Pt3 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 third and final part of a three-part series. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here; the outline for the series can be found at Part 1.

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

״מכל הבהמה הטהורה תקח לך שבעה שבעה

איש ואשתו״,

אישות לבהמה מי אית לה?!

אמר רבי שמואל בר נחמני, אמר רבי יונתן:

מאותם שלא נעבדה בהם עבירה.

§ With regard to the verse: “Of every kosher animal you shall take to you by sevens,

husband and wife” (Genesis 7:2),

the Talmud asks: Is there marriage (אישות) for animals?!

R' Shmuel bar Naḥmani says that R' Yonatan says:

The reference is to those animals with which transgression was not performed.¹

Therefore, the Torah underscores that the animals that entered the ark were husband and wife.

How did Noah know which animals didn’t mate with other species?

Rav Ḥisda - Noah tested animals before the ark; only uncorrupted ones accepted

מנא ידע?

אמר רב חסדא:

שהעבירן לפני התיבה,

• כל שהתיבה קולטתו –

  • בידוע שלא נעבדה בהם עבירה,

• וכל שאין התיבה קולטתו –

  • בידוע שנעבדה בה עבירה.

The Talmud asks: From where did Noah know which animals were not involved in that transgression?

Rav Ḥisda says:

He passed them before the ark.

• All animals that the ark accepted,²

  • it was known that a transgression had not been performed with them.

• And any animal that the ark did not accept,

  • it was known that a transgression had been performed with it.

R' Abbahu - Only animals that came on their own were accepted

רבי אבהו אמר:

מאותן הבאין מאיליהן.

R' Abbahu says:

Noah took onto the ark only from those animals that came on their own,

as it appeared that they were sent from Heaven, and they were certainly fit for this purpose.

Rav Adda citing R' Sheila’s School - “Gopher wood” is ‘mavliga’ (or ‘gulamish’, willow) - Genesis 6:14

״עשה לך תבת עצי גפר״,

מאי גופר?

אמר רב אדא:

אמרי דבי רבי שילא,

זו מבליגה.

ואמרי לה: גולמיש.

With regard to the verse: “Make you an ark of gopher wood” (Genesis 6:14),

the Talmud asks: What is gopher wood?

Rav Adda says that

they say in the school of R' Sheila:

This is wood from the mavliga tree;

and some say that it is wood from the willow [gulamish] tree.

R' Yoḥanan - ‘Tzohar’ was precious stones to illuminate the ark - Genesis 6:16

״צהר תעשה לתבה״ –

אמר רבי יוחנן:

אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא לנח:

קבע בה אבנים טובות ומרגליות,

כדי שיהיו מאירות לכם כצהרים.

With regard to the verse: “A tzohar you shall make for the ark” (Genesis 6:16),

R' Yoḥanan says that

God said to Noah:

Set precious stones and jewels in the ark

so that they will shine for you as the afternoon [tzohorayim] sun.

The Ark was tapered - Genesis 6:16

״ואל אמה תכלנה מלמעלה״,

דבהכי [הוא] דקיימא.

With regard to the verse: “And to a cubit you shall finish it above” (Genesis 6:16),

the Talmud explains that in that manner, having been built wide at its base and narrow at its top, the ark would stand upright and would not capsize.

Baraita - Ark’s three levels: bottom for waste, middle for animals, top for people - Genesis 6:16

״תחתים שנים ושלשים תעשה״ –

תנא:

1. תחתיים

   1. לזבל,

2. אמצעיים

   1. לבהמה,

3. עליונים

   1. לאדם.

With regard to the verse: “With lower, 2nd and 3rd stories shall you make it” (Genesis 6:16),

it was taught in a baraita:

1. The bottom story

   1. was for manure,

2. the middle story

   1. was for animals,

3. and the top story

   1. was for people.

The Animals and Birds in the Ark during the Flood

Reish Lakish - Raven argued with Noah, accusing him of personal animosity; feared extinction - Genesis 8:7

״וישלח את הערב״,

אמר ריש לקיש:

תשובה ניצחת השיבו עורב לנח.

אמר לו:

• רבך

  • שונאני

• ואתה

  • שנאתני.

With regard to the verse: “And he sent forth the raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from the earth” (Genesis 8:7),

Reish Lakish says:

The raven provided a convincing response to Noah;

when it did not wish to leave the ark the raven said to him:

• Your Master, God,

  • hates me,

• and you

  • hate me.

• רבך שונאני –

  • מן הטהורין שבעה,

  • מן הטמאים שנים,

• ואתה שנאתני –

  • שאתה מניח ממין שבעה

  • ושולח ממין שנים.

