Pt1 The Biblical Flood in Genesis 6-7: The Generation’s Sins, Noah’s Role, the Ark’s Construction, and the Survival of Animals (Sanhedrin 108a-b)
This is the first part of a three-part series. The outline for the series is below.
This sugya is an expansive treatment of the Generation of the biblical Flood (dor ha-mabul) in Genesis 6-7, weaving together theology, eschatology, moral critique, and vivid aggadic detail. It opens with a tannaitic dispute about their eternal fate. R' Akiva, citing Genesis 7:23, reads “obliterated” in both worldly and otherworldly terms: their destruction extended not only to this life but also to the World-to-Come. R' Yehuda ben Beteira goes further, interpreting Genesis 6:3 to mean they will neither live again nor stand in judgment—their souls will not be restored to their bodies. R' Menaḥem b. Yosef intensifies this vision: even when God restores souls at the time of resurrection, the Flood generation’s souls will burn in Gehenna, citing Isaiah 33:11.
The passage then turns to why they were destroyed. A baraita, drawing on Job 21, attributes their downfall to haughtiness born of prosperity and security: abundant livestock, healthy children, and wealth—all leading them to dismiss God with the words, “Depart from us, what need have we for Him?” (Job 21:14–15). God therefore punished them measure for measure—with the very water they denied dependence on.
Several amoraim sharpen this idea: R' Yosei links their sin to lustful eyes, punished by waters likened to eyeballs; R' Yoḥanan notes that they sinned with “great wickedness” (rabba) and were punished by the “great deep” (tehom rabba), and even identifies surviving hot springs in Eretz Yisrael as remnants of the Flood. He also accuses them of corrupting all creation through cross-species mating and bestiality, while R' Abba b. Kahana remarks that only the bird tushlami persisted in unnatural mating after the Flood.
Most strikingly, R' Yoḥanan declares that though they violated every command, their decree of annihilation was sealed only for robbery (ḥamas), underscoring theft’s destructive power. R' Elazar dramatizes robbery itself standing before God as a rod demanding justice.
The sugya does not spare Noah. The school of R' Yishmael claims his own decree of death was sealed, and he survived only by finding divine favor. Rav Dimi interprets “va-yinaḥem” (Genesis 6:6) to mean God did well in preparing graves, though others read it as divine regret at having created humankind.
R' Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish famously debate whether Noah’s righteousness was relative to his corrupt generation or would have shone in any age, each supported with a parable: wine’s fragrance noticeable among vinegar, perfume’s fragrance even more so among filth. R' Yehoshua b. Korḥa explains the destruction of animals as collateral to man’s fall, likening it to a father dismantling his son’s wedding canopy after the son’s death. Fish, however, were spared, since they were not “on dry land” (Genesis 7:22).
The narrative shifts to Noah’s warnings. R' Yosei of Caesarea pictures Noah rebuking his contemporaries, warning their corpses would float like wineskins, and that their fate would become proverbial as a curse. Rava adds that Noah’s words, harsh as torches, were mocked. The people scoffed at his ark, boasting of fireproof substances, iron sheeting, and absorptive minerals that could defeat any flood—only for Noah to warn that God could bring waters from between their very feet. The rabbis elaborate: the Flood’s waters were viscous like semen, and since they sinned with hot passion, they were punished with hot water (Rav Ḥisda).
Even the ark itself becomes a locus of detail. Rav explains the “seven days” before the Flood as mourning for Methuselah, while others see them as a last chance for repentance, a foretaste of the World-to-Come, or even a reversal of cosmic order. R' Shmuel b. Naḥmani insists only animals uncorrupted by sexual perversion entered the ark; Rav Ḥisda and R' Abbahu describe miraculous tests by which the ark itself, or divine providence, accepted or rejected animals. R' Yoḥanan imagines its illumination by precious stones, and a baraita describes its three levels: waste below, animals in the middle, and humans above.
Inside the ark, further dramas unfold. Reish Lakish tells how the raven accused Noah of hating it, fearing extinction, and even implying sexual suspicion. R' Yoḥanan notes the prohibition of sex during the Flood, inferred from the order of verses, and a baraita records three who violated it—the dog, the raven, and Ham—each punished with permanent affliction. The dove, by contrast, becomes a symbol of piety: R' Yirmeya sees it living with the righteous, and R' Elazar interprets its olive leaf as a prayer that sustenance, even if bitter, come from God rather than men.
