Bible, a Canaanite tribe that inhabited Jerusalem, called Jebus () before the conquest initiated by Joshua (, ) and completed by David (). According to s ...
s, the Amorite
The Amorites () were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Egypt from the 21st century BC ...
s, the Girgashites, the Hivites
The Hivites ( ''Ḥiwwîm'') were one group of descendants of Canaan, son of Ham, according to the Table of Nations in (10:17). A variety of proposals have been made, but beyond the references in the Bible to Hivites in the land of Canaan, no c ...
, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites—spread out from Sidon
Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...
as far as Gerar
Gerar ( ''Gərār'', "lodging-place") was a Philistine town and district in what is today south central Israel, mentioned in the Book of Genesis and in the Second Book of Chronicles of the Hebrew Bible.
Identification
According to the Internati ...
, near Gaza, and as far as Sodom and Gomorrah
In the Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah () were two cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Sodom and Gomorrah are repeatedly invoked throughout the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical texts, and the New Testament as symbols of sin, di ...
. Another closed portion ends here.
The continuation of the reading set forth Shem's descendants, among whom was Eber
Eber (; ; ) is an ancestor of the Ishmaelites and the Israelites according to the Generations of Noah in the Book of Genesis () and the Books of Chronicles ().
Lineage
Eber (Hebrew: Ever) was a great-grandson of Noah's son Shem and the father ...
. The sixth reading and the third open portion end here with the end of chapter 10.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis'', page 53.
Seventh reading—Genesis 11:1–32
In the seventh reading, in chapter 11, everyone on earth spoke the same language. As people migrated from the east, they settled in the land of Shinar. People there sought to make bricks and build a city and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for themselves, so that they not be scattered over the world. God came down to look at the city and tower, and remarked that as one people with one language, nothing that they sought would be out of their reach. God went down and confounded their speech, so that they could not understand each another, and scattered them over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. Thus the city was calledBabel
Babel is a name used in the Hebrew Bible for the city of Babylon and may refer to:
Arts and media Written works Books
*Babel (book), ''Babel'' (book), by Patti Smith
* Babel (2012 manga), ''Babel'' (2012 manga), by Narumi Shigematsu
* Babel (20 ...
. The fourth open portion ends here.
The continuation of the reading sets forth the descendants of Shem. Eight closed portion divisions separate each generation.
As the reading continues, eight generations after Shem, Terah
Terah or Terach ( ''Teraḥ'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis. He is listed as the son of Nahor and father of the patriarch Abraham. As such, he is a descendant of Shem's son Arpachshad. Terah is mentioned in Genesis 11:26–27, ...
had three sons: Abram (who would become Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
), Nahor, and Haran
Haran or Aran ( ''Hārān'') is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. He was a son of Terah, brother of Abraham, and father of son Lot and daughters Milcah and Iscah. He died in Ur of the Chaldees. Through Lot, Haran was the ance ...
.
Haran had a son Lot and two daughters Milcah
Milcah (, related to the Hebrew word for "queen") was the
daughter of Haran and the wife of Nahor, according to the genealogies of Genesis. She is identified as the mother of Bethuel and grandmother of Rebecca and Laban in biblical tradition, ...
and Iscah, and then died in Ur during the lifetime of his father Terah.
In the maftir () reading that concludes the parashah, Abram married Sarai, and Nahor married Haran's daughter Milcah. Sarai was barren. Terah took Abram, Sarai, and Lot and set out together from Ur for the land of Canaan, but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there, and there Terah died. The seventh reading, the fifth open portion, chapter 11, and the parashah end here.
Readings according to the triennial cycle
Jews who read the Torah according to thetriennial cycle
The Triennial cycle of Torah reading may refer to either
* The historical practice in ancient Israel by which the entire Torah was read in serial fashion over a three-year period, or
* The practice adopted by many Reform, Conservative, Reconstruct ...
of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:
In ancient parallels
The parashah has parallels in these ancient sources:Genesis chapters 6–8
Tablet 11 of the Epic of Gilgamesh
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...
, composed in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
in the 14th to 11th centuries BCE, presents a parallel flood story to that in Parashat Noach. John J. Collins reported that the flood story that came to be part of the Epic of Gilgamesh appears to have previously been an independent tale in Sumerian. Gary Rendsburg notes these similarities and differences:
In inner-biblical interpretation
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:Genesis chapter 6
The wording of Genesis 6:9, "Noah was a righteous (, ''tamim'') man," is echoed in Genesis 17:1, "the Eternal appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am El Shaddai—walk along before Me and be pure of heart (, ''tamim''). In Genesis 6:13, God shared God's purpose with Noah, saying, "I have decided to put an end to all flesh," and in an internal dialogue in Genesis 18:17–19, God asked, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do ... ? For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is just and right, in order that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what He has promised him." Similarly, inAmos
Amos or AMOS may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray
* Amos (band), an American Christian rock band
* ''Amos'' (film), a 1985 American made-for-television drama film
* Amos (guitar), a 1958 Gibson Fl ...
3:7, the 8th century BCE prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
Amos
Amos or AMOS may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray
* Amos (band), an American Christian rock band
* ''Amos'' (film), a 1985 American made-for-television drama film
* Amos (guitar), a 1958 Gibson Fl ...
reported, "Indeed, my Sovereign God does nothing without having revealed the purpose to God's servants the prophets.."
Genesis chapter 11
Joshua
Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...
24:2 reports that Abram's father Terah lived beyond the River Euphrates
The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
and served other gods.
While Genesis 11:31 reports that Terah took Abram, Lot, and Sarai from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran, and Genesis 12:1 subsequently reports God's call to Abram to leave his country and his father's house, Nehemiah
Nehemiah (; ''Nəḥemyā'', "Yahweh, Yah comforts") is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period as the governor of Yehud Medinata, Persian Judea under Artaxer ...
9:7 reports that God chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees.
In classical rabbinic interpretation
The parashah is discussed in theserabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
nic sources from the era of the Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
and the Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
:
Genesis chapter 6
Interpreting the words, "Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations", in Genesis 6:9, Rabbi Joḥanan taught that Noah was considered righteous in his generations but would not have been considered righteous in other generations. Resh Lakish, however, maintained that if even in his generations Noah was able to be righteous, then he certainly would have been righteous in other generations. Rabbi Ḥaninah compared Rabbi Joḥanan's view of Noah to a barrel of wine lying in a vault of acid. In its place, its aroma is fragrant (compared to that of the acid). Elsewhere, its aroma would not be considered fragrant. Rabbi Oshaia compared Resh Lakish's view of Noah to a vial ofspikenard
Spikenard, also called nard, nardin, and muskroot, is a class of aromatic amber-colored essential oil derived from '' Nardostachys jatamansi'', a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family which grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. T ...
oil lying amidst refuse. If it is fragrant where it is, how much more so would it be among spices!Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108aSimilarly, Rabbi Judah and
Rabbi Nehemiah
Rabbi Nehemiah was a rabbi who lived circa 150 AD (fourth generation of tannaim).
He was one of the great students of Rabbi Akiva, and one of the rabbis who received semicha from R' Judah ben Baba
The Talmud equated R' Nechemiah with Rabbi Ne ...
differed in interpreting the words "Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations", in Genesis 6:9. Rabbi Judah taught that only "in his generations" was he a righteous man (by comparison). Had he lived in the generation of Moses
In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
or Samuel
Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...
, he would not have been called righteous. Rabbi Judah said that in the street of the totally blind, the one-eyed man is called clear-sighted, and the infant is called a scholar. Rabbi Judah compared it to a man with a wine vault who opened one barrel and found it vinegar, opened another and found it vinegar, and opened a third to find it turning sour. When people told him that it was turning, he asked if the vault contained any better. Similarly, "in his generations" Noah was a righteous man. Rabbi Nehemiah, however, taught that if Noah was righteous even in his generation (despite the corrupt environment), how much more so would he have been, had he lived in the age of Moses. Rabbi Nehemiah compared Noah to a tightly closed vial of perfume in a graveyard, which nevertheless gave forth a fragrant aroma. How much more fragrant would it have been outside the graveyard.
Rabbi Judah contrasted the words "Noah walked with God" in Genesis 6:9 with God's words to Abraham, "walk before Me," in Genesis 17:1. Rabbi Judah compared it to a king who had two sons, one grown up and the other a child. The king asked the child to walk ''with'' him. But the king asked the adult to walk ''before'' him. Similarly, to Abraham, whose moral strength was great, God said, "Walk before Me." But of Noah, who was feeble, Genesis 6:9 says, "Noah walked with God." Rabbi Nehemiah compared Noah to a king's friend who was plunging about in dark alleys, and when the king saw him sinking in the mud, the king urged his friend to walk with him instead of plunging about. Abraham's case, however, was compared to that of a king who was sinking in dark alleys, and when his friend saw him, the friend shined a light for him through the window. The king then asked his friend to come and shine a light before the king on his way. Thus, God told Abraham that instead of showing a light for God from Mesopotamia, he should come and show one before God in the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
.
Similarly, a midrash
''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...
read the words "Noah walked with God" in Genesis 6:9 to mean that God supported Noah, so that Noah should not be overwhelmed by the evil behavior of the generation of the Flood. The midrash compared this to a king whose son went on a mission for his father. The road ahead of him was sunken in mire, and the king supported him so that he would not sink in the mire. However, in the case of Abraham, God said in Genesis 17:1, "walk before Me," and regarding the Patriarchs, Jacob said in Genesis 48:15, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked." For the Patriarchs would try to anticipate the Divine Presence, and would go ahead to do God's will.
Another midrash, however, read the words of Genesis 6:9, "Noah walked with God" to mean that Noah walked in humility, whole-heartedness, and integrity before his Creator, even as Micah 6:8 says, "And what does the Lord require of you? Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Moreover, the midrash taught that Noah took upon himself the yoke of the Seven Commandments and transmitted them to his sons, and thus of him, . ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...
Proverbs
A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...
20:7 says, "He that walks in his integrity as a just man, happy are his children after him."
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana read Genesis 6:7–8 together to report God saying, "I repent that I have made them and Noah." Thus even Noah, who was left, was not worthy, save that (in the words of Genesis 6:8) "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said that Naamah, the sister of Tubal-cain
Tubal-cain or Tubalcain ( – ''Tūḇal Qayīn'') is a person mentioned in the Bible, in , named therein as the first blacksmith. He is stated as the "forger of all instruments of bronze and iron". A descendant of Cain, he was the son of Lamec ...
, mentioned in Genesis 4:22, was Noah's wife. She was called Naamah, because her deeds were pleasing (''ne'imim''). But the rabbis said that Naamah was a woman of a different stamp, for her name denotes that she sang (''man'emet'') to the timbrel
The timbrel or tabret (also known as the tof of the ancient Hebrews, the deff in Arabic, the adufe of the Moors of Portugal) was the principal percussion instrument of the ancient Israelites. It resembled either a frame drum or a modern tambour ...
in honor of idolatry
Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic ...
.
The Mishnah concluded that the generation of the Flood and the generation of the dispersion after the Tower of Babel were both so evil as to have no share in the world to come. Rabbi Akiva
Akiva ben Joseph (Mishnaic Hebrew: ; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second. Rabbi Akiva was a leadin ...
deduced from the words of Genesis 7:23 that the generation of the Flood will have no portion in the world to come; he read the words "and every living substance was destroyed" to refer to this world and the words "that was on the face of the ground" to refer to the next world. Rabbi Judah ben Bathyra deduced from the words "My spirit will not always enter into judgment with man" of Genesis 6:3 that God will neither revive nor judge the generation of the Flood on Judgment Day.
The Tosefta
The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''.
Background
Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...
taught that the generation of the Flood acted arrogantly before God on account of the good that God lavished on them. So (in the words of Job
Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...
21:14–15) "they said to God: 'Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him? They scoffed that they needed God for only a few drops of rain, and they deluded themselves that they had rivers and wells that were more than enough for them, and as Genesis 2:6 reports, "there rose up a mist from the earth." God noted that they took excess pride based upon the goodness that God lavished on them, so God replied that with that same goodness God would punish them. And thus Genesis 6:17 reports, "And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth." Similarly, the rabbis taught in a baraita
''Baraita'' ( "external" or "outside"; pl. ''bārayāṯā'' or in Hebrew ''baraitot''; also baraitha, beraita; Ashkenazi pronunciation: berayse) designates a tradition in the Oral Torah of Rabbinical Judaism that is not incorporated in the Mi ...
that the good that God lavished upon the generation of the Flood led them to become arrogant.
Interpreting the words, "And the earth was corrupt (,''tishachet'') before God," in Genesis 6:11, a baraita of the School of Rabbi Ishmael
Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha Nachmani (Hebrew: רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע), often known as Rabbi Yishmael and sometimes given the title "Ba'al HaBaraita" (Hebrew: בעל הברייתא, “Master of the Outside Teaching”), was a rabbi of ...
taught that whenever Scripture uses the word "corruption," it refers to sexual immorality and idolatry. Reference to sexual immorality appears in Genesis 6:12, which says, "for all flesh had corrupted (,''hishchit'') their way upon the earth" (and the use of the term "their way" (,''darko'') connotes sexual matters, as Proverbs 30:19 indicates when it says, "the way (,''derech'') of a man with a young woman"). And Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament.
Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...
4:16 shows that "corruption" connotes idolatry when it says, "lest you deal corruptly (,''tashchitun''), and make a graven image."
Rabbi Joḥanan deduced from the words "all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth" in Genesis 6:12 that they mated domesticated animals with wild animals, and animals with humans. Rav Abba bar Kahana taught that after the Flood, they all returned to their own kind, except for the tushlami bird.
Interpreting Genesis 6:13, Rabbi Joḥanan deduced that the consequences of robbery are great. For though the generation of the Flood transgressed all laws, God sealed their decree of punishment only because they robbed. In Genesis 6:13, God told Noah that "the earth is filled with violence (that is, robbery) through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth." And Ezekiel
Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him.
The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...
7:11 also states, "Violence (that is, robbery) is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor any of theirs; neither shall there be wailing for them." Rabbi Eleazar interpreted Ezekiel 7:11 to teach that violence stood up before God like a staff, and told God that there was no good in any of the generation of the Flood, and none would bewail them when they were gone.
Similarly, midrash interpreted the words, "the earth is filled with violence," in Genesis 6:13 to teach that it was because they were steeped in robbery that they were blotted out from the world.
Interpreting Genesis 6:13, Rabbi Ḥaninah told what the people of the age of the Flood used to do. When a person brought out a basket of beans for sale, one would come and seize less than the worth of the smallest coin in circulation, a ''perutah'' (and thus there was no redress under the law). And then everyone would come and seize less than a ''perutah's'' worth, so that the seller had no redress at law. Seeing this, God said that the people had acted improperly, so God would deal with them improperly (in a way that they would not relish).
Interpreting Genesis 6:13, Rabbi Levi taught that "violence" (, ''chamas'') connotes idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder, as well as robbery. Reference to sexual immorality appears in Jeremiah
Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...
51:35, which says, "The violence done to me (, ''chamasi'') and to my flesh (, ''she'eri'') be upon Babylon" (and שְׁאֵר, ''she'er'' refers to sexual immorality, for example, in Leviticus 18:6). And reference to murder appears in Joel 4:19, which says, "for the violence (, ''chamas'') against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land."
Interpreting God's words in Genesis 6:13, "I will destroy them with the earth," Rav Huna
Rav Huna (Hebrew: רב הונא) was a Jewish Talmudist and Exilarch who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the second generation and head of the Academy of Sura; he was born about 216 CE (212 CE according to Gratz) and died in 296–297 ...
and Rabbi Jeremiah in Rav Kahana's name taught that the Flood washed away even the three handbreadths of the Earth's surface that a plough
A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...
turns. It was as if a prince had a tutor, and whenever the prince did wrong, the king punished the tutor. Or it was as if a young prince had a nurse, and whenever the prince did wrong, the king punished the nurse. Similarly, God said that God would destroy the generation of the Flood along with the earth that nurtured them.
Rabbi Isaac taught that God told Noah that just as a pair of birds (''ken'') cleansed a person with skin disease (as instructed in Leviticus 14:4–8), so Noah's Ark would cleanse Noah (so that he would be worthy to be saved from the Flood).
Rabbi Yassa noted that in four places, Scripture uses the expression, "make for yourself (, ''oseh l'cha'')." In three of those instances, God explained the material from which to make the thing, and in one God did not. Genesis 6:14 says, "Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood"; Numbers 10:2 says, "make for yourself two silver trumpets"; and Joshua 5:2 says, "make for yourself knives of flint." But Numbers 21:8 says merely, "make for yourself a fiery serpent" without further explanation. So Moses reasoned that a serpent is essentially a snake, and made the snake of copper, because in Hebrew, the word for copper (, ''nechoshet'') sounds like the word for snake (, ''nechash'').
Rav Adda taught that the scholars of Rav Shila interpreted "gopher wood" in Genesis 6:14 to mean ''mabliga'' (a resinous species of cedar
Cedar may refer to:
Trees and plants
*''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae
* Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar
Places United States
* Cedar, Arizona
...
), while others maintained it was ''golamish'' (a very hard and stone-like species of cedar).Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108bWhile Genesis 6:14 tells that Noah's Ark had pitch "within and without", Exodus 2:3 tells that
Jochebed
According to the Bible, Jochebed (; , lit. ' YHWH is glory') was a daughter of Levi and the mother of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. She was the wife of Amram, as well as his aunt. No details are given concerning her life. According to Jewish legend ...
daubed the Ark of the infant Moses "with slime and with pitch". A Tanna taught that the slime was inside and the pitch outside so that that righteous child would not have to smell the bad odor of the pitch.
Reading God's words in Genesis 6:15, "And ''this'' is how you shall make it" to indicate that God pointed with God's finger, Rabbi Ishmael said that each of the five fingers of God's right hand appertain to the mystery of Redemption. Rabbi Ishmael said that God showed the little finger of the hand to Noah, pointing out how to make the Ark, as in Genesis 6:15, God says, "And ''this'' is how you shall make it." With the second finger, next to the little one, God smote the Egyptians with the ten plagues, as Exodus 8:15 (8:19 in the KJV) says, "The magicians said to Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...