• Your Master hates me,

  • as He commanded to take from the kosher³ species 7

  • and from the non-kosher species 2.

• And you hate me,

  • as you disregard those from the species of 7, i.e., the kosher birds,

  • and instead dispatch one from the species of 2, i.e., the non-kosher birds.

אם פוגע בי

• שר חמה

• או שר צנה --

לא נמצא עולם חסר בריה אחת?!

או שמא לאשתי אתה צריך?!

If harms (פוגע) me and kills me

• the angel of heat

• or the angel of cold --

will the world not be lacking one species of creature, as there was only one pair of ravens?!

Or perhaps you are sending me because it is my wife that you need, in order to have sex with her?!

אמר לו:

רשע!

• במותר לי

  • נאסר לי,

• בנאסר לי

  • לא כל שכן?!

Noah said to the raven:

Wicked one!

• If with the woman who is generally permitted to me, my wife,

  • sex is forbidden to me,

• then with regard to domesticated and undomesticated animals, which are generally forbidden to me,

  • is it not all the more so the case that they are forbidden to me?!

R' Yoḥanan - Derives ban on sex in the ark from separation of spouses in verses - Genesis 6:18; 8:16

ומנלן דנאסרו?

דכתיב:

״ובאת אל התבה

1. אתה

2. ובניך

3. ואשתך

4. ונשי בניך

אתך״,

וכתיב:

״צא מן התבה

1. אתה

2. ואשתך

3. ובניך

4. ונשי בניך

אתך״.

ואמר רבי יוחנן:

מיכן (אמרו) ש:

נאסרו בתשמיש המטה.

The Talmud asks: And from where do we derive that it was prohibited for them to have sex while in the ark?

The Talmud answers: It is derived from that which is written:

“And you shall come into the ark,

1. you,

2. and your sons,

3. and your wife,

4. and your sons’ wives

with you” (Genesis 6:18);

and it is written:

“Emerge from the ark,

1. you

2. and your wife,

3. and your sons

4. and your sons’ wives

with you” (Genesis 8:16).

And R' Yoḥanan says:

From here, the rabbis derived and said that

it was prohibited to engage in sex while in the ark,

as when Noah and his family entered, the husbands and wives were listed separately, and when they emerged, the husbands were listed with their wives.

Baraita - Three violated sex ban in ark: dog, raven, Ham; all were consequently punished

תנו רבנן:

שלשה שמשו בתיבה,

וכולם לקו:

1. כלב

2. ועורב

3. וחם.

A baraita states:

Three violated that directive and had sex (שמשו) while in the ark,

and all of them were punished for doing so.

They are:

1. The dog,

2. and the raven,

3. and Ham, son of Noah.

1. כלב --

   1. נקשר,

2. עורב --

   1. רק,

3. חם --

   1. לקה בעורו.

1. The dog --

   1. was punished in that it is bound;⁴

2. the raven --

   1. was punished in that it spits,⁵

3. and Ham --

   1. was afflicted in that his skin⁶ turned black.

R' Yirmeya - Dove being sent by Noah shows that kosher birds dwell with the righteous - Genesis 8:8

״וישלח את היונה מאתו

לראות הקלו המים״.

אמר רבי ירמיה:

מכאן ש:

דירתן של עופות טהורים עם הצדיקים.

With regard to the verse: “And he sent forth the dove from him,

to see if the waters abated” (Genesis 8:8),

R' Yirmeya says:

From here it is derived that

the dwelling place of kosher birds in the ark was with the righteous people, as the verse emphasizes that Noah dispatched the dove from his place.

R' Elazar - Dove’s olive leaf signified desire for sustenance from God, not humans - Genesis 8:11

״והנה עלה זית טרף בפיה״.

אמר רבי אלעזר:

אמרה יונה לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא:

רבונו של עולם!

• יהיו מזונותי

  • מרורים כזית

  • ומסורים בידך,

• ואל יהיו

  • מתוקים כדבש

  • ומסורים ביד בשר ודם.

With regard to the verse: “And in her mouth was an olive branch plucked off [taraf ]” (Genesis 8:11),

R' Elazar says:

The dove said before God:

God!

• may my sustenance

  • be bitter as the olive

  • and dependent on Your hands,

• and not

  • sweet as honey

  • and dependent on the hands of flesh and blood.

‘taraf’ = “sustenance” - Proverbs 30:8

מאי משמע דהאי ״טרף״ לישנא דמזוני הוא?

דכתיב: ״הטריפני לחם חקי״.

The Talmud asks: From where may it be inferred that taraf is a term that indicates sustenance?