Some animals perished in the ark, and Shem later recounts to Eliezer the exhausting burden of feeding them, with anecdotes about the chameleon, the lion, and the phoenix—whom Noah blessed with immortality.
Together, this unit paints the dor ha-mabul as a paradigm of sin rooted in arrogance, lust, violence, and theft, punished not only in this world but eternally. It dramatizes Noah as a figure both mocked and marginal, saved through grace rather than merit, and leaves us with a vivid tableau of moral corruption, divine justice, and aggadic imagination.
Outline
Intro
The Passage - The Biblical Flood in Genesis 6-7: The Generation’s Sins, Noah’s Role, the Ark’s Construction, and the Survival of Animals (Sanhedrin 108a-b)
Eschatological Fate of the Generation of the Flood
Baraita - Tannaitic dispute re if the Generation of the Flood has share in the World-to-Come
R' Akiva - The Generation of the Flood has no share in the World-to-Come; “obliterated” applies both to this world and the next - Genesis 7:23
R' Yehuda ben Beteira - They will neither live nor be judged; “My soul shall not abide” implies neither judgment nor restoration of the soul - Genesis 6:3
R' Menaḥem b. Yosef - Even when God restores souls to corpses (in the messianic future), theirs will be tormented in Gehenna - Isaiah 33:11
The Sins and Punishment of the Generation of the Flood
Baraita - Their haughtiness came from prosperity and ease - Job 21:9–13
They denied dependence on rain, boasting of rivers and springs - Job 21:14–15
... so God punished them with water - Genesis 6:17
R' Yosei - Their arrogance came from lustful eyes (‘ayin’); punished by water - Genesis 6:2; 7:11
R' Yoḥanan - They sinned with “great” and were punished with “great” - Genesis 6:5; 7:11
R' Yoḥanan - Three hot springs remain from the Flood
R' Yoḥanan - They corrupted creation by cross-species mating; humans also engaged in bestiality - Genesis 6:12
R' Abba b. Kahana - After the flood, creatures reverted to natural mating, except the bird called ‘tushlami’
R' Yoḥanan - Their sentence was sealed only for robbery, not for other sins - Genesis 6:13
R' Elazar - Robbery itself stood before God as a rod demanding punishment of the Generation of the Flood - Ezekiel 7:11
Noah’s Role and Status; Rebukes His Generation
R' Yishmael’s School - Even Noah’s sentence was sealed, but he was spared through favor - Genesis 6:7–8
Rav Dimi - “Va-yinaḥem” means God did well by providing graves on earth - Genesis 6:6; 50:21
Alternative interpretation - “Va-yinaḥem” means regret for creating humans destined for destruction - Exodus 32:14
Amoraic dispute re Noah: R' Yoḥanan - Noah was righteous only relative to his generation; Reish Lakish - Noah would have been righteous in any generation - Genesis 6:9
R' Ḥanina - Parable for R' Yoḥanan’s interpretation: wine jug among vinegar—fragrance relative only to its setting
R' Oshaya - Parable for Reish Lakish’s interpretation: perfume flask among filth—fragrance strong even in adverse setting
R' Yehoshua b. Korḥa - Parable: animals destroyed with humans, as a wedding canopy dismantled when the son dies - Genesis 7:23
Fish in the sea were spared - Genesis 7:22
R' Yosei of Caesarea - Noah rebuked them - Job 24:18
Warned them that corpses would float like wineskins; Their fate became a curse formula
Noah (to them) - Methuselah’s lifespan delayed the flood
Rava - Noah rebuked them, but they mocked him - Job 12:5
They boasted of fireproofing and waterproofing methods
Noah (reply) - Floodwaters can come from their very feet - Job 12:5
Baraita - Waters of the Flood were as thick as semen - Job 12:5
Rav Ḥisda - They sinned with hot semen, punished with hot water - Genesis 8:1; Esther 7:10
Rav - “Seven days” were mourning for Methuselah, delaying punishment - Genesis 7:10
Alternative interpretation - reversal of Creation’s order
Alternative interpretation - final brief chance to repent
Alternative interpretation - foretaste of World-to-Come delights
Leadup to the Flood: preparing the Ark and the Animals
R' Shmuel b. Naḥmani citing R' Yonatan - “By sevens husband and wife” means animals uncorrupted by sexual transgression - Genesis 7:2
How did Noah know which animals didn’t mate with other species?