, 'This is the finger of God. With the middle finger, God wrote the Tablets of Stone
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tablets of the Law (also Tablets of Stone, Stone Tablets, or Tablets of Testimony; Biblical Hebrew: לוּחֹת הַבְּרִית ''lūḥōṯ habbǝrīṯ'' "tablets of the covenant", לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶ ...
, as Exodus 31:18 says, "And He gave to Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him ... tables of stone, written with the finger of God." With the index finger, God showed Moses what the children of Israel should give for the redemption of their souls, as Exodus 30:13 says, "''This'' they shall give ... half a shekel
A shekel or sheqel (; , , plural , ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly 11 grams (0.35 ozt)—and became currency in ancient Tyre, Carthage and Hasmonean Judea.
Name
The wo ...
for an offering to the Lord." With the thumb and all the hand, God will in the future smite God's enemies (who Rabbi Ishmael identified as the children of Esau
Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...
and Ishmael
In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs.
Within Isla ...
), as Micah 5:9 says, "Let your hand be lifted up above your adversaries, and let all your enemies be cut off."
Rabbi Joḥanan interpreted the words, "A light (, ''tzohar'') shall you make to the Ark," in Genesis 6:16 to teach that God instructed Noah to set therein luminous precious stones and jewels, so that they might give light as bright as noon (, ''tzaharayim''). Similarly, Rav Aḥava bar Zeira taught that when Noah entered the Ark, he brought precious stones and jewels with him to keep track of day and night. When the jewels shone dimly, he knew that it was daytime, and when they shone brightly, he knew that it was night. The Gemara
The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...
noted that it was important for Noah to be able to tell day from night, for some animals eat only during the day, and others eat only during the night, and thus Noah could determine the proper feeding times for the animals under his care. The Gemara noted that if in Genesis 6:16 God told Noah, "A window shall you make to the ark," then Noah should have been able to tell day from night. The Gemara explained that Noah needed the jewels because the account of Noah bringing jewels into the Ark followed the view that the celestial bodies—including the sun—did not serve during the year of the Flood. (Thus, no sunlight entered the Ark, and Genesis 6:16 must refer to jewels rather than a window.)
The Gemara read the words, "and to a cubit shall you finish it upward," in Genesis 6:16 to ensure that thus would it stand firm (with the sides of the roof sloping, so that the rain would fall off it).
A Tanna read the words, "with lower, second, and third stories shall you make it," in Genesis 6:16 to teach that the bottom story was for the dung, the middle for the animals, and the top for Noah's family. A midrash, however, reported that some said that the words, "with lower, second, and third stories shall you make it," meant that the bottom story was for waste, the second for Noah's family and the clean animals, and the third for the unclean animals. And the midrash reported that others said that the bottom story was for the unclean animals, the second for Noah's family and the clean animals, and the top for the garbage. The midrash taught that Noah managed to move the waste by arranging a kind of trapdoor through which he shoveled it sideways.
Noting that Genesis 6:9 calls Noah "a man," a midrash taught that wherever Scripture employs the term "a man," it indicates a righteous man who warned his generation. The midrash taught that for 120 years (deduced from Genesis 6:3), Noah planted cedars and cut them down. When they would ask him what he was doing, he would reply that God had informed him that God was bringing a flood. Noah's contemporaries replied that if a flood did come, it would come only on Noah's father's house. Rabbi Abba taught that God said that one herald arose for God in the generation of the Flood—Noah. But they despised him and called him a contemptible old man.
Similarly, Rabbi Jose of Caesarea
Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire:
Places
In the Levant
* Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...
read the words, "He is swift upon the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth, he turns not by the way of the vineyards," in Job 24:18 to teach that the righteous Noah rebuked his contemporaries. Noah urged them to repent, or God would bring a deluge upon them and cause their bodies to float upon the water like gourds, reading Job 24:18 to say, "He floats lightly upon the face of the waters." Moreover, Noah told them that they would be taken as a curse for all future generations, as Job 24:18 says, "their portion is cursed." And Rabbi Jose of Caesarea taught that the words, "he turns not by the way of the vineyards," indicate that as the people worked in their vineyards, they asked Noah what prevented God from bringing the Flood at that moment. And Noah replied that God had one dear one, one dove, to draw out before God could bring the Flood. (That is, the aged Methuselah
Methuselah (; ''Məṯūšélaḥ'', in pausa ''Məṯūšālaḥ'', "His death shall send" or "Man of the javelin" or "Death of sword"; ''Mathousalas'') was a biblical patriarch and a figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He is clai ...
had to die first, so that he would not suffer the punishment of the Flood).
Similarly, a midrash taught that Noah reproved them, calling them good-for-nothings who forsook the One whose voice breaks cedars, to worship a dry log. But they reacted as in Amos 5:10, which says, "They hate him that reproves in the gate, and they abhor him that speaks uprightly."
And Rava interpreted the words of Job 12:5, "He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a stone despised in the thought of him that is at ease," to teach that when Noah rebuked them and spoke words as hard as fiery flints, they would deride him. They called Noah "old man," and asked him what the Ark was for. Noah replied that God was bringing a flood upon them. They asked with what God would flood the earth. If God brought a flood of fire, they said, they had a thing called alitha (that would extinguish fire). If God brought a flood of water up from the earth, they said, they had iron plates with which they could cover the earth (to prevent the water from coming up). If God brought a flood of water from heaven, they said, they had a thing called akob (or some say akosh) (that could ward it off). Noah replied that God would bring it from between the heels of their feet, as Job 12:5 says, "He is ready for the steps of your feet."
A midrash compared Noah to Moses and found Moses superior. While Noah was worthy to be delivered from the generation of the Flood, he saved only himself and his family, and had insufficient strength to deliver his generation. Moses, however, saved both himself and his generation when they were condemned to destruction after the sin of the Golden Calf
According to the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran, the golden calf () was a cult image made by the Israelites when Moses went up to Mount Sinai (bible), Mount Sinai. In Hebrew, the incident is known as "the sin of the calf" (). It is first mentio ...
, as Exodus 32:14 reports, "And the Lord repented of the evil that He said He would do to His people." The midrash compared the cases to two ships in danger on the high seas, on board of which were two pilots. One saved himself but not his ship, and the other saved both himself and his ship.
A baraita interpreted Job 12:5 to teach that the waters of the Flood were as hot and viscous as bodily fluids. And Rav Ḥisda taught that since it was with hot passion that they sinned, it was with hot water that they were punished. For Genesis 8:1 says, "And the water cooled" (, ''yashoku'', more often translated as 'abated'), and Esther
Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...
7:10 says, "Then the king's wrath cooled down" (, ''shachachah'').
According to the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (, 'Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer'; abbreviated , 'PRE') is an aggadic-midrashic work of Torah exegesis and retellings of biblical stories. Traditionally, the work is attributed to the tanna Eliezer ben Hurcanus and his scho ...
, Noah warned the generation of the Flood to turn from their evil deeds, so that God would not bring the Flood upon them. But they told Noah that if God brought the Flood, they were so tall that the waters would not reach up to their necks, and their feet could plug up the depths. So they placed their feet to close up all the depths. So God heated the waters of the deep so that they rose and burnt their flesh, and peeled off their skin, as Job 6:17 says, "What time they wax warm, they vanish; when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place."
Reading God's words to Noah in Genesis 6:18, "But I will establish My covenant with you", a midrash taught that God was telling Noah that he would need a covenant to ensure that the produce would not decay or rot on the Ark. Further, the midrash taught, Noah needed a covenant to prevent giants from plugging the openings of the deep and seeking to enter the Ark, and to prevent additional lions from coming into the Ark. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba explained that God was thus telling Noah that though he may have built the Ark, but for God's covenant, Noah could not have entered the Ark. Thus Noah's ability to enter the Ark at all was proof of the covenant God established with Noah in Genesis 6:18.
Rabbi Hanan said in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Isaac that as soon as Noah entered the Ark, God prohibited his family from cohabitation, saying in Genesis 6:18: "you shall come into the Ark, you, and your sons," speaking of them apart, and "your wife, and your sons' wives," speaking of them apart. When Noah left the Ark, God permitted cohabitation to him again, saying in Genesis 8:16: "Go forth from the Ark, you and your wife," speaking of them together. Similarly, Rabbi Joḥanan deduced from the same sources that God had forbidden cohabitation for all the Ark's inhabitants. The rabbis taught in a baraita that three nonetheless cohabited in the Ark—the dog, the raven, and Ham—and they were all punished.
Genesis chapter 7
Reading in Genesis 7:2 the command that "of every clean beast you shall take seven, man and wife," the Gemara asked whether beasts have marital relationships. Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥman said in Rabbi Jonathan's name that the command means of those animals with which no sin had been committed (that is, animals that had not mated with other species). The Gemara asked how Noah would know. Rav Ḥisda taught that Noah led them past the Ark, and those that the Ark accepted had certainly not been the object of sin, while those that the Ark rejected had certainly been the object of sin. And Rabbi Abbahu taught that Noah took only those animals (fulfilling that condition) that came of their own accord. Similarly, Rav Ḥisda asked how Noah knew (before the giving of Leviticus 11) which animals were clean and which were unclean. Rav Ḥisda explained that Noah led them past the Ark, and those that the Ark accepted (in multiples of seven) were certainly clean, and those that the Ark rejected were certainly unclean. Rabbi Abbahu cited Genesis 7:16, "And they that went in, went in male and female," to show that they went in of their own accord (in their respective pairs, seven of the clean and two of the unclean).
Reading in Genesis 7:3 the command to take into the Ark "of the fowl also of the air, seven each," a midrash hypothesized that the command might have meant seven of each kind of animal (three of one gender and four of the other). But then one of them would lack a mate. Hence the midrash concluded that God meant seven males and seven females. Of course God did not need them, but they were to come (in the words of Genesis 7:3) "to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth."
Rabbi Simeon ben Yoḥai taught that because the generation of the Flood transgressed the Torah that God gave humanity after Moses had stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (as reported in Exodus 24:18 and 34:28 and Deuteronomy 9:9–11, 18, 25; and 10:10), God announced in Genesis 7:4 that God would "cause it to rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights." Similarly, Rabbi Joḥanan taught that because the generation of the Flood corrupted the features that take shape after 40 days (in the womb), God announced in Genesis 7:4 that God would "cause it to rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights, and every living substance that I have made will I blot out."Genesis Rabbah 32:5Reading in Genesis 7:4 that God said, "every living substance (, ''yekum'') that I have made will I blot out," Rabbi Abin taught that this included the one who rose up (, ''yakam'') against his brother—
Cain
Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...
. Rabbi Levi said in the name of Resh Lakish that God kept Cain's judgment in suspense until the Flood and then God swept Cain away. And thus, Rabbi Levi read Genesis 7:23 to say, "And He blotted out every one that had arisen."
A midrash read the words "And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him," in Genesis 7:5 narrowly to refer to the taking in of the animals, beasts, and birds.
The Gemara read Genesis 7:8 to employ the euphemistic expression "not clean," instead of the brief, but disparaging expression "unclean," so as not to speak disparagingly of unclean animals. The Gemara reasoned that it was thus likely that Scripture would use euphemisms when speaking of the faults of righteous people, as with the words, "And the eyes of Leah
Leah () appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son Reuben. She has thr ...
were weak," in Genesis 29:17.
Reading in Genesis 7:10 that "it came to pass, after seven days, that the waters of the Flood were upon the earth," the Gemara asked what the nature of these seven days was (that God delayed the Flood on their account). Rav taught that these were the days of mourning for Methuselah, and thus that lamenting the righteous postpones retribution. Another explanation is that during "the seven days" God reversed the order of nature (, ''bereishit'') (established at the beginning of creation), and the sun rose in the west and set in the east (so that sinners might be shocked into repentance). Another explanation is that God first appointed for them a long time (the 120 years to which Genesis 6:3 alludes), and then a short time (a seven-day grace period in which to repent). Another explanation is that during "the seven days," God gave them a foretaste of the world to come, so that they might know the nature of the rewards of which they were depriving themselves.
Similarly, the Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...
linked "the seven days" in Genesis 7:10 to the law of seven days of mourning for the death of a relative (, '' shivah''). Rabbi Jacob bar Aḥa taught in the name of Rabbi Zorah that the command to Aaron
According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...
in Leviticus 8:35, "at the door of the tent of meeting shall you abide day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord," served as a source for the law of ''shivah''. Rabbi Jacob bar Aḥa interpreted Moses to tell Aaron that just as God observed seven days of mourning for the then-upcoming destruction of the world at the time of the Flood of Noah, so too Aaron would observe seven days of mourning for the upcoming death of his sons Nadab and Abihu. And we know that God observed seven days of mourning for the destruction of the world by the Flood from Genesis 7:10, which says, "And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the Flood were upon the earth." The Gemara asked whether one mourns before a death, as Jacob bar Aḥa appears to argue happened in these two cases. In reply, the Gemara distinguished between the mourning of God and people: People, who do not know what will happen until it happens, do not mourn until the deceased dies. But God, who knows what will happen in the future, mourned for the world before its destruction. The Gemara noted, however, that there are those who say that the seven days before the Flood were days of mourning for Methuselah (who died just before the Flood).
A midrash taught that God kept seven days of mourning before God brought the Flood, as Genesis 7:10 reports, "And it came to pass after ''the seven days'', that the waters of the flood were upon the earth." The midrash deduced that God was mourning by noting that Genesis 6:6 reports, "And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it ''grieved'' Him (, ''vayitatzeiv'') at His heart." And 2 Samuel
The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) that constitute a theological ...
19:3 uses the same word to express mourning when it says, "The king ''grieves'' (, ''ne'etzav'') for his son."
Rabbi Joshua
Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšūaʿ ben Ḥănanyā''; d. 131 CE), also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Second Temple. He is the eighth-most-frequently mentioned sage in th ...
and Rabbi Eliezer differed about when the events took place in Genesis 7:11, where it says, "In the sixth hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month." Rabbi Joshua taught that the events of Genesis 7:11 took place on the seventeenth day of Iyar
Iyar (Hebrew language, Hebrew: or , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''ʾĪyyar'' Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''ʾĪyyār''; from "Rosette (design), rosette; blossom") is the eighth month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei ...
, when the constellation of the Pleiades
The Pleiades (), also known as Seven Sisters and Messier 45 (M45), is an Asterism (astronomy), asterism of an open cluster, open star cluster containing young Stellar classification#Class B, B-type stars in the northwest of the constellation Tau ...
sets at daybreak and the fountains begin to dry up. Because the generation of the Flood perverted its ways (from the way of creation), God changed for them the work of creation and made the constellation of the Pleiades rise at daybreak. God took two stars from the Pleiades and brought the Flood on the world. Rabbi Eliezer, however, taught that the events of Genesis 7:11 took place on the seventeenth of Cheshvan
Marcheshvan (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard , Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ; from Akkadian language, Akkadian , literally, 'eighth month'), generally shortened to Cheshvan (, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, S ...
, a day on which the constellation of the Pleiades rises at daybreak, and the season when the fountains begin to fill. Because the generation of the Flood perverted its ways (from the way of creation), God changed for them the work of creation and caused the constellation of the Pleiades to rise at daybreak. God took away two stars from it and brought the Flood on the world. If one accepts the view of Rabbi Joshua, then one can understand why Genesis 7:11 speaks of the "second month" (to describe Iyar, because Exodus 12:2 describes Nisan
Nisan (or Nissan; from ) in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is an Akkadian language borrowing, although it ultimately originates in Sumerian ''nisag' ...
as the first month, and Iyar follows Nisan). If one accepts Rabbi Eliezer's view, the "second month" means the month that is second to the Day of Judgment (Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...
, which Deuteronomy 11:12 recognizes as the beginning of a year when it says, "The eyes of the Lord are upon it (the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
) from the beginning of the year"). If one accepts Rabbi Joshua's view, the change in the work of creation was the change in the constellation and the waters. If one accepts Rabbi Eliezer's view, the Gemara asked what change there was in the natural order (as the constellation usually rose at that time and that time of year is usually the rainy season). The Gemara found the answer in the dictum of Rabbi Ḥisda, when he said that with hot passion they sinned, and with hot waters they were punished. The rabbis taught in a baraita that the sages of Israel follow Rabbi Eliezer in dating the Flood (counting Rosh Hashanah as the beginning of the year and Cheshvan as the "second month") and Rabbi Joshua in dating the annual cycles (holding that God created the world in Nisan). The scholars of other peoples, however, follow Rabbi Joshua in dating the Flood as well.
Rabbi Joḥanan taught that because the corruption of the generation of the Flood was great, their punishment was also great. Genesis 6:5 characterizes their corruption as great (, ''rabbah''), saying, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth." And Genesis 7:11 characterizes their punishment as great (, ''rabbah''), saying, "on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up." Rabbi Joḥanan reported that three of those great thermal fountains remained open after the Flood—the gulf of Gaddor, the hot-springs of Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...
, and the great well of Biram.
The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael called the east wind "the mightiest of winds" and taught that God used the east wind to punish the generation of the Flood, the people of the Tower of Babel, the people of Sodom, the Egyptians with the plague of the locusts in Exodus 10:13, the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin
Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...
, the Ten Tribes
The Ten Lost Tribes were those from the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. They were the following: Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naph ...
, Tyre, a wanton empire, and the wicked of Gehinnom
Gehenna ( ; ) or Gehinnom ( or ) is a Biblical toponym that has acquired various theological connotations, including as a place of divine punishment, in Jewish eschatology.
The place is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border ...
.
The Gemara interpreted the words "every bird (, ''tzippor'') of any winged (, ''kanaf'') pecies in Genesis 7:14. The Gemara read the word "bird" (, ''tzippor'') here to refer only to clean birds, and "winged" (, ''kanaf'') to include both unclean birds and grasshoppers.
In a baraita, Rabbi Eleazar of Modi'im
Eleazar of Modi'im () was a Jewish scholar of the second tannaitic generation (1st and 2nd centuries), disciple of Johanan ben Zakkai, and contemporary of Joshua ben Hananiah and Eliezer ben Hyrcanus.
Rabbinic career
Eleazar of Modi'im was an ...
interpreted Genesis 7:22, "Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered." Rabbi Eleazar of Modi'im asked whether waters that measured fifteen cubits high on the mountains could also measure fifteen cubits in the valley. To do so, the waters would have to stand like a series of walls (terraced with the topography). And if so, the ark could not have come to rest on the top of the mountains. Rather, Rabbi Eleazar of Modi'im taught that all the fountains of the great deep came up first until the water was even with the mountains, and then the water rose fifteen more cubits.