The Talmud answers: It is inferred from that which is written: “Feed me [hatrifeni] with my allotted portion” (Proverbs 30:8).

R' Yoḥanan - Some animals died in ark; verse indicates only “after their kinds” emerged - Genesis 8:19

״למשפחתיהם יצאו מן התבה״,

אמר רבי יוחנן:

״למשפחותם״

ולא ״הם״.

With regard to the verse: “After their kinds [le-mishpeḥoteihem],⁷ they emerged from the ark” (Genesis 8:19),

R' Yoḥanan says:

After their kinds [le-mishpeḥotam] the animals emerged,

but not them [hem] themselves,

as some of the animals that entered the ark died during that year and it was their descendants who emerged.

Rav Ḥana b. Bizna - Shem describes to Abraham’s servant Eliezer the hardships feeding animals - Genesis 8:19

אמר רב חנא בר ביזנא:

אמר ליה אליעזר לשם רבא:

כתיב: ״למשפחתיהם יצאו מן התבה״.

אתון היכן הויתון?

אמרו ליה:

צער גדול היה לנו בתיבה.

Rav Ḥana bar Bizna says:

Eliezer, servant of Abraham, said to Shem the Great, son of Noah:

It is written: “After their kinds, they emerged from the ark,” indicating that the different types of animals were not intermingled while in the ark.

Where were you and what did you do to care for them while they were in the ark?

Shem said to him:

We experienced great suffering in the ark caring for the animals.

Needing to feed the animals both during day and during night

• בריה שדרכה להאכילה ביום –

  • האכלנוה ביום,

• שדרכה להאכילה בלילה –

  • האכלנוה בלילה.

• Where there was a creature that one typically feeds during the day,

  • we fed it during the day,

• and where there was a creature that one typically feeds at night,⁸

  • we fed it at night.

Noah didn’t know what the chameleon eats

האי זקיתא --

לא הוה ידע אבא מה אכלה.

יומא חד

הוה יתיב

וקא פאלי רמונא,

נפל תולעתא מינה

אכלה.

With regard to that chameleon (זקיתא)

my father did not know what it eats.

One day,

my father was sitting

and peeling a pomegranate.

A worm fell from it

and the chameleon ate it.

מיכן ואילך --

הוה גביל לה חיזרא,

כי מתלע

אכלה.

From that point forward

my father would knead bran (חיזרא) with water,

and when it became overrun with worms,

the chameleon would eat it.

A fever sustained the lion; fever sustains for 6-12 days

אריא –

אישתא זנתיה,

דאמר רב:

• לא בציר משיתא

• ולא טפי מתריסר --

זינא אישתא.

With regard to the lion --

a fever (אישתא) sustained it, since when it suffered from a fever, it did not need to eat;

as Rav said:

• For no fewer than 6 days

• and no more than 12 days --

fever sustains a person; he need not eat and is sustained from his own fats.

The phoenix - Noah blesses it that it should be immortal - Job 29:18

אורשינה –

אשכחיה אבא דגני בספנא דתיבותא.

אמר ליה: לא בעית מזוני?!

אמר ליה:

חזיתיך דהות טרידת,

אמינא לא אצערך.

Shem continued: With regard to the phoenix [avarshina] --

my father found it lying in its compartment on the side of the ark.

He said to the bird: Do you not want food?!

The bird said to him:

I saw that you were busy,

and I said I would not trouble you by requesting food.

אמר ליה:

יהא רעוא דלא תמות,

שנאמר:

״ואמר

עם קני אגוע

וכחול ארבה ימים״.

Noah said to the bird:

May it be God’s will that you shall not die,

and through that bird the verse was fulfilled, as it is stated:

“And I said,

I shall die in my nest,

and I shall multiply my days as the phoenix”⁹ (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

The interpretations focus on themes of measure-for-measure punishment, the generation's arrogance from prosperity, sexual corruption, and Noah's righteousness amid wickedness.

Genesis 6-7 Interpretations

Genesis 6:2 - R' Yosei: "They took wives from anyone they chose" refers to lustful eyes (עין), punished by water which resembles the eyeball

Genesis 6:3 - R' Yehuda ben Beteira: "My soul shall not abide in man forever" means the Flood generation will neither live nor be judged in the afterlife

Genesis 6:5 & 7:11 - R' Yoḥanan: They sinned with "great" wickedness and were punished with waters of the "great deep"

Genesis 6:6 - Rav Dimi: "And YHWH regretted" means God said "I did well preparing graves in the earth" (positive interpretation) vs. alternative negative interpretation

Genesis 6:7-8 - R' Yishmael's school: Even Noah's sentence was sealed, but he found divine favor