Rav Ḥisda - Noah tested animals before the ark; only uncorrupted ones accepted - Genesis 7:2
R' Abbahu - Only animals that came on their own were accepted - Genesis 7:2
Rav Adda citing R' Sheila’s school - “Gopher wood” is ‘mavliga’ (or ‘gulamish’, willow) - Genesis 6:14
R' Yoḥanan - “Tzohar” was precious stones to illuminate the ark - Genesis 6:16
Genesis 6:16
Baraita - Ark’s three levels: bottom for waste, middle for animals, top for people - Genesis 6:16
The Animals and Birds in the Ark during the Flood
Reish Lakish - Raven argued with Noah, accusing him of hatred; feared extinction - Genesis 8:7
R' Yoḥanan - Derives ban on sex in the ark from separation of spouses in verses - Genesis 6:18; 8:16
Baraita - Three violated sex ban in ark: dog, raven, Ham; all were consequently punished
R' Yirmeya - Dove being sent by Noah shows that kosher birds dwell with the righteous - Genesis 8:8
R' Elazar - Dove’s olive leaf signified desire for sustenance from God, not humans - Genesis 8:11
Proverbs 30:8
R' Yoḥanan - Some animals died in ark; verse indicates only “after their kinds” emerged - Genesis 8:19
Rav Ḥana b. Bizna - Shem describes to Abraham’s servant Eliezer the hardships feeding animals - Genesis 8:19
Needing to feed the animals both during day and during night
Noah didn’t know what the chameleon eats
A fever sustained the lion
The phoenix - Noah blesses it that it should be immortal - Job 29:18
Appendix - Summary of all the Talmudic statements in this sugya that interpret biblical verses in Genesis 6-7 and in Book of Job
Genesis 6-7 Interpretations
Job Interpretations
The Passage
Eschatological Fate of the Generation of the Flood
Baraita - Tannaitic dispute re if the Generation of the Flood has share in the World-to-Come
R' Akiva - The Generation of the Flood has no share in the World-to-Come; “obliterated” applies both to this world and the next - Genesis 7:23
תנו רבנן:
דור המבול אין להם חלק לעולם הבא,
שנאמר: ״וימח את כל היקום אשר על פני האדמה״.
״וימח את כל היקום״ –
בעולם הזה,
״וימחו מן הארץ״ –
לעולם הבא,
דברי רבי עקיבא.
A baraita states:
The members of the Generation of the Flood have no share in the World-to-Come,
as it is stated: “And He obliterated every living thing that was upon the face of the ground, from man to cattle to creeping animal to the birds of the heaven; and they were obliterated from the earth” (Genesis 7:23).
“And He obliterated every living thing”
indicates in this world,
whereas “and they were obliterated from the earth”
indicates for the World-to-Come;
this is the statement of R' Akiva.
R' Yehuda ben Beteira - They will neither live nor be judged; “My soul shall not abide” implies neither judgment nor restoration of the soul - Genesis 6:3
רבי יהודה בן בתירא אומר:
לא חיין ולא נדונין,
שנאמר: ״לא ידון רוחי באדם לעלם״ –
לא דין ולא רוח.
דבר אחר:
״לא ידון רוחי״ –
שלא תהא נשמתן חוזרת לנדנה.
R' Yehuda ben Beteira says:
The members of the Generation of the Flood will neither live nor be judged,
as it is stated: “My soul shall not abide [yadon] in man forever” (Genesis 6:3),
meaning neither will they stand in judgment [din], nor shall their souls be restored to them.
Alternatively,
“My soul shall not abide”
means their souls will not return to their sheaths [nadan], i.e., to their bodies.
R' Menaḥem b. Yosef - Even when God restores souls to corpses (in the messianic future), theirs will be tormented in Gehenna - Isaiah 33:11
רבי מנחם ברבי יוסף אומר:
אפילו בשעה שהקדוש ברוך הוא מחזיר נשמות לפגרים מתים,
נשמתן קשה להם בגיהנם,
שנאמר:
״תהרו חשש
תלדו קש
רוחכם אש תאכלכם״.
R' Menaḥem, son of R' Yosef, says:
Even at the time [in the messianic future] when God restores souls to lifeless corpses,1
the souls of the Generation of the Flood will afflict them harshly in Gehenna,
as it is stated:
“You shall conceive chaff;
you shall bring forth straw;
your soul is a fire that shall devour you” (Isaiah 33:11).