Reading in Genesis 7:22 that "all that was on the dry land died," the Gemara deduced that the fish in the sea did not die (apparently not having committed the transgressions that land animals had).
The Tosefta taught that the Flood killed people before animals (as seen in the order of Genesis 7:23), because man sinned first (as shown in Genesis 6:5).
Rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
taught that, in conferring honor, the Bible commences with the greatest, in cursing with the least important. With regard to cursing, the Gemara reasoned that Rabbi must have meant the punishment of the Flood, as Genesis 7:23 says, "And He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle," starting with the people before the cattle.
Reading in Genesis 7:23 that "every living substance was destroyed that was upon the face of the ground"—people and animals alike—the Gemara asked how the beasts had sinned (to deserve this punishment). A baraita on the authority of Rabbi Joshua ben Karḥa compared this to a father who set up a bridal canopy for his son and prepared a banquet with every sort of food. But then his son died. So the father broke up the canopy, saying that he had prepared it only for his son. Now that the son was dead, the father had no need for a banquet. Thus God created the animals only for the benefit of people. Now that people had sinned, God had no need for the animals.
The Mishnah taught that those who vow not to benefit from the children of Noah may not benefit from non-Jews, but may benefit from Jews. The Gemara asked how Jews could be excluded from the "children of Noah," as Genesis 7:23 indicates that all humanity descended from Noah. The Gemara answered that since God singled out Abraham, Jews are considered descendants of Abraham.
Genesis chapter 8
Reading "and he sent forth a raven" in Genesis 8:7, Resh Lakish taught that the raven gave Noah a triumphant retort, arguing that both God and Noah must have hated the raven. It was evident that God hated the raven because God commanded Noah to save seven pairs of the clean creatures on the Ark, but only two of the unclean (among which the raven counted itself under Leviticus 11:15). And it was evident that Noah hated the raven because Noah had left in the Ark the species of which there were seven pairs and sent one of which there were only two. If theangel
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
of heat or cold had smitten the raven, the world would have been missing the raven's kind.
Similarly, interpreting the words, "and it went forth to and fro" in Genesis 8:7, Rabbi Judan said in the name of Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon that the raven began arguing with Noah. The raven asked Noah why of all the birds that Noah had in the Ark Noah sent none but the raven. Noah retorted that the world had no need of the raven; the raven was fit neither for food nor for sacrifice. Rabbi Berekiah said in Rabbi Abba's name that God told Noah to take that back, because the world would need ravens in the future. Noah asked God when the world would need ravens. God replied that (in the words of Genesis 8:7) "when the waters dry off from on the earth," a righteous man (Elijah
Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible.
In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...
) would arise and dry up the world (threatening drought, and then see the threat fulfilled). And God would cause him to have need of ravens, as 1 Kings
The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of ancient Israel also including ...
17:6 reports, "And the ravens (, ''orvim'') brought him bread and flesh." Rabbi Judah maintained that the word ''orvim'' () referred to a town within the borders of Bashan
Bashan (; ; or ''Basanitis'') is the ancient, biblical name used for the northernmost region of Transjordan during the Iron Age. It is situated in modern-day Jordan and Syria. Its western part, nowadays known as the Golan Heights, was occupied b ...
called Arbo. But Rabbi Nehemiah insisted that 1 Kings 17:6 literally meant ravens, and the ravens brought Elijah food from King Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat (; alternatively spelled Jehosaphat, Josaphat, or Yehoshafat; ; ; ), according to the Hebrew Bible, was the son of Asa, and the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, in succession to his father. His children included Jehoram, who ...
's table.
From the discussion of the dove in Genesis 8:8, Rabbi Jeremiah deduced that the clean fowl lived with the righteous people on the Ark. (Of the raven, Genesis 8:7 says, "he sent forth a raven." But of the dove, Genesis 8:8 says, "he sent forth a dove ''from him''" indicating that the dove was ''with him''.)
Reading of the dove in Genesis 8:11, "and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf," a midrash asked where the dove found it. Rabbi Abba taught that the dove brought it from the young shoots of the Land of Israel. Rabbi Levi taught that the dove brought it from the Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet (; ; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem, east of and adjacent to Old City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem's Old City. It is named for the olive, olive ...
, for the Flood had not submerged the Land of Israel. Thus God told Ezekiel
Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him.
The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...
(in Ezekiel 22:24): "Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon on the day of indignation. Rabbi Birai (or some say Rabbi Berekiah) taught that the gates of the Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31..
The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
were opened for the dove, and from there the dove brought the olive leaf. Rabbi Abbahu asked if the dove had brought it from the Garden of Eden, would the dove not have brought something better, like cinnamon or a balsam leaf. But in fact the dove was giving Noah a hint, saying to him in effect that better is bitterness from God than sweetness from Noah's hand.
Similarly, reading of the dove in Genesis 8:11, "and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf," Rabbi Eleazar (or others say Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar) taught that the dove prayed to God that God might let the dove's sustenance be as bitter as the olive but given by God, rather than sweet as honey and given by flesh and blood (upon whom the dove was therefore dependent).
A midrash taught that when Psalm 142:8 says, "Bring my soul out of prison," it refers to Noah's imprisonment 12 months in the Ark, and when Psalm 142:8 says, "for You will deal bountifully with me," it refers to God's bounty to Noah when God told Noah in Genesis 8:16, "Go forth from the Ark."
Rabbi Joḥanan interpreted the words, "After their kinds they went forth from the Ark," in Genesis 8:19 to teach that the animals went out by their families, not alone. Rabbi Hana bar Bizna taught that Abraham's servant Eliezer
Eliezer () was the name of at least three different individuals in the Hebrew Bible.
Eliezer of Damascus
Eliezer of Damascus () was, according to Targum Jonathan Bereishit, 14:14, the son of Nimrod. As mentioned in Lech-Lecha#Sixth_reading— ...
once inquired of Noah's son Shem about these words in Genesis 8:19, asking Shem how his family managed. Shem replied that they had a difficult time in the Ark. During the day they fed the animals that usually fed by day, and during the night they fed those that normally fed by night. But Noah did not know what the chameleon
Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...
ate. One day Noah was cutting a pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...
, when a worm dropped out of it, and the chameleon ate it. From then on, Noah mashed up bran for the chameleon, and when the bran became wormy, the chameleon would eat. A fever struck the lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
, so it lived off its reserves rather than eating other animals. Noah discovered the ''avarshinah'' bird (some say the phoenix bird) lying in the hold of the Ark and asked it if it needed food. The bird told Noah that it saw that Noah was busy and decided not to give him any more trouble. Noah replied by asking that it be God's will that the bird not perish, as Job 19:18 says, "Then I said: 'I shall die with my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the phoenix.'"
A midrash recounted that Noah fed and provided for the Ark's inhabitants for all of 12 months. But Rav Huna said in Rabbi Liezer's name that when Noah was leaving the Ark, a lion nonetheless set on him and maimed him, so that he was not fit to offer sacrifices, and his son Shem sacrificed in his stead. The midrash took this as an application of the words of Proverbs 11:31: "the righteous shall be requited on earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner." From this, the midrash inferred that if in spite of his comparative righteousness, Noah was punished for his sins, "how much more" was the generation of the Flood.
Rav Huna cited the report in Genesis 8:20 that Noah offered burnt offerings from every clean animal and bird to support the proposition in a baraita that all animals were eligible to be offered, as the words "animal" (, ''behemah'') and "bird" (, ''of'') refer to any animal or bird, and the term "animal" (, ''behemah'') includes wild beasts (, ''hayyah'').
Rabbi Ḥaninah cited the report of Genesis 8:21 that "the Lord smelled the sweet savor; and ... said ... 'I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the proposition that those who allow themselves to be pacified when drinking wine possess some of the characteristics of the Creator.
Rav Awira (or some say Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi or Yehoshua ben Levi (220 – 250 CE) was an amora—a scholar of Jewish law during the period in which the Gemara was codified—who lived in the Land of Israel in the first half of the third century. He lived and taught in the ...
) taught that the Evil Inclination (''yetzer hara
In Judaism, () is a term for humankind's congenital inclination to do evil. The concept is prominent in rabbinic texts and in the works of the Syriac poet Narsai. The term itself is drawn from the phrase "the inclination of the heart of man is ...
'') has seven names. God called it "Evil" in Genesis 8:21, saying, "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." Moses called it "the Uncircumcised" in Deuteronomy 10:16, saying, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart." David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
called it "Unclean" in Psalm 51:12; Solomon
Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
called it "the Enemy" in Proverbs 25:21–22; Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...
called it "the Stumbling-Block" in Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...
57:14; Ezekiel called it "Stone" in Ezekiel 36:26; and Joel called it "the Hidden One" in Joel 2:20.
The rabbis taught in a baraita that the Evil Inclination is hard to bear, since even God its Creator called it evil, as in Genesis 8:21, God says, "the desire of man's heart is evil from his youth."
In the Jerusalem Talmud, some questioned whether very young children have evil thoughts, but Rabbi Abbahu replied by quoting Genesis 8:21 to show that children's thoughts are evil. And Rabbi Judan read Genesis 8:21 to show that human thoughts are evil from their awakening.
Genesis chapter 9
The rabbis interpreted Genesis 9 to set forth seven Noahide laws binding on all people: (1) to set up courts of justice, (2) not to commit idolatry, (3) not to commit blasphemy, (4) not to commit sexual immorality, (5) not to commit bloodshed (see Genesis 9:6), (6) not to commit robbery, and (7) not to eat flesh cut from a living animal (see Genesis 9:4). Rabbi Hanina taught that they were also commanded not to consume blood from a living animal. Rabbi Leazar taught that they were also commanded not to crossbreed animals. Rabbi Simeon taught that they were also commanded not to commit witchcraft. Rabbi Joḥanan taught that they were also commanded not to emasculate animals. And Rabbi Assi taught that the children of Noah were also prohibited to do anything stated in Deuteronomy 18:10–11: "There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that uses divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or one that consults a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a necromancer." The Tosefta instructed that Israelites should not tempt anyone to violate a Noahide law. Rabbi Shimon ben Eleazar deduced from Genesis 9:2 that even a one-day-old child scares small animals, but said that the corpse of even the giant Og ofBashan
Bashan (; ; or ''Basanitis'') is the ancient, biblical name used for the northernmost region of Transjordan during the Iron Age. It is situated in modern-day Jordan and Syria. Its western part, nowadays known as the Golan Heights, was occupied b ...
would need to be guarded from weasels and rats.
Rabbi Tanhum ben Hanilai compared the laws of kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...
to the case of a physician who went to visit two patients, one whom the physician judged would live, and the other whom the physician judged would die. To the one who would live, the physician gave orders about what to eat and what not to eat. On the other hand, the physician told the one who would die to eat whatever the patient wanted. Thus, to the nations who were not destined for life in the World to Come, God said in Genesis 9:3, "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you." But to Israel, whom God intended for life in the World to Come, God said in Leviticus 11:2, "These are the living things which you may eat."
The Gemara noted the paradox that mother's milk is kosher even though it is a product of the mother's blood, which, due to Genesis 9:4, is not kosher. In explanation, the Gemara quoted Job
Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...
14:4: “Who can bring a pure thing out of an impure? Is it not the One?” For God can bring a pure thing, such as milk, out of an impure thing, such as blood.
It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words of Genesis 9:5, "And surely your blood of your lives will I require," to mean that God will require retribution (in the Afterlife
The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...
) from those who shed their own blood (by committing suicide).
Similarly, the Tosefta cited Genesis 9:5–6 for the proposition that just as one is liable for injury done to another, so is one liable for injury done to oneself. And Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar said in the name of Rabbi Hilpai ben Agra, which he said in the name of Rabbi Joḥanan ben Nuri, that if one pulled out one's own hair, tore one's own clothing, broke one's utensils, or scattered one's coins, in a fit of anger, it should be seen as if that person did an act of service for an idol.
The midrash also read Genesis 9:5, "And surely (, ''ve-ach'') your blood of your lives will I require," to include one who strangles oneself. But the midrash taught that the principle of retribution for suicide did not apply to one in the plight of Saul
Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...
(who committed suicide to save himself from the Philistines) or one like Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (who risked their lives to sanctify God's name), as the word , ''ach'' implies a limitation on the general rule.
Rav Judah read the words of Genesis 9:5, "And surely your blood of your lives will I require," to teach that even a single judge could try a non-Jew (under the seven Noahide laws, as "will I require" is stated in the singular).
A midrash read Genesis 9:5, "at the hand of every beast will I require it," to teach that when a murder is committed in secret, even if no one knows of it and a court cannot punish the murderer, still God will avenge the victim's blood.
Rabbi Akiva
Akiva ben Joseph (Mishnaic Hebrew: ; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second. Rabbi Akiva was a leadin ...
said that it demonstrated the value of human beings that God created us in God's image, and that it was an act of still greater love that God let us know (in Genesis 9:6) that God had created us in God's image. And Rabbi Akiva also said that whoever spills blood diminishes the Divine image.Tosefta Yevamot 8:7. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah and Ben Azzai both said that whoever does not have children diminishes the Divine image as demonstrated by proximity of the notice that God created us in God's image (Genesis 9:6) and the command to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 9:7). Similarly, a midrash taught that some say a man without a wife even impairs the Divine likeness, as Genesis 9:6 says, "For in the image of God made He man," and immediately thereafter Genesis 9:7 says, "And you, be fruitful, and multiply (implying that the former is impaired if one does not fulfill the latter).
Rabbi Jacob bar Aha said in the name of Rav Assi
Rav Assi (), or Assi (I), was a rabbi of Babylonia, of the first generation of the amoraim.
Identification
Rav Assi should not be confused with the Amoraim, Amora sage of the land of Israel, Rabbi Assi, who was of the third generation of the Am ...
that Abraham asked God whether God would wipe out Abraham's descendants as God had destroyed the generation of the Flood. Rabbi Jacob bar Aha said in the name of Rav Assi that Abraham's question in Genesis 15:8, "O Lord God, how shall I know that I shall inherit it?" was part of a larger dialogue. Abraham asked God if Abraham's descendants should sin before God, would God do to them as God did to the generation of the Flood (in Genesis 6–8) and the generation of the Dispersion (in Genesis in Genesis 11:1–9). God told Abraham that God would not. Abraham then asked God (as reported in Genesis 15:8), "Let me know how I shall inherit it." God answered by instructing Abraham (as reported in Genesis 15:9), "Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old" (which Abraham was to sacrifice to God). Abraham acknowledged to God that this means of atonement through sacrifice would hold good while a sacrificial shrine remained in being, but Abraham pressed God what would become of his descendants when the Temple would no longer exist. God replied that God had already long ago provided for Abraham's descendants in the Torah the order of the sacrifices, and whenever they read it, God would deem it as if they had offered them before God, and God would grant them pardon for all their iniquities. Rabbi Jacob bar Aha said in the name of Rav Assi that this demonstrated that were it not for the , ''Ma'amadot'', groups of lay Israelites who participated in worship as representatives of the public, then heaven and earth could not endure.
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir () was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was one of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139–163), and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. He is the second most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah and is mentioned ...
taught that while it was certain that God would never again flood the world with water (Genesis 9:11), God might bring a flood of fire and brimstone, as God brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
The Mishnah taught that the rainbow (of Genesis 9:13) was one of ten miraculous things that God created on the sixth day of creation at twilight on the eve of the Sabbath. Rabbi Jose and Rabbi Judah disagreed whether verses of remembrance referring to the rainbow (Genesis 9:15–16) needed to be said together or individually.
The Gemara helped explain why (as Genesis 9:13 reports) God chose a rainbow as the symbol of God's promise. The Mishnah taught with regard to those who take no thought for the honor of their Maker, that it would have been better if they had not been born. Rabbi Abba read this Mishnah to refer to those who stare at a rainbow, while Rav Joseph said that it refers to those who commit transgressions in secret. The Gemara explained that those who stare at a rainbow affront God's honor, as Ezekiel 1:28 compares God's appearance to that of a rainbow: "As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." Thus, those who stare at a rainbow behave as if they were staring directly at God. Similarly, Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Naḥmani, the speaker for Resh Lakish, taught that because Ezekiel 1:28 compares God's appearance to that of a rainbow, staring at the rainbow harms one's eyesight.
The Talmud deduced two possible explanations (attributed to Rav and Rabbi Samuel) for what Ham did to Noah to warrant Noah's curse of Canaan. According to one explanation, Ham castrated
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceutical ...
Noah, while the other says that Ham sexually abused Noah. The textual argument for castration goes this way: Since Noah cursed Ham by his fourth son Canaan, Ham must have injured Noah with respect to a fourth son, by emasculating him, thus depriving Noah of the possibility of a fourth son. The argument for abuse from the text draws an analogy between "and he saw" written in two places in the Bible: With regard to Ham and Noah, it was written, "And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father (Noah)"; while in Genesis 34:2, it was written, "And when Shechem the son of Hamor saw her (Dinah
In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only named daughter of Leah and Jacob. The episode of her rape by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent revenge of her brothers Simeon and Levi, commonly ...
), he took her and lay with her and defiled her." Thus this explanation deduced that similar abuse must have happened each time that the Bible uses the same language.
Genesis chapter 10
A baraita employed Genesis 10:6 to interpret the words "and Hebron was built seven years beforeZoan
According to the Hebrew Bible, Zoan ( ''Ṣōʿan'') was a city of Egypt in the eastern Nile delta. Book of Numbers 13:22 says that it was built seven years after Hebron was built. Psalm 78:12,43 identifies the "field of Zoan" as the location wher ...
in Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
" in Numbers
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
13:22 to mean that Hebron was seven times as fertile as Zoan. The baraita rejected the plain meaning of "built," reasoning that Ham would not build a house for his younger son Canaan (in whose land was Hebron) before he built one for his elder son Mizraim
Mizraim (; cf. ) is the Hebrew and Aramaic name for the land of Egypt and its people.
Mizraim - king of Egypt
Linguistic analysis
'' Mizraim'' is the Hebrew cognate of a common Semitic source word for the land now known as Egypt. It is similar t ...