Genesis 6:9 - Dispute between R' Yoḥanan (Noah righteous only relative to his generation) vs. Reish Lakish (would be righteous in any generation)

Genesis 6:12 - R' Yoḥanan: "All flesh corrupted its way" refers to cross-species mating between humans and animals

Genesis 6:13 - R' Yoḥanan: Their sentence was sealed specifically for robbery (חמס), not other sins

Genesis 6:14 - Rav Adda: "Gopher wood" is mavliga or willow wood

Genesis 6:16 - R' Yoḥanan: "Tzohar" means precious stones for illumination

Genesis 7:2 - R' Shmuel bar Naḥmani: "Husband and wife" refers to animals uncorrupted by cross-species mating

Genesis 7:10 - Rav: The "seven days" were mourning for Methuselah; alternative interpretations include reversed creation order and final repentance opportunity

Genesis 7:23 - R' Akiva: "Obliterated" applies to both this world and the World-to-Come; R' Yehoshua ben Korḥa: Animals died because they were created for humanity (wedding canopy parable)

Genesis 8:1 - Rav Ḥisda: "Waters assuaged" indicates they were hot, matching their hot sinful behavior

Job Interpretations

Job 12:5 - Rava: "Contemptible torch" describes Noah's harsh rebukes that the generation mocked; also their boasts about fireproofing/waterproofing

Job 21:9-15 - Baraita: Multiple verses describe their prosperity that led to haughtiness and rejection of God

Job 24:18 - R' Yosei of Caesarea: Noah's warning that their corpses would float "swift upon waters" and become a curse formula for future generations

Job 29:18 - Connected to Noah's blessing of the phoenix for eternal life

1. מאותם שלא נעבדה בהם עבירה.

Ed. Steinsaltz interprets the sin as “sex with another species“.

However, the passive construct (נעבדה) makes it more likely that the reference is specifically to bestiality, i.e. that no human had used it for sex.

2. קולטתו - “take in, absorb”.

3. טהורין - literally: “pure”.

Referring to Genesis 7:2-3 (cited a few sections earlier), where God commands Noah to take seven pairs of every kosher (clean) animal/bird and two of every non-kosher (unclean) animal/bird.

4. נקשר.

Meaning either chained by human owners, or referring to copulatory tie (“knotting”).

5. רק.

Ravens (and corvids more generally) exhibit behaviors that resemble “spitting”:

• They regurgitate food to feed their young.

• They sometimes cough up pellets of indigestible material (bones, fur, insect parts), similar to owls.

• Ravens also have a habit of making sharp, guttural “spitting” sounds.

See also Wikipedia, “Cultural depictions of ravens“, section “Hebrew Bible and Judaism“.

6. לקה בעורו - literally: “was afflicted in his skin”.

See Wikipedia, “Curse of Ham“:

In later centuries, the narrative was interpreted by some Jews, Christians and Muslims as an explanation for black skin, as well as a justification for enslavement of black people.

Nevertheless, many Christians, Muslims and Jews now disagree with such interpretations, because in the biblical text, Ham himself is not cursed, and neither race nor skin color are ever mentioned.

And ibid, section “Racism and slavery“, sub-section “Early Judaism, Christianity and Islam“:

While Genesis 9 never says that Ham was black, he became associated with black skin, through folk etymology deriving his name from a similar, but actually unconnected, word meaning "dark" or "brown".

The next stage are certain fables according to ancient Jewish traditions. According to one legend preserved in the Babylonian Talmud [=our sugya], Ham broke a prohibition on sex aboard the ark and "was smitten in his skin" as punishment.

However, in the Talmud this skin punishment is not described as hereditary or linked to slavery, and in other ancient Jewish sources black skin is seen as beautiful rather than disfiguring.

7. למשפחתיהם - literally: “to their families”.

8. I.e. nocturnal.

9. חול.

See Wikipedia, “Chol (Bible)“:

Chol (Hebrew: חוֹל ḥōl) is a word mentioned in Job 29:18 in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible, traditionally understood as the Hebrew word for "phoenix" […]

The Rabbis preserved the original understanding of the word ḥōl as referring to the phoenix.

The school of R. Jannai said: "[the ḥōl] lives a thousand years and at the end of thousand years a fire issues from its nest and burns it until as much as an egg is left of it. Then it grows limbs again and lives."

R. Judan b. Simon said: "it lives a thousand years and at the end of thousand years its body is consumed and its wings crumble to pieces until as much as an egg of it is left. Then it grows limbs again and lives."

And see also Hebrew Wikipedia, “עוף החול“, section “ביהדות“.