The Sins and Punishment of the Generation of the Flood
Baraita - Their haughtiness came from prosperity and ease - Job 21:9–13
(See footnote.)2
תנו רבנן:
דור המבול לא נתגאו אלא בשביל טובה שהשפיע להם הקדוש ברוך הוא,
ומה כתיב בהם?
״בתיהם שלום מפחד ולא שבט אלוה עליהם״,
וכתיב: ״שורו עבר ולא יגעל תפלט פרתו ולא תשכל״,
וכתיב: ״ישלחו כצאן עויליהם וילדיהם ירקדון״,
וכתיב: ״ישאו בתף וכנור וישמחו לקול עוגב״,
וכתיב: ״יכלו ימיהם בטוב ושניהם בנעימים״,
וכתיב: ״וברגע שאול יחתו״.
A baraita states in a baraita (Tosefta, Sota 3:10):
The Generation of the Flood became haughty and sinned due only to the excessive goodness that God bestowed upon them.
And what is written concerning them, indicating that goodness?
“Their houses are safe without fear, nor is the rod of God upon them” (Job 21:9).
And it is written: “Their bull sires, and will not fall; their cow calves, and does not cast her calf” (Job 21:10).
And it is written: “They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance” (Job 21:11).
And it is written: “They sing to the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe” (Job 21:12).
And it is written: “They shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures” (Job 36:11).
And it is written: “And peacefully they go down to the grave” (Job 21:13).
They denied dependence on rain, boasting of rivers and springs - Job 21:14–15
והיא גרמה שאמרו לאל:
״סור ממנו
ודעת דרכיך לא חפצנו.
מה שדי כי נעבדנו
ומה נועיל כי נפגע בו״.
אמרו:
כלום צריכין אנו לו אלא לטיפה של גשמים?!
יש לנו נהרות ומעינות שאנו מסתפקין מהן.
And that success caused them to say to God:
“Depart from us;
for we desire not the knowledge of Your ways.
What is God, that we should serve Him,
and what profit should we have if we pray unto Him” (Job 21:14-15).
The members of the Generation of the Flood said:
Do we need Him for anything other than the drop of rain that He causes to fall?!
We don’t need God even for that: We have rivers and springs (מעינות) from which we take our supply of water; we do not fear Him.
... so God punished them with water - Genesis 6:17
אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא:
בטובה שהשפעתי להן --
בה מכעיסין אותי,
ובה אני דן אותם,
שנאמר: ״ואני הנני מביא את המבול מים״.
God said:
With the goodness that I bestowed upon them --
with that they infuriate Me
and with it I will sentence them,
as it is stated: “And behold I will bring the Flood of water” (Genesis 6:17).
R' Yosei - Their arrogance came from lustful eyes (‘ayin’); punished by water (‘mayenot‘) - Genesis 6:2; 7:11
רבי יוסי אמר:
דור המבול --
לא נתגאו אלא בשביל גלגל העין
שדומה למים,
[שנאמר: ״ויקחו להם נשים מכל אשר בחרו״].
לפיכך דן אותן במים,
שדומה לגלגל העין,
שנאמר:
״נבקעו כל מעינות תהום רבה
וארבות השמים נפתחו״.
R' Yosei says:
The Generation of the Flood --
became haughty due only to the covetousness of the eyeball,
which is similar to water,
as it is stated: “And the sons of the prominent men saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took for themselves wives from anyone they chose” (Genesis 6:2).
Consequently, God punished them with water,
which is similar to an eyeball [galgal ha’ayin],
as it is stated:
“All the fountains [mayenot] of the great deep were breached,
and the flues of heaven were opened” (Genesis 7:11).
R' Yoḥanan - They sinned with “great” and were punished with “great” - Genesis 6:5; 7:11
אמר רבי יוחנן:
דור המבול --
ברבה קלקלו,
וברבה נידונו.
ברבה קלקלו —
שנאמר: ״וירא ה׳ כי רבה רעת האדם״,
וברבה נידונו —
שנאמר: ״כל מעינות תהום רבה״.
R' Yoḥanan says:
The members of the Generation of the Flood --
sinned with “great” (רבה)
and were punished with “great.”
They sinned with “great” —
as it is stated: “And YHWH saw that the wickedness of man was great” (Genesis 6:5).
And they were punished with “great” —
as it is stated: “All the fountains (מעינות) of the great deep (תהום - tehom) were breached” (Genesis 7:11).
R' Yoḥanan - Three hot springs remain from the Flood
אמר רבי יוחנן:
שלשה נשתיירו מהם:
בלועה דגדר,
וחמי טבריא,
ועינא רבתי דבירם.