(in whose land was Zoan, and Genesis 10:6 lists (presumably in order of birth) "the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan." The baraita also taught that among all the nations, there was none more fertile than Egypt, for Genesis 13:10 says, "Like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt." And there was no more fertile spot in Egypt than Zoan, where kings lived, for Isaiah 30:4 says of Pharaoh, "his princes are at Zoan." And in all of Israel, there was no more rocky ground than that at Hebron, which is why the Patriarchs buried their dead there, as reported in Genesis 49:31. But rocky Hebron was still seven times as fertile as lush Zoan.
Rab and Samuel
Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...
equated the Amraphel
In the Hebrew Bible, Amraphel (; ; ) was a king of Shinar (Hebrew for Sumer) in Book of Genesis Chapter 14, who invaded Canaan along with other kings under the leadership of Chedorlaomer, king of Elam. Chedorlaomer's coalition defeated Sodom a ...
of Genesis 14:1 with the Nimrod whom Genesis 10:8 describes as "a mighty warrior on the earth," but the two differed over which was his real name. One held that his name was actually Nimrod, and Genesis 14:1 calls him Amraphel because he ordered Abraham to be cast into a burning furnace (and thus the name Amraphel reflects the words for "he said" (''amar'') and "he cast" (''hipil'')). But the other held that his name was actually Amraphel, and Genesis 10:8 calls him Nimrod because he led the world in rebellion against God (and thus the name Nimrod reflects the word for "he led in rebellion" (''himrid'')).
Genesis chapter 11
Rabbi Leazar in the name of Rabbi Jose bar Zimra found the story of the generation of the Dispersion (reported in Genesis 11:1–9) reflected in the words of Psalm 59:12–13: "Slay them not, lest my people forget, make them wander to and fro by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our Shield, for the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips." Rabbi Leazar told in the name of Rabbi Jose bar Zimra that the people of Israel asked God: "Slay them he generation of Dispersionnot, lest my people forget" and the generations that followed them forget. "Make them wander to and fro by Your power"—cast them away. "And bring them down" from the top of their tower to the land. But for us, said Israel, may "The Lord be our shield." "For the sin of their mouth"—for the sin that the generation of the Dispersion uttered when they said that once in every 1,656 years (the time from the Creation to the Flood), the Firmament disintegrates (thus not recognizing that God unleashed the Flood because of human evil). Therefore, they said, people should make supports for the Firmament, one in the north, one in the south, one in the west, and the Tower of Babel in the east. "And the word of their lips" reflects that they said this to each other by virtue of the "one language" that Genesis 11:1 reports that they had. The Tosefta taught that the men of the Tower of Babel acted arrogantly before God only because God had been so good to them (in Genesis 11:1–2) as to give them a single language and allow them to settle in Shinar. And as usage elsewhere indicated that "settle" meant "eat and drink" (see Exodus 32:6), this eating and drinking was what led them to say (in Genesis 11:4) that they wanted to build the Tower. In the Jerusalem Talmud, the rabbis debated why Genesis 11:2 calls the land Shinar. Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish (Resh Lakish) said it is called Shinar because there the dead of the Flood were deposited (taking , Shinar, as a contraction of , ''sham ninaru'', "there they were deposited"). Another explanation was because they died in anguish, without light or public baths (as they had neither olive oil for light nor plentiful wood for heating public hot baths). Another explanation was because they lacked commandments, without ''terumah
A ''terumah'' (), the priestly dues or heave offering, is a type of offering in Judaism. The word is generally used for offerings to God, but can also refer to gifts to a human.
The word ''terumah'' refers to various types of offerings, but mos ...
'' or tithes. Another explanation was because its princes died young. Another explanation was because it produced a hater and enemy of God—the evil Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar II, also Nebuchadrezzar II, meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir", was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC to his own death in 562 BC. Often titled Nebuchadnezzar ...
.
Rabbi Levi, or some say Rabbi Jonathan, said that a tradition handed down from the Men of the Great Assembly
According to Jewish tradition the Great Assembly (, also translated as Great Synagogue or ''Synod'') was an assembly of possibly 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, which existed from the early Second Temple period (around 516 BCE) to the early He ...
taught that wherever the Bible employs the term "and it was" or "and it came to pass" (, ''wa-yehi''), as it does in Genesis 11:2, it indicates misfortune, as one can read ''wa-yehi'' as ''wai'', ''hi'', "woe, sorrow." Thus, the words, "And it came to pass," in Genesis 11:2 are followed by the words, "Come, let us build us a city," in Genesis 11:4. And the Gemara also cited the instances of Genesis 6:1 followed by Genesis 6:5; Genesis 14:1 followed by Genesis 14:2; Joshua 5:13 followed by the rest of Joshua 5:13; Joshua 6:27 followed by Joshua 7:1; 1 Samuel 1:1 followed by 1 Samuel 1:5; 1 Samuel 8:1 followed by 1 Samuel 8:3; 1 Samuel 18:14 close after 1 Samuel 18:9; 2 Samuel 7:1 followed by 1 Kings 8:19; Ruth 1:1 followed by the rest of Ruth 1:1; and Esther 1:1 followed by Haman
Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian empire under King Ahasuerus#Book of Esther, Ahasuerus, comm ...
. But the Gemara also cited as counterexamples the words, "And there was evening and there was morning one day," in Genesis 1:5, as well as Genesis 29:10, and 1 Kings 6:1. So Rav Ashi
Rav Ashi () ("Rabbi Ashi") (352–427) was a Babylonian Jewish rabbi, of the sixth generation of amoraim. He reestablished the Academy at Sura and was the first editor of the Babylonian Talmud.
The original pronunciation of his name may h ...
replied that ''wa-yehi'' sometimes presages misfortune, and sometimes it does not, but the expression "and it came to pass in the days of" always presages misfortune. And for that proposition, the Gemara cited Genesis 14:1, Isaiah 7:1, Jeremiah 1:3, Ruth 1:1, and Esther 1:1.
Rabbi Joḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Simeon that wherever you find the words of Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Jose the Galilean
Jose the Galilean (, ''Rabbi Yose HaGelili''), d. 15 Av (month), Av, was a Jewish sage who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries Common Era, CE. He was one of the Tannaim, the rabbis whose work was compiled in the Mishna.
Biography
Neither the name ...
in an Aggadah
Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...
, make your ear like a funnel (to receive the teaching). (Rabbi Eleazar taught that) God bestowed greatness on Nimrod, but Nimrod (did not humble himself, but) said, in the words of Genesis 11:4, "Come, let us build ourselves a city."
The Mishnah taught that the generation of the dispersion has no portion in the world to come. The Gemara asked what they did to justify this punishment. The scholars of the academy of Rav Shila taught that they sought to build a tower, ascend to heaven, and cleave it with axes, that its waters might gush forth. In the academies of the Land of Israel, they laughed at this, arguing that if the generation of the dispersion had sought to do so, they should have built the tower on a mountain. Rabbi Jeremiah bar Eleazar taught that the generation of the dispersion split into three parties. One party sought to ascend to heaven and dwell there. The second party sought to ascend to heaven and serve idols. And the third party sought to ascend and wage war with God. God scattered the party that proposed to ascend and dwell there. God turned into apes, spirits, devils, and night-demons the party that sought to ascend and wage war with God. As for the party that sought to ascend and serve idols, God responded, in the words of Genesis 11:9, "for there the Lord did confound the language of all the earth." It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Nathan said that the generation of the dispersion were all bent on idolatry. For Genesis 11:4 says, "let us make us a name," while Exodus 23:13 says, "and make no mention of the name of other gods." Rabbi Nathan reasoned that just as the word "name" indicates idolatry in Exodus 23:13, so does the word "name" in Genesis 11:4. Rabbi Jonathan taught that a third of the tower was burned, a third sank into the earth, and a third still stood at his time. Rav taught that the atmosphere of the tower caused forgetfulness. Rav Joseph taught that Babylon and the neighboring city of Borsif were both evil omens for the Torah, because one soon forgets one's learning there. Rabbi Assi said that the name "Borsif" means "an empty pit" (''bor shafi''), for it empties one of knowledge.
Rabbi Phineas taught that the land of Babel had no stones with which to build the city and the tower. So they baked bricks until they built the tower seven miles high. The tower had ramps on its east and its west. Laborers took up the bricks on the eastern ramp, and people descended on the western ramp. If a man fell and died, the laborers paid him no heed, but if a brick fell, they sat and wept, asking when another brick would come in its stead.
Rabbi Simeon bar Yoḥai taught that the report of Genesis 11:5 that "the Lord came down to see the city and the tower" was one of ten instances when the Torah reports that God descended.
Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Nehemiah disagreed over how to interpret Genesis 11:6, "And the Lord said: 'Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withheld from them, which they purpose to do.'" Rabbi Judah interpreted the words, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language," to mean that because the people lived in unity, if they had repented, God would have accepted them. But Rabbi Nehemiah explained that it was because "they are one people, and they have all one language," that they rebelled against God. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana taught that God gave them an opportunity to repent, for the words "and now" in Genesis 11:6 indicate repentance, for Deuteronomy 11:6 says, "''And now'', Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God." But the next word of Genesis 11:6, "No," reports their response. The continuation of Genesis 11:6, then reports God's reply, "Then let all that they purpose to do be withheld from them!"
Rabbi Joḥanan taught that wherever heretics have taken Biblical passages as grounds for their heresy, another passage nearby provides the refutation. Thus (the heretics questioned the use of the plural regarding God in Genesis 11:7): "Come, let us go down and there confound their language." (But nearby, in Genesis 11:5, it says in the singular): "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower." Rabbi Joḥanan taught that God says, "let us," in the plural in Genesis 11:7 (and elsewhere) to show that God does nothing without first consulting God's Heavenly Court.
Rabbi Simeon said that God called to the 70 angels who surround the throne of God
The throne of God is the reigning centre of God in the Abrahamic religions: primarily Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The throne is said by various holy books to reside beyond the Seventh Heaven which is called ''Araboth'' ( ''‘ărāḇōṯ ...
's glory and said, "Let us descend and let us confuse the 70 nations (that made up the world) and the 70 languages." Rabbi Simeon deduced this from Genesis 11:7, where God said, "Let ''us'' go down," not "''I'' will go down." Rabbi Simeon taught that Deuteronomy 32:8, "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance," reports that they cast lots among them. God's lot fell upon Abraham and his descendants, as Deuteronomy 32:9 reports, "For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." God said that God's soul lives by the portion and lot that fell to God, as Psalm 16:6 says, "The lots have fallen to me in pleasures; yea, I have a goodly heritage." God then descended with the 70 angels who surround the throne of God's glory and they confused the speech of humankind into 70 nations and 70 languages.
The sages taught that the God who punished the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion would take vengeance on people who renege on their word after money has been paid.
The Gemara asked what the name Babel (which can mean "to mix" or "confound," as in Genesis 11:9) connotes. Rabbi Joḥanan answered that the study of Scripture, Mishnah, and Talmud was intermingled (in the study reported in the Babylonian Talmud).
The Mishnah observed that there were ten generations from Adam
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, Adam ...
to Noah (enumerated in Genesis 5), to make known God’s long-suffering; for all those generations kept on provoking God, until God brought upon them the waters of the Flood. And there were also ten generations from Noah to Abraham (enumerated in Genesis 11:10–26), to make known God’s long-suffering; for all those generations kept on provoking God, until Abraham came and received the reward of all of them.
The Mishnah taught that Abraham suffered ten trials and withstood them all, demonstrating how great Abraham's love was for God.Mishnah Avot 5:3The
Avot of Rabbi Natan
Avot of Rabbi Natan, also known as Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (ARN) (), the first and longest of the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c.700–900 CE). It is a commentary on an early form of the ...
taught that two trials were at the time he was bidden to leave Haran, two were with his two sons, two were with his two wives, one was in the wars of the Kings, one was at the covenant between the pieces, one was in Ur of the Chaldees (where, according to a tradition, he was thrown into a furnace and came out unharmed), and one was the covenant of circumcision. Similarly, the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer counted as the 10 trials (1) when Abraham was a child and all the magnates of the kingdom and the magicians sought to kill him (see below), (2) when he was put into prison for ten years and cast into the furnace of fire, (3) his migration from his father's house and from the land of his birth, (4) the famine, (5) when Sarah his wife was taken to be Pharaoh's wife, (6) when the kings came against him to slay him, (7) when (in the words of Genesis 17:1) "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision," (8) when Abram was 99 years old and God asked him to circumcise himself, (9) when Sarah asked Abraham (in the words of Genesis 21:10) to "Cast out this bondwoman and her son," and (10) the binding of Isaac.
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that the first trial was when Abram was born, and all the magnates of the kingdom and the magicians sought to kill him. Abram's family hid Abram in a cave for 13 years without seeing the sun or moon. After 13 years, Abram came out speaking the holy language, Hebrew, and he despised idols and held in abomination the graven images, and he trusted in God, saying (in the words of Psalm 84:12): "Blessed is the man who trusts in You." In the second trial, Abram was put in prison for ten years—three years in Kuthi, seven years in Budri. After ten years, they brought him out and cast him into the furnace of fire, and God delivered him from the furnace of fire, as Genesis 15:7 says, "And He said to him, 'I am the Lord who brought you out of the furnace of the Chaldees." Similarly, Nehemiah 9:7 reports, "You are the Lord the God, who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of the furnace of the Chaldees." The third trial was Abram's migration from his father's house and from the land of his birth. God brought him to Haran, and there his father Terah died, and Athrai his mother. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that migration is harder for a human than for any other creature. And Genesis 12:1 tells of his migration when it says, "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Get out.'"
The Gemara taught that Sarah was one of seven prophetesses who prophesied to Israel and neither took away from nor added anything to what is written in the Torah. (The other prophetesses were Miriam
Miriam (, lit. ‘rebellion’) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus.
The Torah refers to her as "Miria ...
, Deborah
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah (, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a prophetess of Judaism, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, and the only female judge mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lap ...
, Hannah, Abigail
Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death (1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's third wife, after Ahinoam and Saul's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married to ...
, Huldah
Huldah ( ''Ḥuldā'') is a prophetess mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in and . After the discovery of a book of the Law during renovations at Solomon's Temple, on the order of King Josiah, Hilkiah together with Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and As ...
, and Esther
Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...
.) The Gemara derived Sarah's status as a prophetess from the words, "Haran, the father of Milkah and the father of Yiscah," in Genesis 11:29. Rabbi Isaac taught that Yiscah was Sarah. Genesis 11:29 called her Yiscah () because she discerned (''saketah'') by means of Divine inspiration, as Genesis 21:12 reports God instructing Abraham, "In all that Sarah says to you, hearken to her voice." Alternatively, Genesis 11:29 called her Yiscah because all gazed (''sakin'') at her beauty.
The Pesikta de-Rav Kahana taught that Sarah was one of seven barren women about whom Psalm 113:9 says (speaking of God), "He ... makes the barren woman to dwell in her house as a joyful mother of children." The Pesikta de-Rav Kahana also listed Rebekah
Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban t ...
Rachel
Rachel () was a Bible, Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph (Genesis), Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban (Bible), Laban. Her older siste ...
, Leah
Leah () appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son Reuben. She has thr ...
, Manoah
Manoah ( ''Mānoaḥ'') is a figure from the Book of Judges 13:1-23 and 14:2-4 of the Hebrew Bible. His name means "rest". He is the father of the judge Samson.
Family
According to the Bible, Manoah was of the tribe of Dan and lived in the cit ...
's wife, Hannah, and Zion
Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole.
The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...
. The Pesikta de-Rav Kahana taught that the words of Psalm 113:9, "He ... makes the barren woman to dwell in her house," apply, to begin with, to Sarah, for Genesis 11:30 reports that "Sarai was barren." And the words of Psalm 113:9, "a joyful mother of children," apply to Sarah, as well, for Genesis 21:7 also reports that "Sarah gave children suck."
Rav Naḥman said in the name of Rabbah bar Abbuha that the redundant report, "And Sarai was barren; she had no child," in Genesis 11:30 demonstrated that Sarah was incapable of procreation because she did not have a womb.
In medieval Jewish interpretation
The parashah is discussed in thesemedieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
Jewish sources:
Genesis chapter 6
Baḥya ibn Paquda read the description "perfect" (, ''tamim'') in Genesis 6:9 to describe one who aims to make one's exterior and interior selves equal and consistent in the service of God, so that the testimony of the heart, tongue, and limbs are alike and support and confirm each other.
Maimonides
Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...
taught that God, being incorporeal, is elevated above the use of a sense of sight. Thus, when Scripture says that God "sees"—as in Genesis 6:12, "And God ''saw'' the earth, and behold, it was corrupt"—it means that God perceives visible things. Maimonides thus argued that "God
saw" would be more properly translated "it was revealed before God."
Maimonides taught that whenever Scripture relates that God spoke to a person, this took place in a dream or in a prophetic vision.
Thus Genesis 6:13, "And God said to Noah," reports a prophecy proclaimed by Noah acting as a prophet.
Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...
wrote that Genesis 6:18, "But I will establish My covenant," could be read to indicate that God had sworn earlier to Noah that he and his children would not die in the Flood, even though the text had not previously mentioned it. Alternatively, ibn Ezra taught that "But I will establish" meant that God would keep God's oath. Ibn Ezra also taught that the "covenant" alluded to the covenant that God would make when God set the rainbow in the sky in Genesis 9:8–17. After reviewing Ibn Ezra's analysis, Naḥmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...
argued that the expression, "And I will establish My covenant," meant that when the Flood came, God's covenant would be established with Noah so that he and his family and two of all the animals would come into the Ark and remain alive, and "covenant" meant God's word when God decrees something without any condition and fulfills it. Naḥmanides also taught that by way of the Kabbalah
Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...
, the covenant (, ''berit'') is everlasting, the word being derived from Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created (, ''bara'')." God thus commanded that the covenant exist and be with the righteous Noah.
Maimonides taught that before Abraham's birth, only a very few people recognized or knew God in the world, among them Enoch
Enoch ( ; ''Henṓkh'') is a biblical figure and Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared (biblical figure), Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible.
The text of t ...
, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, and Eber.
The ''Zohar
The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...
'' compared Moses to Noah and found Moses superior. For when God told Moses in Exodus 32:10, "Now therefore let me alone, that My anger may grow hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation," Moses immediately asked whether he could possibly abandon Israel for his own advantage. Moses protested that the world would say that he had killed Israel and did to them as Noah did to his generation. For when God bade Noah to save himself and his household from the Flood, Noah did not intercede on behalf of his generation but let them perish. It is for this reason that Scripture names the waters of the Flood after Noah, as Isaiah 54:9 says, "For this is as the waters of Noah to me." Thus, Moses sought mercy for his people, and God indeed showed them mercy.
Genesis chapter 7
Maimonides taught that although the two Hebrew nouns , ''ish'', and , ''ishah'', were originally employed to designate the "male" and "female" of human beings, they were afterwards applied to the "male" and "female" of other species of the animal creation. Thus, in Genesis 7:2, "Of every clean beast you shall take seven and seven, each with his mate (, ''ish ve-ishto'')," the words , ''ish ve-ishto'' mean "male and female" of those animals. ''The Zohar'' teaches that the waters did not touch the Land of Israel, that is, Jerusalem.Genesis chapter 8
Reading Genesis 8:1, "And God ''remembered'' Noah,"Saadia Gaon
Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, Geonim, gaon, Jews, Jewish philosopher, and exegesis, exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate.
Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic ...
taught that Scripture designates the deliverance of the human world from a painful situation as a ''recollection'' on the part of God. Saadia argued that the verse does not permit the use of the term “forgetfulness” in connection with God's desisting from delivering God's creatures.
The ''Midrash ha-Ne'lam (The Midrash of the Concealed)'' told that when Noah left the Ark and saw the terrible destruction all around, he wept and cried out to God that God should have shown compassion for God's creatures. God called Noah a foolish shepherd and asked why Noah complained only then, and not when God told Noah in Genesis 7:1, "You have I seen righteous before Me in this generation"; or when in Genesis 6:17, God told Noah, "And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh"; or when in Genesis 6:14, God told Noah, "Make an ark of gopher wood." God told Noah those things so that Noah would seek compassion for the world. But as soon as Noah heard that he would be saved in the Ark, the evil of the world did not touch his heart. Noah built the Ark and saved himself! Now that the world had been destroyed, Noah opened his mouth before God with prayers and supplications! When Noah realized his mistake, he offered sacrifices, as Genesis 8:20 says, "And Noah built an altar to the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." Similarly, the ''Midrash ha-Ne'lam'' contrasted Noah with the righteous heroes who arose for Israel afterward. Noah did not shield his generation and did not pray for them as Abraham did for his. For as soon as God told Abraham in Genesis 18:20, "the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great," immediately in Genesis 18:23, "Abraham drew near, and said." Abraham countered God with more and more words until he implored that if just ten righteous people were found there, God would grant atonement to the generation for their sake. Abraham thought that there were ten in the city, counting Lot and his wife, his daughters and sons-in-law, and that is why he beseeched no further.
Baḥya ibn Paquda noted that Genesis 8:21, "God said in His heart," and Genesis 9:6, "for God made man in His image," imply that God has physical form and body parts. And Genesis 8:1, "and God remembered"; Genesis 8:21, "and God smelled the pleasing aroma"; Genesis 11:5, "and God came down," imply that God moves and takes bodily actions like human beings. Baḥya explained that necessity brought people to anthropomorphize God and describe God in terms of human attributes so that human listeners could grasp God in their minds. After doing so, people can learn that such description was only metaphorical, and that the truth is too fine, too sublime, too exalted, and too remote from the ability and powers of human minds to grasp. Baḥya advised wise thinkers to endeavor to remove the husk of the terms and their corporeality and ascend in their minds step by step to reach the true intended meaning according to the power and ability of their minds to grasp. Baḥya cautioned that one must be careful not to take descriptions of God's attributes literally or in a physical sense. Rather, one must know that they are metaphors, geared to what we can grasp with our powers of understanding, because of our urgent need to know God. But God is infinitely greater and loftier than all of these attributes.
Maimonides read Genesis 8:21 to refer to the evil inclination (''yetzer ha-ra''). Maimonides taught that the three terms—the adversary (, ''ha-satan''), the evil inclination (''yetzer ha-ra''), and the angel of death—all designate the same thing. And actions ascribed to these three are in reality the actions of one and the same agent. Maimonides taught that the Hebrew term , ''satan'' was derived from the same root as the word , ''seteh'', "turn away," as in Proverbs 4:15, and thus implies the notion of turning and moving away from a thing. Thus, the adversary turns people away from the way of truth and leads them astray in the way of error. Maimonides taught that the same idea is contained in Genesis 8:21, "And the imagination of the heart of man is evil from his youth." Maimonides reported that the sages also said that people receive the evil inclination at birth, for Genesis 4:7 says, "at the door sin crouches," and Genesis 8:21 says, "And the imagination of the heart of man is evil from his youth." The good inclination, however, is developed. Maimonides taught that the sages refer to the evil inclination and the good inclination when they tell that every person is accompanied by two angels, one on the right side and one on the left, one good and one bad.
Genesis chapter 9
Baḥya ibn Paquda argued that one proof in creation of God's existence is that out of God's abounding goodness to mankind, God put the fear of humans into dangerous wild creatures, as Genesis 9:2 says, "And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth." Saadia Gaon read Genesis 9:6, "Whoso sheds man's blood, ''by man'' shall his blood be shed," to explain why the death penalty was not imposed on Cain for killing Abel, for at the time of that murder, neither judge or witnesses yet existed to impose the penalty. Maimonides cited Genesis 9:6 for the proposition that one who hires a murderer to kill another, one who sends one's servants and they kill another, one who binds another and leaves the other before a lion or the like to be killed, and one who commits suicide are all considered to be shedders of blood, and they are liable for death at the hands of God, but they are not liable for execution by the court. Maimonides reasoned that the words of Genesis 9:6, "When a person sheds the blood of a man, by a man his blood shall be shed," refer to one who personally kills another, without employing an agent. Maimonides read the words of Genesis 9:6, "Of the blood of your own lives I will demand an account," to refer to one who commits suicide. Maimonides read the words of Genesis 9:5, "From the hand of every wild beast will I demand an account," to refer to one who places another before a wild beast to be killed. And Maimonides read the words of Genesis 9:5, "From the hand of a man, from the hand of one's brother, will I demand an account for the soul of a man," to refer to one who hires others to kill another. In the last three instances, the verse uses the expression "will I demand an account," indicating that Heaven will execute their judgment.Genesis chapter 11
Maimonides taught that when Scripture reports that God intended "to descend," it signals that God meant to punish humanity, as in Genesis 11:5, "And the Lord came down to see"; Genesis 11:7, "Let us go down and there confound their language"; and Genesis 18:21, "I will go down now and see."Genesis chapters 11–22
In their commentaries to Mishnah Avot (see "In classical rabbinic interpretation" above),Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi ().
Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...
and Maimonides differed on what 10 trials Abraham faced:
In modern interpretation
The parashah is discussed in these modern sources:Genesis chapters 5–11
Victor P. Hamilton observed that genealogies bracket narrative blocks in the opening chapters of Genesis. :1A: 5:32 genealogy (Noah's sons) ::1B: 6:1–8 narrative (the sons of God) :1A1: 6:9–10 genealogy (Noah's sons) :2A: 6:9–10 genealogy (Noah's sons) ::2B: 6:11–9:17 narrative (the Flood) :2A1: 9:18–19 genealogy (Noah's sons) :3A: 10:21–31 genealogy (Shemites) ::3B: 11:1–9 narrative (Tower of Babel) :3A1: 11:10–32 genealogy (Shemites) Hamilton argued that this literary artistry provides another reason for the sequence of chapters 10 and 11.Genesis chapter 6
Ephraim Speiser contrasted the reason for the Flood given by theJahwist
The Jahwist, or Yahwist, often abbreviated J, is one of the most widely recognized sources of the Pentateuch (Torah), together with the Deuteronomist, the Priestly source and the Elohist. The existence of the Jahwist text is somewhat controver ...
in Genesis 6:5–8—that God “regretted” with “sorrow in His heart” that man had not been able to master his evil impulses—with the reason given by the Priestly source
The Priestly source (or simply P) is perhaps the most widely recognized of the sources underlying the Torah, both stylistically and theologically distinct from other material in it. It is considered by most scholars as the latest of all sources, a ...
in Genesis 6:13—that the world was lawless and thus had to be destroyed.Ephraim A. Speiser, ''Genesis'', volume 1 (New York: Anchor Bible
The Anchor Bible Series, which consists of a commentary series, a Bible dictionary, and a reference library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture which was begun in 1956, with the publication of individual volumes in the commentary series. O ...
, 1964), page xxix.
Although the text does not name Noah's wife when it mentions her in Genesis 6:18; 7:7, 13; and 8:18, Carol Meyers
Carol Lyons Meyers (born 1942) is an American feminist biblical scholar. She is the Mary Grace Wilson Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at Duke University. Meyers' field of research is focused on biblical studies, archaeology in the Middle Ea ...
reported that postbiblical discussions of the Genesis Flood story assigned her more than 103 different names.
Genesis chapter 7
Speiser read Genesis 7:4, 12; 8:6, 10, and 12, to reflect the Jahwist's chronology that the rains came down 40 days and nights, and the waters disappeared after 3 times 7 days, the whole deluge lasting thus 61 days. Whereas Speiser read the Priestly source, whose calendar is typically detailed down to the exact day of the given month, to report in Genesis 7:24 that the waters held their crest for 150 days and to report in Genesis 7:11 and 8:14 that they remained on the earth one year and 11 days.Genesis chapter 8
Walter Brueggemann
Walter Albert Brueggemann (March 11, 1933 – June 5, 2025) was an American Christian scholar and theologian who is widely considered an influential Old Testament scholar. His work often focused on the Hebrew prophetic tradition and the sociop ...
wrote that God's promise in Genesis 8:20–22 inverts the destructive action of the Flood story and marks the decisive end of the Genesis pre-history.
Genesis chapter 9
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or 'J ...
alluded to Genesis 9:6, "in the image of God made He man," in comparing church and state. Government and religion, Mendelssohn asserted, have for their object the promotion, by means of public measures, of human felicity in this life and in the life to come. Both act upon people's convictions and actions, on principles and their application; the state, by means of reasons based on the relations between people, or between people and nature, and religion by means of reasons based on the relations between people and God. The state treats people as the immortal children of the earth; religion treats people as the image of their Creator.
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...
explained the report of Genesis 9:13, in which God told Noah that God would set God's rainbow in the cloud, as but another way of expressing the refraction and reflection that the rays of the sun are subjected to in drops of water. Spinoza concluded that God's decrees and mandates, and consequently God's Providence, are merely the order of nature, and when Scripture describes an event as accomplished by God or God's will, we must understand merely that it was in accordance with the law and order of nature, not that nature had for a time ceased to act, or that nature's order was temporarily interrupted.
Genesis chapter 10
Spinoza noted thatAbraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...
alluded to a difficulty by noting that if, as Genesis 10:19 indicates, Canaan first settled the land, then the Canaanites still possessed those territories during the time of Moses. Spinoza deduced that the person who wrote Genesis 12:6, "the Canaanite was then in the land," must thus have written at a time when the Canaanites had been driven out and no longer possessed the land, and thus after the death of Moses. Spinoza concluded that Moses did not write the Torah, but someone who lived long after him, and that the book that Moses wrote was something different from any now extant.
Genesis chapter 11
Brueggemann argued that Genesis 11 was as symmetrically structured as any narrative since Genesis 1, showing the conflict of human resolve with God's resolve: :A: 11:1: "Whole earth ... one language" ::B: 11:3–4: Human words and actions :::C: 11:4: "Come let us" ::B1: 11:6–7: God's words and actions :::C1: 11:7: "Come let us" :A1: 11:9: "The language of all the earth ... all the earth"
Umberto Cassuto
Umberto Cassuto, also known as Moshe David Cassuto (16 September 1883 – 19 December 1951), was an Italian historian, a rabbi, and a scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Ugaritic literature, in the University of Florence, then at the University ...
suggested that the Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11:1–9 reflects an earlier Israelite poem that regarded with a smile the boastful pride of the Babylonians in their city, temple, and ziggurat
A ziggurat (; Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, Akkadian: ', D-stem of ' 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew ''zaqar'' (זָקַר) 'protrude'), ( Persian: Chogha Zanbilچغازنجبیل) is a type of massive ...
. Cassuto deduced that Israelites composed the poem when the city and tower were already in ruins, and he posited that they were written in the centuries after the fall of the First Babylonian dynasty
The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to , and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The Chronology of the Ancient Near East, chrono ...
and the destruction of Babylon by the Hittites
The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...
in the middle of the 16th century B.C.E., during which Israelites remembered the bragging of the Babylonians with derision. Cassuto saw manifest irony in the report of Genesis 11:3, "And they had brick for stone," as if the Israelites mocked the object of Babylonian boasting—buildings of bricks, which stand today and tomorrow are in ruins—as if the poor Babylonians did not even have hard stone for building such as the Israelites had in the land of Israel. Similarly, Benno Jacob
Benno Jacob (7 September 1862 – 24 January 1945) was a liberal rabbi and Bible scholar.
Biography
Jacob studied in the Rabbinical Seminary and University of his native Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). He served as a rabbi between the years 1 ...
, writing in 1934, saw irony in the report of Genesis 11:5, "And the Lord came down," which implied that the tower supposed to reach to the heavens was still far from there, and that seen from above, the gigantic structure was only the work of "children," of miniature men.
In critical analysis
Some scholars who follow the Documentary Hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Book of Genesis, Genesis, Book of Exodus, Exodus, Leviticus, Bo ...
find evidence of four separate sources in the parashah. Thus some scholars consider the parashah to weave together two Flood story accounts composed by the Jahwist
The Jahwist, or Yahwist, often abbreviated J, is one of the most widely recognized sources of the Pentateuch (Torah), together with the Deuteronomist, the Priestly source and the Elohist. The existence of the Jahwist text is somewhat controver ...
(sometimes abbreviated J) who wrote possibly as early as the 10th century BCE and the Priestly source
The Priestly source (or simply P) is perhaps the most widely recognized of the sources underlying the Torah, both stylistically and theologically distinct from other material in it. It is considered by most scholars as the latest of all sources, a ...
who wrote in the 6th or 5th century BCE. One such scholar, Richard Elliott Friedman
Richard Elliott Friedman (born May 5, 1946) is an American biblical scholar, theologian, and translator who currently serves as the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia.
Life and career
Friedman was born in ...
, attributes to the Jahwist Genesis 7:1–5, 7, 16b–20, 22–23; 8:2b–3a, 6, 8–12, 13b, and 20–22. And he attributes to the Priestly source Genesis 6:9b–22; 7:8–16, 21, 20; 8:1–2a, 3b-5, 7, 13a, and 14–19. For a similar distribution of verses, see the display of Genesis according to the Documentary Hypothesis at Wikiversity
Wikiversity is a Wikimedia Foundation project that supports learning communities, their learning materials, and resulting activities. It differs from Wikipedia in that it offers tutorials and other materials for the fostering of learning, rather ...
. Friedman also attributes to a late Redactor (sometimes abbreviated R) the introductory clause in Genesis 6:9a and to another source the report of Noah's age during the Flood in Genesis 7:6.
Friedman also attributes to the Jahwist the account of Noah's drunkenness and the cursing of Canaan in Genesis 9:18–27; the genealogies in Genesis 10:8–19, 21, and 24–30; and the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1–9. He attributes to the Priestly source the account of the covenant of the rainbow in Genesis 9:1–17 and the genealogies in Genesis 10:1b–7, 20, 22–23, 31–32; and 11:27b–31. He attributes to the Redactor introductory clauses in Genesis 10:1a; 11:10a and 27a and the account of Terah in Genesis 11:31b and 32b. And he attributes to another source the genealogy of Shem at Genesis 11:11b–26 and 32a.
Ronald Hendel contrasted the differing conceptions of reality, God, and humans in the Jahwist and the Priestly sources. Hendel observed that in the Jahwist's account, God is subject to strong emotions like regret, wrath, compassion, and delight, while in the Priestly source, God is more transcendental and lacks emotion or regret. Hendel characterized the Priestly source as less anthropocentric and its concept of God as less anthropomorphic than the Jahwist's.
Gary Rendsburg, however, notes that the Flood story has many similarities with the Epic of Gilgamesh. He argues that several sources would be unlikely to track these plot elements from the Epic of Gilgamesh independently. Thus, Rendsburg argues that the Flood story was composed as a unified whole.
Commandments
Maimonides cited the parashah for one positivecommandment
Commandment may refer to:
* The Ten Commandments
* One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism
* The Great Commandment
* The New Commandment
* Commandment (album), ''Commandment'' (album), a 2007 album by Six Feet Under
* Commandments (film), ''Commandments' ...
:
*To "be fruitful and multiply"
The ''Sefer ha-Chinuch
''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' (, "Book of Education") is a rabbinic text which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was written in 13th-century Spain by an anonymous "Levite of Barcelona".
Content
The work's enumeration of th ...
'', however, attributed the commandment to Genesis 1:28.
The '' Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' read the words of Genesis 9:5, "And surely your blood of your lives will I require," to refer to "foolish pietists" who needlessly endanger their lives by refusing to be healed on the Sabbath. The ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' taught that one overrides the Shabbat as well as other commandments (except for idol worship, incest, and murder) if there is danger to life and one who hastens to disregard the Sabbath for an ill person who is in danger is praiseworthy.
Similarly, the ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' read the words of Genesis 9:5, "And surely your blood of your lives will I require," to support the proposition that one who commits suicide is considered an evildoer of the highest degree. For God created the world for a single individual, Adam, so anyone who destroys a soul destroys a whole world. The ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' therefore taught that Jews should not carry out for one who committed suicide anything to honor that person, but Jews should bury the body after cleansing and dressing it in a shroud. The principle is that everything for honoring the living relatives should be done for them, as opposed to for the honor of the person who committed suicide.
The ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' taught that upon arising in the morning, one should wash one's face in honor of one's Creator, as Genesis 9:6 states, "for in the image of God made He man."
In the liturgy
God's dominion over the Flood in Genesis 7:6–8:14 is reflected in Psalm 29:10, which is in turn one of the six Psalms recited at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service and again as the Torah is returned to theTorah ark
A Torah ark (also known as the ''hekhal'', , or ''aron qodesh'', ) is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls.