R' Yoḥanan says:
Three fountains of the great deep that were breached in the Flood remained, and boiling water continues to flow in them as it did during the flood. They are:
and the hot springs of Tiberias,
and the great spring (עינא רבתי) of Beiram (בירם)
R' Yoḥanan - They corrupted creation by cross-species mating; humans also engaged in bestiality - Genesis 6:12
״כי השחית כל בשר את דרכו על הארץ״,
אמר רבי יוחנן:
מלמד ש:
הרביעו בהמה על חיה,
וחיה על בהמה,
והכל על אדם,
ואדם על הכל.
With regard to the verse: “For all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:12),
R' Yoḥanan says:
This teaches that the people of the Generation of the Flood
Mated (הרביעו) male domesticated animals (בהמה) with female undomesticated animals (חיה),
and male undomesticated animals with female domesticated animals,
and all male animals with human (אדם) females,
and human males with all female animals.
R' Abba b. Kahana - After the flood, creatures reverted to natural mating, except the bird called ‘tushlami’
אמר רבי אבא בר כהנא:
וכולם חזרו,
חוץ מתושלמי.
R' Abba bar Kahana says:
And after the Flood all of the creatures returned to mate with their own species,
except for the bird called tushlami, which continued to mate with other species.
R' Yoḥanan - Their sentence was sealed only for robbery, not for other sins - Genesis 6:13
״ויאמר ה׳ לנח:
קץ כל בשר בא לפני״.
אמר רבי יוחנן:
בא וראה כמה גדול כח של חמס,
שהרי דור המבול עברו על הכל,
ולא נחתם עליהם גזר דינם
עד שפשטו ידיהם בגזל,
שנאמר:
״כי מלאה הארץ חמס מפניהם
והנני משחיתם את הארץ״.
With regard to the verse: “And God said to Noah:
The end of all flesh is come before Me, for the earth is filled with robbery through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13),
R' Yoḥanan says:
Come and see how great is the power of robbery (חמס),
as the Generation of the Flood violated every precept,
but their sentence to be destroyed was not sealed
until they extended their hands and engaged in robbery,
as it is stated:
“For the earth is filled with robbery through them,
and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13).
R' Elazar - Robbery itself stood before God as a rod demanding punishment of the Generation of the Flood - Ezekiel 7:11
וכתיב:
״החמס קם למטה רשע,
לא מהם
ולא מהמונם
ולא מהמהם
ולא נה בהם״.
אמר רבי אלעזר:
מלמד ש:
זקף עצמו כמקל,
ועמד לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא,
ואמר לפניו,
רבונו של עולם!
״לא מהם
ולא מהמונם
ולא מהמהם
ולא נה בהם״.
And it is written:
“Robbery is risen up into a rod (מטה) of wickedness;
nothing comes from them (מהם)
nor from their multitude (המונם)
nor from any of them (המהם)
nor shall there be wailing (נה) for them” (Ezekiel 7:11).
R' Elazar says:
This teaches that
robbery straightened (זקף) itself like a rod (מקל)
and stood before God,
and said before Him:
God!
“Nothing comes from them,
nor from their multitude,
nor from any of them,
nor shall there be wailing for them,”
i.e., none of the robbers are fit to exist.
For the context of these verses in the Book of Job, see Wikipedia, “Job 21“, section “Job explores why the wicked are not always punished as the friends insisted (21:7–26)“:
This section has two main parts in which Job explores the apparent anomalies of what the friends stated about the fate of the wicked:
Why the wicked can prosper despite their attitude toward God (verses 7–16)
How often the wicked are punished (verses 17–26)
Job is suspicious of any attempt to trim the facts to fit into a 'tidy theological system', and he confronts the friends to match their neat imaginary world with the reality.
Verse 7 contains the statement of the general problem for the first topic: "why the wicked not only exist but also live a long life ("advance to old age") and grow mighty in power and wealth".
The second topic is framed by the 'reality of death' (verses 17–18 and verses 25–26) as Job asks "how often do the wicked die prematurely" in a series of rhetorical questions with the expected answer: "hardly ever".
The implication of both topics is the arbitrariness (lack of connection) between 'a person's righteousness and the fullness of that person's life', thus the divine retribution is not actually reflected in the world.
The Talmud here homiletically interprets those verses as referring to the Generation of the Flood, before their punishment in the Flood.
See Wikipedia, “Hamat Gader“.