History
The ark is also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' () or ''aron ha-Kod ...
at the end of the Shabbat morning Torah service.
Some Jews read the words "for in the image of God made He man" from Genesis 9:6 as they studchapter 3
of ''
Pirkei Avot
Pirkei Avot (; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth'', also ''Abhoth''), which translates into English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewis ...
'' on a Sabbath between Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt.
According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...
and Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...
. And then they encounter the discussion of the ten generations from Adam to the Flood and then the ten generations from Noah to Abraham (enumerated in Genesis 11:10–26) as they studchapter 5
of ''Pirkei Avot'' thereafter.
Haftarah
Ahaftarah
The ''haftara'' or (in Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazic pronunciation) ''haftorah'' (alt. ''haftarah, haphtara'', ) "parting," "taking leave" (plural form: ''haftarot'' or ''haftoros''), is a series of selections from the books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Pr ...
is a text selected from the books of Nevi'im
The (; ) is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the () and (). The Nevi'im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets ( ) consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings ...
("The Prophets") that is read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on Sabbath and holiday mornings. The haftarah usually has a thematic link to the Torah reading that precedes it.
The specific text read following Parashah Noach varies according to different traditions within Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
. Examples are:
*for Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...
and Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews (), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () in plural and ''Mizrahi'' () in singular, and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are terms used in Israeli discourse to refer to a grouping of Jews, Jewish c ...
: Isaiah 54:1–55:5
*for Sephardi Jews
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
: Isaiah 54:1–10
*for Yemenite Jews: Isaiah 54:1–55:3
*for Italian Jews
Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...
and some Yemenite communities: Isaiah 54:1–55:5
*for Karaite Jews
Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a non-Rabbinical Jewish sect characterized by the recognition of the written Tanakh alone as its supreme authority in ''halakha'' (religious law) and theology. Karaites believe that all of the divine commandme ...
: Isaiah 54:9–55:12
*for Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
am Main and Chabad Lubavitch
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a Hasidic dynasty, dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi Judaism, Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasi ...
: Isaiah 54:1–10
Connection to the parashah
The parashah and haftarah both tell the power of God's covenant. The parashah and the haftarah both report God's covenant with Noah never again to destroy the earth by flood. In the parashah and the haftarah,. God confesses to anger at human transgression. In the wake of God's punishment, Genesis 9:11,15 and Isaiah 54:10 and 55:3 all use the words "no ... more" (''lo' 'od''). The "righteousness" of Israel's children in Isaiah 54:14 echoes that Noah is "righteous" in his age in Genesis 6:9.See also
* Curse of Ham *Genesis flood narrative
The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is a Hebrew flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microcosm of Noah's ark.
The B ...
*Noahide laws
In Judaism, the Seven Laws of Noah (, ''Sheva Mitzvot B'nei Noach''), otherwise referred to as the Noahide Laws or the Noachian Laws (from the Hebrew pronunciation of "Noah"), are a set of universal moral laws which, according to the Talmud, ...
* Noah in rabbinic literature
References
Further reading
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:Ancient
*Atra-Hasis
''Atra-Hasis'' () is an 18th-century BC Akkadian epic, recorded in various versions on clay tablets and named for one of its protagonists, the priest Atra-Hasis ('exceedingly wise'). The narrative has four focal points: An organisation of allie ...
. Mesopotamia, 18th century BCE. In, e.g., W.G. Lambert and A.R. Millard, ''Atra-Hasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood''. Winona Lake, Indiana
Winona Lake is a town in Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and the major suburb of Warsaw. Its population was 4,908 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Winona Lake is now contiguous to Warsaw, the two towns having merged ...
: Eisenbrauns
Eisenbrauns, an imprint of Penn State University Press, is an academic publisher specializing in the ancient Near East and biblical studies. They publish approximately twenty new books and reference works each year, as well as reprinting out-of ...
, 1999.
*Epic of Gilgamesh
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...
. Tablet 11. Mesopotamia, 14th–11th century BCE. In e.g. James B. Pritchard. ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament'', pages 93–95. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969.
*Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
. ''Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...
'', book 1 Book one or book 1 can refer to:
*'' Book One: Water'', the first season of the animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''
*'' Book One: Air'', the first season of the animated television series ''The Legend of Korra''
* "Book One," ...
, lines 262–448. Rome, 8 CE. In, e.g., Ovid. ''Metamorphoses: The New, Annotated Edition''. Translated by Rolfe Humphries, annotated by Joseph D. Reed, pages 11–16, 404–05. Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...
: Indiana University Press
Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...
, 2018. (flood).
Biblical
*Genesis 1:28 (to be fruitful); 19:23–29 (God's destruction ofSodom and Gomorrah
In the Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah () were two cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Sodom and Gomorrah are repeatedly invoked throughout the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical texts, and the New Testament as symbols of sin, di ...
); 35:11 (to be fruitful).
*Exodus 12:29–30(God's destruction of Egypt's firstborn).
*Isaiah 54:9–10.
*Jeremiah 18:1–10; 23:3.
*Ezekiel 9:4–6 (God's destruction of Jerusalem's sinners); 14:20 (Noah as righteous intercessor).
Early nonrabbinic
The Book of Noah
Jerusalem, early 2nd century BCE.
''The Genesis Apocryphon''
Dead Sea scroll
The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Cav ...
1Q20. Land of Israel, 1st century BCE. In Géza Vermes
Géza Vermes, (; 22 June 1924 – 8 May 2013) was a British academic, Biblical scholar, and Judaist of Jewish–Hungarian descent—one who also served as a Roman Catholic priest in his youth—and scholar specialized in the field of the ...
. ''The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English'', pages 448, 450–53. New York: Penguin Press, 1997.
*Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...
, ''Antiquities of the Jews
''Antiquities of the Jews'' (; , ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in the 13th year of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, which was 94 CE. It cont ...
'book 1, chapter 3, ¶¶ 2–3, 5, 7–8
Circa 93–94. In, e.g., ''The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by
William Whiston
William Whiston (9 December 166722 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to inst ...
, pages 32–38. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.
*Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
3:33–34; 4:163; 6:84; 7:59–64; 9:70; 71:1–28. Arabia, 7th century.
Classical rabbinic
*Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
Chagigah 2:1
6. Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. In, e.g., ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, pages 330, 411–12, 537, 604–05, 680, 686. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. *
Tosefta
The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''.
Background
Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...
: Demai 2:24; Shabbat 17:19; Rosh Hashanah 1:3, 2:14; Taanit 2:13; Yevamot 8:7; Sotah 3:6–10, 4:11, 10:3; Bava Kamma 9:31; Sanhedrin 13:6–7; Avodah Zarah 8:4–6. Land of Israel, circa 250 CE. In, e.g., ''The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, pages 88–89, 425–26, 605, 616, 628, 712–13, 840–42, 848, 876; volume 2, pages 1008, 1291–93. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002.
*''Sefer HaRazim
''Sefer HaRazim'' (; "Book of Secrets") is a Jewish magical text supposedly given to Noah by the angel Raziel, and passed down throughout Biblical history until it ended up in the possession of Solomon, for whom it was a great source of his wisd ...
'', preface . Late 3rd or early 4th centuries. In, e.g., Michael A. Morgan. ''Sepher Ha-Razim: The Book of Mysteries'', pages 17–19. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 1983.
*Sifra
Sifra () is the Midrash halakha to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called Torat Kohanim, and in two passages ''Sifr ...
34:1, 4; 35:2; 93:1; 99:5; 108:2; 109:3; 243:1. Land of Israel, 4th century CE. In, e.g., ''Sifra: An Analytical Translation''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, pages 211, 214–15, 219; volume 2, pages 87, 134, 173, 178; volume 3, page 286. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988.
*Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...
Berakhot 40a
78b; Rosh Hashanah 2a
22a
Taanit 4a, 7b; Megillah 12a, 18a
Moed Katan 17a
Yevamot 44a; Sotah 46b; Kiddushin 2a; Bava Metzia 13b; Sanhedrin 30a, 68a; Makkot 9a.
Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...
, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. In, e.g., ''Talmud Yerushalmi''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 1, 18–19, 24–26, 28, 30, 37, 40, 42, 44–45, 49. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005–2019. And in, e.g., ''The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary''. Edited by Jacob Neusner and translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, B. Barry Levy, and Edward Goldman. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009.
*Genesis Rabbah
Genesis Rabbah (, also known as Bereshit Rabbah and abbreviated as GenR) is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is an expository midrash comprising a collection of ...
br>2:3Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 16, 32, 35, 44, 112, 131–33, 181, 191, 194, 197, 200, 207, 209–12, 229, 233–312, 315, 346, 421–22, 439, 464; volume 2, pages 511, 522, 531, 546, 561, 612, 669, 689. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (''Vayikrah'' in Hebrew). It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel (c. 1035–1106) in his ''Arukh'' as well as by Rashi (1040–110 ...
17:5. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
Berakhot 25b
Sasanian Empire
The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...
, 6th century. In, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli''. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Medieval
*Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi ().
Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...
. ''Commentary''Genesis 6–11
Troyes
Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...
, France, late 11th century. In, e.g., Rashi. ''The Torah: With Rashi's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated''. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, volume 1, pages 65–114. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995.
*Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Mid-12th century. In, e.g., ''Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Genesis (Bereshit)''. Translated and annotated by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver, pages 98–148. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, 1988.
*Maimonides
Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...
. ''Mishneh Torah
The ''Mishneh Torah'' (), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' (), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''halakha'') authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon/Rambam). The ''Mishneh Torah'' was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE ( ...
''''Hilchot Avodat Kochavim V'Chukkoteihem (The Laws of the Worship of Stars and their Statutes)'', chapter 1, halachah 2
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Avodat Kochavim V'Chukkoteihem: The Laws of the Worship of Stars and their Statutes''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 3, pages 16–21. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1990. . *Maimonides. ''
The Guide for the Perplexed
''The Guide for the Perplexed'' (; ; ) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish theology by finding rational explanations for many events in the text.
It was written in Judeo-Arabic ...
'', part 1, chapters 6, 10, 47–48; part 2, chapter 41; part 3, chapter 22. Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, Egypt, 1190. In, e.g., Moses Maimonides. ''The Guide for the Perplexed''. Translated by Michael Friedländer
Michael Friedländer (29 April 1833 – 10 December 1910) was an Orientalist and principal of Jews' College, London. He is best known for his English translation of Maimonides' '' Guide to the Perplexed'', which was the most popular such trans ...
, pages 19, 23, 63–65, 235–36, 298–99. New York: Dover Publications, 1956.
*Hezekiah ben Manoah Hezekiah ben Manoah, or Hezekiah bar Manoah, was a French rabbi and Bible commentator of the 13th century. He is generally known by the title of his commentary, Chizkuni ().
In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through his steadfastness ...
. ''Hizkuni''. France, circa 1240. In, e.g., Chizkiyahu ben Manoach. ''Chizkuni: Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 66–102. Jerusalem: Ktav Publishers, 2013.
*Naḥmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Jerusalem, circa 1270. In, e.g., ''Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah: Genesis.'' Translated by Charles B. Chavel, volume 1, pages 105–63. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1971.
*''Midrash ha-Ne'lam (The Midrash of the Concealed)''. Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, 13th century. In ''Zohar Chadash'', pages 20d–24a. Salonika
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
, 1597. In, e.g., ''The Zohar: Pritzker Edition''. Translation and commentary by Nathan Wolski, volume 10, pages 223–74. Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...
: Stanford University Press
Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...
, 2016.
*''Zohar
The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...
'', part 1, pages 59b–76b. Spain, late 13th century. In, e.g., ''The Zohar''. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 192–259. London: Soncino Press, 1934. And in, e.g., ''The Zohar: Pritzker Edition''. Translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, volume 1, pages 339–450. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2004.
*Bahya ben Asher
Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible.
He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda.
Biograp ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Spain, early 14th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbeinu Bachya: Torah Commentary by Rabbi Bachya ben Asher''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 163–215. Jerusalem: Lambda Publishers, 2003.
* Isaac ben Moses Arama. ''Akedat Yizhak (The Binding of Isaac)''. Late 15th century. In, e.g., Yitzchak Arama. ''Akeydat Yitzchak: Commentary of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama on the Torah''. Translated and condensed by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 63–92. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2001.
Modern
* Isaac Abravanel. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Italy, between 1492 and 1509. In, e.g., ''Abarbanel: Selected Commentaries on the Torah: Volume 1: Bereishis/Genesis''. Translated and annotated by Israel Lazar, pages 54–81. Brooklyn: CreateSpace, 2015. *Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno
Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Obadja Sforno, Hebrew: עובדיה ספורנו) was an Italian rabbi, Biblical commentator, philosopher and physician. A member of the Sforno family, he was born in Cesena about 1475 and died in Bologna in 1549.
Bi ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Venice, 1567. In, e.g., ''Sforno: Commentary on the Torah''. Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz, pages 40–61. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997.
* Moshe Alshich. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Safed
Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel.
Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...
, circa 1593. In, e.g., Moshe Alshich. ''Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 62–91. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2000.
*Menasseh ben Israel
Manoel Dias Soeiro (; 1604 – 20 November 1657), better known by his Hebrew language, Hebrew name Menasseh or Menashe ben Israel (), was a Jewish scholar, rabbi, Kabbalah, kabbalist, writer, diplomat, printer (publisher), printer, publishe ...
. ''El Conciliador (The Conciliator)''. Amsterdam, 1632. In ''The Conciliator of R. Manasseh Ben Israel: A Reconcilement of the Apparent Contradictions in Holy Scripture: To Which Are Added Explanatory Notes, and Biographical Notices of the Quoted Authorities''. Translated by Elias Hiam Lindo, pages 31–35, 37–49. London, 1842. Reprinted by, e.g., Nabu Press, 2010.
* Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Commentaries on the Torah''. Cracow, Poland, mid 17th century. Compiled as ''Chanukat HaTorah''. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrkow, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash''. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pages 41–47. Southfield, Michigan
Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...
: Targum Press/Feldheim Publishers
Feldheim Publishers (or Feldheim) is an American Orthodox Jewish publisher of Torah books and literature. Its extensive catalog of titles includes books on Jewish law, Torah, Talmud, Jewish lifestyle, Shabbat and Jewish holidays, Jewish history, ...
, 2004.
*Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan (Hobbes book), Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered t ...
. ''Leviathan
Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...
'', part 3, chapters 34, 38. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, pages 430–31, 486. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982.
*Baruch Spinoza
Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...
. '' Theologico-Political Treatise'', chapters 6, 8. Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, 1670. In, e.g., Baruch Spinoza. ''Theological-Political Treatise''. Translated by Samuel Shirley, pages 78–79, 106–07. Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
: Hackett Publishing Company
Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. is an academic publishing house located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was originally founded and located near Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since beginning operations in 1972, Hackett has concen ...
, 2nd edition, 2001.
*Chaim ibn Attar
Chaim ibn Attar or Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar (, ; – 7 July 1743) also known as the Or ha-Ḥayyim after his popular commentary on the Torah, was a Talmudist and Kabbalist. He is arguably considered to be one of the most prominent Rabbis o ...
. ''Ohr ha-Chaim''. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. ''Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah''. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 92–117. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999.
*Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or 'J ...
. ''Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
'', § 1. Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, 1783. In ''Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism''. Translated by Allan Arkush; introduction and commentary by Alexander Altmann, page 70. Hanover, New Hampshire: Brandeis University Press, 1983.
*Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
. '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'', chapter 15
Chapter 15, Title 11, United States Code is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code that deals with jurisdiction in certain bankruptcy cases. Under Chapter 15, foreign bankruptcy proceedings can be recognised by US courts and foreign re ...
. London: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, 1818. (alluding to Genesis 1:26–27; 5:1; and 9:6, the creature tells Victor Frankenstein, "God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance.").
*"Mary Don't You Weep
"Mary Don't You Weep" (alternately titled "O Mary Don't You Weep", "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep, Don't You Mourn", or variations thereof) is a Spiritual that originates from before the American Civil War. As such, scholars sometimes refer to it as a ...
." United States, 19th century.
* Alexander Crummell''The Negro Race Not Under a Curse: An Examination of Genesis IX. 23.''
London: Wertheim, MacIntosh & Hunt, 1853. *
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...
. ''Poem 48 (Once more, my now bewildered Dove)''. Circa 1858. ''Poem 403 (The Winters are so short —)''. Circa 1862. ''Poem 1473 (We talked with each other about each other)''. Circa 1879. In ''The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson''. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson, pages 27, 192, 623. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1960.
*George Eliot
Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...
. ''Adam Bede
''Adam Bede'' was the first novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in 1859. It was published pseudonymously, even though Evans was a well-published and highly respected scholar of her time. The novel ...
'', chapter 30. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1859. Reprinted, e.g., edited by Carol A. Martin, page 295. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. (Dinah writes Seth, paraphrasing Genesis 7:11, "the rains that have fallen, as if the windows of heaven were opened again").
*Samuel David Luzzatto
Samuel David Luzzatto (, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian-Austrian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement.
Early life
Luzzatto was born ...
(Shadal). ''Commentary on the Torah.'' Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
, 1871. In, e.g., Samuel David Luzzatto. ''Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 100–36. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012.
*Malbim
Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser (March 7, 1809 – September 18, 1879), better known as the Malbim (), was a rabbi, master of Hebrew grammar, and Bible commentator. The name ''Malbim'' was derived from the Hebrew initials of his name. He ...
. ''The Torah and the Commandments''. Warsaw, 1874–80. In, e.g., Malbim: Rabbenu Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel. ''Malbim : Rabbenu Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel : commentary on the Torah''. Translated by Zvi Faier; Israel: M.P. Press/Hillel Press, 1982.
* Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter. ''Sefat Emet''. Góra Kalwaria
Góra Kalwaria (; "Calvary Mountain", , ''Ger'') is a town on the Vistula River in the Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is situated approximately southeast of Warsaw and has a population of around 12,109 (as of 2019). The town has ...
(Ger), Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, before 1906. Excerpted in ''The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet''. Translated and interpreted by Arthur Green
Arthur Green (, born March 21, 1941) is an American scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidic theologian. He was a founding dean of the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston. He describes himself as an American Jew ...
, pages 13–17. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012.
*Hermann Cohen
Hermann Cohen (; ; 4 July 1842 – 4 April 1918) was a German philosopher, one of the founders of the Marburg school of neo-Kantianism, and he is often held to be "probably the most important Jewish philosopher of the nineteenth century".
Bio ...
. ''Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism''. Translated with an introduction by Simon Kaplan; introductory essays by Leo Strauss
Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was an American scholar of political philosophy. He spent much of his career as a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he taught several generations of students an ...
, pages 117–18, 181. New York: Ungar, 1972. Reprinted Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
: Scholars Press, 1995. Originally published as ''Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums''. Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
: Gustav Fock, 1919.
*Benno Jacob
Benno Jacob (7 September 1862 – 24 January 1945) was a liberal rabbi and Bible scholar.
Biography
Jacob studied in the Rabbinical Seminary and University of his native Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). He served as a rabbi between the years 1 ...
. ''The First Book of the Bible: Genesis''. Translated by Ernest Jacob and Walter Jacob
Walter Jacob (March 13, 1930 – October 20, 2024) was an American Reform rabbi. He was rabbi at the Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh from 1955 to 1997. He served as chairman of organizations such as the Central Conference of American R ...
, pages 48–84. Jersey City, New Jersey: KTAV Publishing House, 1974. Originally published as ''Das erste Buch der Tora, Genesis: Übersetzt und erklärt von Benno Jacob''. Berlin: Schocken Verlag, 1934.
*Alexander Alan Steinbach. ''Sabbath Queen: Fifty-four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch'', pages 4–7. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936.
*Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
. ''Joseph and His Brothers
''Joseph and His Brothers'' (, ) is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph (chapters 27–50), setting it in the historical context of the ...
''. Translated by John E. Woods, pages 5, 8–12, 15–16, 19–24, 35–36, 64, 68, 71, 73, 88–89, 107, 109, 154, 172, 183, 323–24, 333, 337, 339–41, 347, 355, 441–42, 447–48, 515, 547, 604–05, 715, 783, 806, 926. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Originally published as ''Joseph und seine Brüder''. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
*Umberto Cassuto
Umberto Cassuto, also known as Moshe David Cassuto (16 September 1883 – 19 December 1951), was an Italian historian, a rabbi, and a scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Ugaritic literature, in the University of Florence, then at the University ...
. ''A Commentary on the Book of Genesis: Part Two: From Noah to Abraham''. Jerusalem, 1949. Translated by Israel Abrahams, pages 3–287. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1964; reprinted 1974.
*Jay Macpherson
Jean Jay Macpherson (June 13, 1931 – March 21, 2012) was a Canadian lyric poet and scholar. '' The Encyclopædia Britannica'' calls her "a member of 'the mythopoeic school of poetry,' who expressed serious religious and philosophical themes in s ...
. ''The Boatman''. Oxford University Press Canada, 1957.
* Jacob Hoftijzer. "Some Remarks to the Tale of Noah's Drunkenness." ''Oudtestamentische Studiën'', volume 12 (1958): pages 22–27.
*James Franklin Armstrong. "A Critical Note on Genesis Vi 16aα." ''Vetus Testamentum
''Vetus Testamentum'' is a quarterly academic journal covering various aspects of the Old Testament. It is published by Brill Publishers
Brill Academic Publishers () is a Dutch international academic publisher of books, academic journals, and ...
'', volume 10, number 1 (1960): pages 328–33.
*James Baldwin
James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...
. '' The Fire Next Time''. 1963. Reprinted Modern Library, 1995.
*Walter Orenstein and Hertz Frankel. ''Torah and Tradition: A Bible Textbook for Jewish Youth: Volume I: Bereishis'', pages 13–24. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1964.
* Ephraim A. Speiser. ''Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes'', pages 47–81. New York: Anchor Bible
The Anchor Bible Series, which consists of a commentary series, a Bible dictionary, and a reference library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture which was begun in 1956, with the publication of individual volumes in the commentary series. O ...
, 1964.
*Michael C. Astour. "Sabtah and Sabteca: Ethiopian Pharaoh Names in Genesis 10." ''Journal of Biblical Literature
The ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') is one of three academic journal
An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academ ...
'', volume 84, number 4 (1965): pages 422–25.
*Walter S. Olson"Has Science Dated the Biblical Flood?"
''
Zygon
The long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' has an extensive universe inhabited by a continuously expanding gallery of creatures and aliens.
The series first aired on BBC in 1963 until its cancellation in 1989, with ...
'', volume 2, number 3 (1967): pages 274–78.
* James Barr"The Image of God in the Book of Genesis—A Study of Terminology."
''Bulletin of the
John Rylands Library
The John Rylands Research Institute and Library is a Victorian era, late-Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, neo-Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. It is part of the University of Manchester. The library, which opened to t ...
'', volume 51, number 1 (1968): pages 11–26.
*Samuel Noah Kramer
Samuel Noah Kramer (September 28, 1897 – November 26, 1990) was one of the world's leading Assyriologists, an expert in Sumerian history and Sumerian language. After high school, he attended Temple University, before Dropsie University and t ...
"The 'Babel of Tongues': A Sumerian Version."
''
Journal of the American Oriental Society
The ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' is a quarterly academic journal published by the American Oriental Society since 1843. The editor in chief is Peri Bearman (Harvard University).W.G. Lambert and A.R. Millard. ''Atra–Ḫasīs: The Babylonian Story of the Flood''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1969. Reprinted Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1999.
*Eugene J. Fisher
"Gilgamesh and Genesis: The Flood Story in Context."
''
"The Image of God in Man."
''
"Noah's Nakedness and the Curse of Canaan: A Case of Incest?"
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 21, number 2 (1971): pages 232–37. *W. Malcolm Clark. "The Flood and the Structure of the Pre–patriarchal History." ''
"The Righteousness of Noah."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 21, number 3 (1971): pages 261–80. *David J. A. Clines
"Noah's Flood: I: The Theology of the Flood Narrative."
'' Faith and Thought'', volume 100, number 2 (1972–73): pages 128–42. *Thomas C. Hartman
"Some Thoughts on the Sumerian King List and Genesis 5 and 11B."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 91, number 1 (March 1972): pages 25–32. *H. Hirsch Cohen. ''The Drunkenness of Noah''. Alabama: University of Alabama, 1974. *
"What the Babylonian Flood Stories Can and Cannot Teach Us About the Genesis Flood."
''
"The Yahwist on the Flood."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 26, number 4 (1976): pages 438–46. *Tikva Frymer-Kensky
"The Atrahasis Epic and Its Significance for Our Understanding of Genesis 1–9."
'' Biblical Archaeologist'', volume 40, number 4 (1977): pages 147–55. *Gerhard Larsson. "Chronological Parallels Between the Creation and the Flood." ''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 27, number 4 (1977): pages 490–92. * Bernhard W. Anderson. "Babel: Unity and Diversity in God's Creation." '' Currents in Theology and Mission'', volume 5, number 2 (1978): pages 69–81. * Gerhard F. Hasel
"The Genealogies of Gen 5 and 11 and Their Alleged Babylonian Background."
''
"The Coherence of the Flood Narrative."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 28, number 3 (1978): pages 336–48. *Dale S. DeWitt
"The Historical Background of Genesis 11:1–9: Babel or Ur?"
''
"Political Science, Moses, and Ancient Hebrew Thought."
'' The Western Political Quarterly'', volume 32, number 2 (June 1979): pages 148–49. *
"Noah's Flood."
'' ETC: A Review of General Semantics'', volume 38, number 3 (Fall 1981): pages 269–71. * Nehama Leibowitz. ''Studies in Bereshit (Genesis)'', pages 59–108. Jerusalem: The
"Noah and the Flood: In Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Tradition."
''Biblical Archaeologist'', volume 47, number 4 (December 1984): pages 224–39. *
"Noah's Warning."
''Religion & Literature'', volume 16, number 1 (winter 1984): pages 3–20. In ''Sages and Dreamers: Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Portraits and Legends'', pages 19–34. New York: Summit Books, 1991. *Isaac M. Kikawada and Arthur Quinn, ''Before Abraham Was: The Unity of Genesis 1–11''. Nashville: Abingdon, 1985. * Pinchas H. Peli. ''Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture'', pages 7–10. Washington, D.C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987. * Louis H. Feldman
"Josephus' Portrait of Noah and Its Parallels in Philo, Pseudo-Philo's 'Biblical Antiquities,' and Rabbinic Midrashim."
''Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research'', volume 55 (1988): pages 31–57. *Lloyd R. Bailey. ''Noah: The Person and Story in History and Tradition''. University of South Carolina Press, 1989. *Marc Gellman. ''Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About Stories in the Bible'', pages 27–45. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. *
"'Covenant' as a Structuring Concept in Genesis and Exodus."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 108, number 3 (Autumn 1989): pages 385–93. *
"The Restful Waters of Noah."
''
"Noah Watching the Rain."
In ''The Night Abraham Called to the Stars: Poems'', page 89. New York: HarperCollins/Perennial, 2001. *Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. ''Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies'', pages 314–23. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 2002. * Michael Fishbane. ''The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot'', pages 11–17. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002. *Tikva Frymer-Kensky. "To the Barricades: Views against the Other." In ''Reading the Women of the Bible'', pages 199–208. New York: Schocken Books, 2002. (the curse and genealogy of Canaan). * Ian Wilson. ''Before the Flood: The Biblical Flood as a Real Event and How It Changed the Course of Civilization''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2002. *David M. Goldenberg. ''The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam''. Princeton University Press, 2003. *
"Noah's Nakedness and Curse on Canaan (Genesis 9:20–27)."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 124, number 1 (2005): pages 25–40. *''Professors on the Parashah: Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading'' Edited by Leib Moscovitz, pages 25–30. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2005. * Muhammad A.S. Abdel Haleem
"The Qur'anic Employment of the Story of Noah."
''
"Noah and Noah's Ark as the Primordial Model of Shīʿism in Shīʿite Literature."
''Quaderni di Studi Arabi'' (new series), volume 1 (2006): pages 29–48. * Michael E. Stone
"The Book(s) Attributed to Noah."
''Dead Sea Discoveries'', volume 13, number 1 (2006): pages 4–23. *Suzanne A. Brody. "Coloring." In ''Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems'', page 63. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. *Shmuel Goldin. ''Unlocking the Torah Text: Bereishit'', pages 35–55. Jerusalem:
"Another Flood? Genesis 9 and Isaiah's Broken Eternal Covenant."
''
"The Heir of Righteousness and the King of Righteousness: The Priestly Noachic Polemics in 2 Enoch and the Epistle to the Hebrews."
''
"Portraits of Righteousness: Noah in Early Christian and Jewish Hymnography."
''Zeitschrift für Religions und Geistesgeschichte'', volume 61, number 4 (2009) : pages 332–55. *''The Torah: A Women's Commentary''. Edited by
“Babel, Suspense, and the Introduction to the Terah-Abram Narrative.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 35, number 1 (September 2010): pages 3–29. *Mary Katherine Y.H. Hom
“‘…A Mighty Hunter before YHWH’: Genesis 10:9 and the Moral-Theological Evaluation of Nimrod.”
''
"Natural Law in Noahic Accent: A Covenantal Conception of Natural Law Drawn from Genesis 9."
''Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics'', volume 30, number 2 (Fall/Winter 2010): pages 131–49. *Brad Embry
“The ‘Naked Narrative’ from Noah to Leviticus: Reassessing Voyeurism in the Account of Noah’s Nakedness in Genesis 9.22–24.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 35, number 4 (June 2011): pages 417–33. *Jeannie St. John Taylor. ''City of a Thousand Gods: The Story of Noah's Daughter-in-Law''. Living Clay, 2011. *Calum Carmichael. ''The Book of Numbers: A Critique of Genesis'', pages 11, 19, 69, 108, 114, 118. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. *Joydeb Chitrakar and Gita Wolf. ''The Enduring Ark''.
"The Biblical Significance of the Tower of Babel."
(2015). *Carol M. Kaminski. ''Was Noah Good?: Finding Favour in the Flood Narrative''. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015. *Jonathan Sacks. ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 7–12. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015. * Joseph Blenkinsopp
“The First Family: Terah and Sons.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 41, number 1 (September 2016): pages 3–13. * Hubert Damisch
"Noah's Ark."
'' AA Files'', number 72 (2016): pages 115–26. * Jean-Pierre Isbouts. ''Archaeology of the Bible: The Greatest Discoveries From Genesis to the Roman Era'', pages 26–33.
Hear the parashah read in HebrewVideo Lectures on Parashat Noach
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{{Book of Genesis Weekly Torah readings from Genesis Noah Weekly Torah readings in Cheshvan
"Gilgamesh and Genesis: The Flood Story in Context."
''
Catholic Biblical Quarterly
The ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly'' is a refereed peer-reviewed theology journal published by the Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) (CBA) in January, April, July, and October. It was established in 1939 and its circulation in 2010 w ...
'', volume 32, number 3 (1970): pages 392–403.
* David J. A. Clines"The Image of God in Man."
''
Tyndale Bulletin
The ''Tyndale Bulletin'' is an academic journal published by Tyndale House in Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county tow ...
'', volume 19 (1968): pages 53–103.
*Frederick W. Bassett"Noah's Nakedness and the Curse of Canaan: A Case of Incest?"
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 21, number 2 (1971): pages 232–37. *W. Malcolm Clark. "The Flood and the Structure of the Pre–patriarchal History." ''
Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
The ''Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft'' (''ZATW''/''ZAW'') is an academic German journal established in 1881. It is concerned with theological, linguistic and historical criticism of the Hebrew Bible. Formerly, it represented a ...
'', volume 83, number 2 (1971): pages 184–211.
*W. Malcolm Clark"The Righteousness of Noah."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 21, number 3 (1971): pages 261–80. *David J. A. Clines
"Noah's Flood: I: The Theology of the Flood Narrative."
'' Faith and Thought'', volume 100, number 2 (1972–73): pages 128–42. *Thomas C. Hartman
"Some Thoughts on the Sumerian King List and Genesis 5 and 11B."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 91, number 1 (March 1972): pages 25–32. *H. Hirsch Cohen. ''The Drunkenness of Noah''. Alabama: University of Alabama, 1974. *
Tikva Frymer-Kensky
Tikva Simone Frymer-Kensky (Hebrew: תקווה פריימר-קנסקי; October 21, 1943 – August 31, 2006) was a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She received her MA and PhD from Yale University. She had previously ser ...
"What the Babylonian Flood Stories Can and Cannot Teach Us About the Genesis Flood."
''
Biblical Archaeology Review
''Biblical Archaeology Review'' is a magazine appearing every three months and sometimes referred to as ''BAR'' that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible, the ...
'', volume 4, number 4 (1974): pages 32–41.
*Isaac M. Kikawada. "The Shape of Genesis 11:1–9." In ''Rhetorical Criticism: Essays in Honor of James Muilenburg
James Muilenburg (1 June 1896 – 10 May 1974) was a pioneer in the field of rhetorical criticism of the Old Testament.
Muilenburg was born in Orange City, Iowa, and studied at Hope College, the University of Nebraska, and Yale University. He ta ...
''. Edited by Jared J. Jackson and Martin Kessler, pages 18–32. Pittsburgh: Pickwick, 1974.
*Albert L. Baumgarten. "Myth and Midrash: Genesis 9:20–29." In ''Christianity, Judaism and Other Greco-Roman Cults: Studies for Morton Smith at Sixty: Part Three: Judaism Before 70''. Edited by Jacob Neusner, pages 55–71. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 1975.
* Robert E. Longacre. "The Discourse Structure of the Flood Narrative." In ''Society of Biblical Literature Abstracts and Seminar Papers, 1976'', pages 235–62.
* David L. Petersen"The Yahwist on the Flood."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 26, number 4 (1976): pages 438–46. *Tikva Frymer-Kensky
"The Atrahasis Epic and Its Significance for Our Understanding of Genesis 1–9."
'' Biblical Archaeologist'', volume 40, number 4 (1977): pages 147–55. *Gerhard Larsson. "Chronological Parallels Between the Creation and the Flood." ''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 27, number 4 (1977): pages 490–92. * Bernhard W. Anderson. "Babel: Unity and Diversity in God's Creation." '' Currents in Theology and Mission'', volume 5, number 2 (1978): pages 69–81. * Gerhard F. Hasel
"The Genealogies of Gen 5 and 11 and Their Alleged Babylonian Background."
''
Andrews University Seminary Studies
''Andrews University Seminary Studies'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. It was established in 1963 and publishes research articles and brief notes on ...
'', volume 6 (1978): pages 361–74.
*Robert B. Laurin. "The Tower of Babel Revisited." In ''Biblical and Near Eastern Studies: Essays in Honor of William Sanford La Sor''. Edited by Gary A. Tuttle, pages 142–45. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.
* Gordon J. Wenham"The Coherence of the Flood Narrative."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 28, number 3 (1978): pages 336–48. *Dale S. DeWitt
"The Historical Background of Genesis 11:1–9: Babel or Ur?"
''
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
The ''Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society'' (''JETS'') is a refereed theological journal published by the Evangelical Theological Society. It was first published in 1958 as the ''Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society'', and ...
'', volume 22, number 1 (1979): pages 15–26.
* Mulford Q. Sibley"Political Science, Moses, and Ancient Hebrew Thought."
'' The Western Political Quarterly'', volume 32, number 2 (June 1979): pages 148–49. *
Nahum M. Sarna
Nahum Mattathias Sarna (Hebrew: נחום סרנא; March 27, 1923 – June 23, 2005) was a modern biblical scholar who is best known for the study of Genesis and Exodus represented in his ''Understanding Genesis'' (1966) and in his contribution ...
. "The 'Tower of Babel' as a Clue to the Redactional Structuring of Primeval History en. 1–11:9" In ''The Bible World: Essays in Honor of Cyrus H. Gordon''. Edited by Gary Rendsburg, Ruth Adler, Milton Arfa, and Nathan H. Winter, pages 211–19. New York: Ktav, 1980.
*Rosemary Courtney"Noah's Flood."
'' ETC: A Review of General Semantics'', volume 38, number 3 (Fall 1981): pages 269–71. * Nehama Leibowitz. ''Studies in Bereshit (Genesis)'', pages 59–108. Jerusalem: The
World Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...
, 1981. Reprinted as ''New Studies in the Weekly Parasha''. Lambda Publishers, 2010.
*Walter Brueggemann
Walter Albert Brueggemann (March 11, 1933 – June 5, 2025) was an American Christian scholar and theologian who is widely considered an influential Old Testament scholar. His work often focused on the Hebrew prophetic tradition and the sociop ...
. ''Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching'', pages 73–104. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982.
* Cyrus H. Gordon. "Ebia and Genesis 11." In ''A Spectrum of Thought: Essays in Honor of Dennis Kinlaw''. Edited by Michael L. Peterson, pages 125–34. Wilmore, Kentucky: Francis Asbury Publishing, 1982.
*Jack P. Lewis"Noah and the Flood: In Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Tradition."
''Biblical Archaeologist'', volume 47, number 4 (December 1984): pages 224–39. *
Elie Wiesel
Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates#1980, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel bibliogra ...
"Noah's Warning."
''Religion & Literature'', volume 16, number 1 (winter 1984): pages 3–20. In ''Sages and Dreamers: Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Portraits and Legends'', pages 19–34. New York: Summit Books, 1991. *Isaac M. Kikawada and Arthur Quinn, ''Before Abraham Was: The Unity of Genesis 1–11''. Nashville: Abingdon, 1985. * Pinchas H. Peli. ''Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture'', pages 7–10. Washington, D.C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987. * Louis H. Feldman
"Josephus' Portrait of Noah and Its Parallels in Philo, Pseudo-Philo's 'Biblical Antiquities,' and Rabbinic Midrashim."
''Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research'', volume 55 (1988): pages 31–57. *Lloyd R. Bailey. ''Noah: The Person and Story in History and Tradition''. University of South Carolina Press, 1989. *Marc Gellman. ''Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About Stories in the Bible'', pages 27–45. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. *
Rolf Rendtorff
Rolf Rendtorff (1925–2014) was Professor of Old Testament at the University of Heidelberg from 1963 to 1990. He was one of the more significant German Old Testament scholars from the latter half of the twentieth-century and published extensive ...
"'Covenant' as a Structuring Concept in Genesis and Exodus."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 108, number 3 (Autumn 1989): pages 385–93. *
Nahum M. Sarna
Nahum Mattathias Sarna (Hebrew: נחום סרנא; March 27, 1923 – June 23, 2005) was a modern biblical scholar who is best known for the study of Genesis and Exodus represented in his ''Understanding Genesis'' (1966) and in his contribution ...
. ''The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation'', pages 47–88, 376–77. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989.
* Mario Brelich. ''Navigator of the Flood''. Marlboro, Vermont: Marlboro Press, 1991.
*Robert A. Di Vito. "The Demarcation of Divine and Human Realms in Genesis 2–11." In ''Creation in the Biblical Traditions''. Edited by Richard J. Clifford and John J. Collins, pages 39–56. Washington, D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1992.
*Aaron Wildavsky
Aaron Wildavsky (May 31, 1930 – September 4, 1993) was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management.
Early years
A native of Brooklyn in New York, Wildavsky was the ...
. ''Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel'', page 5. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1993.
*''I Studied Inscriptions from Before the Flood: Ancient Near Eastern, Literary, and Linguistic Approaches to Genesis 1–11''. Edited by Richard S. Hess and David Toshio Tsumura. Winona Lake, Indiana
Winona Lake is a town in Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and the major suburb of Warsaw. Its population was 4,908 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Winona Lake is now contiguous to Warsaw, the two towns having merged ...
: Eisenbrauns, 1994.
*Judith S. Antonelli. "Naamah: Survivor of the Flood." In ''In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah'', pages 19–26. Northvale, New Jersey
Northvale is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,761, an increase of 121 (+2.6%) from the 2010 United S ...
: Jason Aronson
Jason Aronson was an American publisher of books in the field of psychotherapy. Topics dealt with in these books include child therapy, family therapy, couple therapy, object relations therapy, play therapy, depression, eating disorders, per ...
, 1995.
* Jacob Milgrom. "Bible Versus Babel: Why did God tell Abraham to leave Mesopotamia, the most advanced civilization of its time, for the backwater region of Canaan?" '' Bible Review'', volume 11, number 2 (April 1995).
*Frank H. Polak"The Restful Waters of Noah."
''
Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society
The ''Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society'' (JANES) is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal. It was established in 1968 as ''The Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University'', and since 1980 it has been housed a ...
'', volume 23 (1995): pages 69–74.
*Naomi H. Rosenblatt and Joshua Horwitz. ''Wrestling With Angels: What Genesis Teaches Us About Our Spiritual Identity, Sexuality, and Personal Relationships'', pages 65–92. Delacorte Press, 1995.
* Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg. ''The Beginning of Desire: Reflections on Genesis'', pages 37–71. New York: Image Books/Doubelday, 1995.
*Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and Christian mysticism, mystical ...
. ''In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis'', pages 39–53. New York: Knopf, 1996.
*Norman Cohn
Norman Rufus Colin Cohn FBA (12 January 1915 – 31 July 2007) was a British academic, historian and writer who spent 14 years as a professorial fellow and as Astor-Wolfson Professor at the University of Sussex.
Life
Cohn was born in London, ...
. ''Noah's Flood: The Genesis Story in Western Thought''. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1996.
*Ellen Frankel
Ellen Frankel (born 1951) was the editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) from 1991 until 2009, and its CEO for ten years. She retired in 2009 to pursue her own writing and scholarly projects, as JPS's first editor emerita.
Biogra ...
. ''The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah'', pages 11–14. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1996.
*Marc Gellman. ''God's Mailbox: More Stories About Stories in the Bible'', pages 24–29, 107–11. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1996.
* James Morrow. "Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge" and "Bible Stories for Adults, No. 20: The Tower." In ''Bible Stories for Adults'', pages 1–14, 61–84. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1996.
* W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Haftarah Commentary'', pages 13–22. New York: UAHC Press, 1996.
*Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. ''Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities'', pages 11–18. Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997.
*Jacob Migrom. "The Blood Taboo: Blood should not be ingested because it contains life. Whoever does so is guilty of murder." ''Bible Review'', volume 13, number 4 (August 1997).
*William Ryan and Walter Pitman. ''Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About the Event that Changed History''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.
*Tamara Goshen-Gottstein. “The Souls that They Made: Physical Infertility and Spiritual Fecundity.” In ''Torah of the Mothers: Contemporary Jewish Women Read Classical Jewish Texts''. Edited by Ora Wiskind Elper and Susan Handelman, pages 123–54. New York and Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2000. (Genesis 11:30).
*John S. Kselman. "Genesis." In ''The HarperCollins Bible Commentary''. Edited by James L. Mays, pages 88–91. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, revised edition, 2000.
*Julie Ringold Spitzer. "Mrs. Noah." In ''The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions''. Edited by Elyse Goldstein, pages 53–56. Woodstock, Vermont
Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock.
History
Cha ...
: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000.
*Robert Bly
Robert Elwood Bly (December 23, 1926 – November 21, 2021) was an American poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His best-known prose book is '' Iron John: A Book About Men'' (1990), which spent 62 weeks on ...
"Noah Watching the Rain."
In ''The Night Abraham Called to the Stars: Poems'', page 89. New York: HarperCollins/Perennial, 2001. *Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. ''Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies'', pages 314–23. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 2002. * Michael Fishbane. ''The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot'', pages 11–17. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002. *Tikva Frymer-Kensky. "To the Barricades: Views against the Other." In ''Reading the Women of the Bible'', pages 199–208. New York: Schocken Books, 2002. (the curse and genealogy of Canaan). * Ian Wilson. ''Before the Flood: The Biblical Flood as a Real Event and How It Changed the Course of Civilization''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2002. *David M. Goldenberg. ''The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam''. Princeton University Press, 2003. *
Rodger Kamenetz
Rodger Kamenetz (born 1950) is an American poet and author best known for ''The Jew in the Lotus'' (1994), an account of the historic dialogue between rabbis and the XIV Dalai Lama. His poetry explores the Jewish experience and in recent years, ...
. "Noah's Grapes." In ''The Lowercase Jew,'' page 38. Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
: Triquarterly Books/Northwestern University Press
Northwestern University Press is an American publishing house affiliated with Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It publishes 70 new titles each year in the areas of continental philosophy, poetry, Slavic and German literary criticis ...
, 2003.
* Leon R. Kass. ''The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis'', pages 151–243. New York: Free Press, 2003.
*Robert Alter
Robert Bernard Alter (born 1935) is an American professor emeritus of Hebrew language, Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has published two dozen books, including an aw ...
. ''The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary'', pages 40–61. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004.
* Jon D. Levenson. "Genesis." In ''The Jewish Study Bible''. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, pages 21–30. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
* David Maine. ''The Preservationist''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2004.
*Kacy Barnett-Gramckow. ''The Heavens Before''. Chicago: Moody, 2004.
*Kacy Barnett-Gramckow. ''He Who Lifts the Skies''. Chicago: Moody, 2004.
*Kacy Barnett-Gramckow. ''A Crown in the Stars''. Chicago: Moody, 2005.
*John S. Bergsma and Scott W. Hahn"Noah's Nakedness and Curse on Canaan (Genesis 9:20–27)."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 124, number 1 (2005): pages 25–40. *''Professors on the Parashah: Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading'' Edited by Leib Moscovitz, pages 25–30. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2005. * Muhammad A.S. Abdel Haleem
"The Qur'anic Employment of the Story of Noah."
''
Journal of Qur'anic Studies
The ''Journal of Qur'anic Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that focuses on Quranic studies from a wide range of scholarly perspectives, reflecting a diversity of approaches.
Language
The journal publishes articles both in Englis ...
'', volume 8, number 1 (2006): pages 38–57.
*W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary: Revised Edition''. Revised edition edited by David E.S. Stern, pages 57–87. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, 2006.
*Khalid Sindawi"Noah and Noah's Ark as the Primordial Model of Shīʿism in Shīʿite Literature."
''Quaderni di Studi Arabi'' (new series), volume 1 (2006): pages 29–48. * Michael E. Stone
"The Book(s) Attributed to Noah."
''Dead Sea Discoveries'', volume 13, number 1 (2006): pages 4–23. *Suzanne A. Brody. "Coloring." In ''Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems'', page 63. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. *Shmuel Goldin. ''Unlocking the Torah Text: Bereishit'', pages 35–55. Jerusalem:
Gefen Publishing House
Gefen Publishing House () is an English language publishing firm located in Jerusalem, which also has a department in New York City. History
Gefen was founded in 1981 by Murray and Hana Greenfield. Its CEO is Ilan Greenfield, son of the founder ...
, 2007.
*Esther Jungreis
Esther Jungreis (April 27, 1936 – August 23, 2016, 19 Menachem Av, 5776) was a Jewish, Hungarian-born, American author, and public speaker. She was the founder of the international Hineni organization in the United States. A Holocaust survivor ...
. ''Life Is a Test'', pages 168, 218–19, 229–30. Brooklyn: Shaar Press, 2007.
* James L. Kugel. ''How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now'', pages 69–88, 90, 92, 97, 108, 649, 658. New York: Free Press, 2007.
*Steven D. Mason"Another Flood? Genesis 9 and Isaiah's Broken Eternal Covenant."
''
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
The ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'' (JSOT) is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of Biblical studies. The editors-in-chief are David Shepherd (Trinity College Dublin) and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer ( Örebro School of Theol ...
'', volume 32, number 2 (December 2007): pages 177–98
* Andrei Orlov"The Heir of Righteousness and the King of Righteousness: The Priestly Noachic Polemics in 2 Enoch and the Epistle to the Hebrews."
''
The Journal of Theological Studies
''The Journal of Theological Studies'' is an academic journal established in 1899 and now published by Oxford University Press in April and October each year. It publishes theological research, scholarship, and interpretation, and hitherto unpubli ...
'' (new series), volume 58, number 1 (April 2007): pages 45–65.
* Steven Greenberg. "From Delight to Destruction: The Double-Faced Power of Sex: Parashat Noach (Genesis 6:9–11:32)." In ''Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible''. Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer; foreword by Judith Plaskow, pages 19–23. New York: New York University Press
New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 ...
, 2009.
*Laura Lieber"Portraits of Righteousness: Noah in Early Christian and Jewish Hymnography."
''Zeitschrift für Religions und Geistesgeschichte'', volume 61, number 4 (2009) : pages 332–55. *''The Torah: A Women's Commentary''. Edited by
Tamara Cohn Eskenazi
Tamara Cohn Eskenazi is The Effie Wise Ochs Professor of Biblical Literature and History at the Reform Jewish seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles.
She was the first woman hired by the Hebrew Union College-Jew ...
and Andrea L. Weiss, pages 35–58. New York: URJ Press, 2008.
* Jonathan Goldstein. "Noah and the Ark" and "The Tower of Babel." In '' Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bible!'', pages 44-78. New York: Riverhead Books, 2009.
* Reuven Hammer. ''Entering Torah: Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion'', pages 11-15. New York: Gefen Publishing House, 2009.
*Jonathan Sacks
Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks (8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. As ...
. ''Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible: Genesis: The Book of Beginnings'', pages 41-64. New Milford, Connecticut
New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of Greater Danbury, as well as the New York Metropolitan Area, has a population of 28,115 as of the 2020 census. New Milford lies north of Danbury on the ...
: Maggid Books, 2009.
* T.K. Thorne. ''Noah's Wife.'' Fountain Hills, Arizona: Chalet Publishers, 2009.
* John H. Walton. "Genesis." In ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary''. Edited by John H. Walton, volume 1, pages 46-68. Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
: Zondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). It is a part of HarperCollins, Ha ...
, 2009.
*Mark A. Awabdy“Babel, Suspense, and the Introduction to the Terah-Abram Narrative.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 35, number 1 (September 2010): pages 3–29. *Mary Katherine Y.H. Hom
“‘…A Mighty Hunter before YHWH’: Genesis 10:9 and the Moral-Theological Evaluation of Nimrod.”
''
Vetus Testamentum
''Vetus Testamentum'' is a quarterly academic journal covering various aspects of the Old Testament. It is published by Brill Publishers
Brill Academic Publishers () is a Dutch international academic publisher of books, academic journals, and ...
'', volume 60, number 1 (2010): pages 63–68.
*''Noah and His Book(s)''. Edited by Michael E. Stone, Aryeh Amihay, and Vered Hillel. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2010.
* David VanDrunen"Natural Law in Noahic Accent: A Covenantal Conception of Natural Law Drawn from Genesis 9."
''Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics'', volume 30, number 2 (Fall/Winter 2010): pages 131–49. *Brad Embry
“The ‘Naked Narrative’ from Noah to Leviticus: Reassessing Voyeurism in the Account of Noah’s Nakedness in Genesis 9.22–24.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 35, number 4 (June 2011): pages 417–33. *Jeannie St. John Taylor. ''City of a Thousand Gods: The Story of Noah's Daughter-in-Law''. Living Clay, 2011. *Calum Carmichael. ''The Book of Numbers: A Critique of Genesis'', pages 11, 19, 69, 108, 114, 118. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. *Joydeb Chitrakar and Gita Wolf. ''The Enduring Ark''.
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, India: Tara Books, 2012. (Indian version of the story of Noah's Ark, illustrated by Bengali Patua scroll painter).
*William G. Dever
William Gwinn Dever (born November 27, 1933, Louisville, Kentucky) is an American archaeologist, Biblical scholar, historian, semiticist, and theologian. He is an active Biblical scholar, scholar of the Old Testament, and historian, specialized ...
. ''The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel: When Archaeology and the Bible Intersect'', page 46. Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012.
* Shmuel Herzfeld. "Failure: It's No Big Deal." In ''Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons'', pages 7–11. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House
Gefen Publishing House () is an English language publishing firm located in Jerusalem, which also has a department in New York City. History
Gefen was founded in 1981 by Murray and Hana Greenfield. Its CEO is Ilan Greenfield, son of the founder ...
, 2012.
* Irving Finkel. ''The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood''. London: Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...
, 2014.
*Richard Faussette"The Biblical Significance of the Tower of Babel."
(2015). *Carol M. Kaminski. ''Was Noah Good?: Finding Favour in the Flood Narrative''. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015. *Jonathan Sacks. ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 7–12. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015. * Joseph Blenkinsopp
“The First Family: Terah and Sons.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 41, number 1 (September 2016): pages 3–13. * Hubert Damisch
"Noah's Ark."
'' AA Files'', number 72 (2016): pages 115–26. * Jean-Pierre Isbouts. ''Archaeology of the Bible: The Greatest Discoveries From Genesis to the Roman Era'', pages 26–33.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
: National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
, 2016.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 9–14. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016.
*Zvi Grumet. ''Genesis: From Creation to Covenant'', pages 81–124. Jerusalem: Maggid Books, 2017.
* Shai Held. ''The Heart of Torah, Volume 1: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Genesis and Exodus'', pages 12–20. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*Steven Levy and Sarah Levy. ''The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary'', pages 6–8. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*Jeffrey K. Salkin. ''The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary'', pages 7–11. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*Tremper Longman
Tremper Longman III (born 8 September 1952) is an Old Testament scholar, theologian, professor and author of several books, including 2009 ECPA Christian Book Award winner ''Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings''.
Biograph ...
III, John H. Walton, and Stephen O. Moshier. ''The Lost World of the Flood: Mythology, Theology, and the Deluge Debate''. Downers Grove, Illinois
Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the village was ...
: IVP Academic
Founded in 1947, InterVarsity Press (IVP) is a Christian publisher located in Lisle, Illinois. IVP focuses on publishing Christian books and digital resources that discuss influential cultural moments, provide tools for mental growth through a ...
, 2018.
* Liana Finck. ''Let There Be Light: The Real Story of Her Creation'', pages 91–135. New York: Random House, 2022.
*Ronald Hendel. ''Genesis 1–11: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary'', pages 283–428. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2024.
* Abigail Pogrebin and Dov Linzer
Rabbi Dov Linzer (Hebrew: דב נתן לינזר; born September 16, 1966) is the President and Rabbinic Head ( Rosh HaYeshiva) of the Modern Orthodox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in Riverdale, New York. He is a teacher, lecture ...
. ''It Takes Two to Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses'', pages 10–16. Bedford, New York: Fig Tree Books, 2024.
External links
Texts
* Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translationHear the parashah read in Hebrew
Commentaries
Academy for Jewish Religion, California
American Jewish University—Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies
Sephardic Institute
{{Book of Genesis Weekly Torah readings from Genesis Noah Weekly Torah readings in Cheshvan