Noach (“Noah”) begins as God decides to destroy mankind with a flood. At God’s command, the righteous Noah builds an ark, where Noah, his family, and select animals survive the flood. Noah’s children bear children, and several generations develop. God confounds the speech of people building the Tower of Babel.
Notable Sources
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The End of Life on Earth
TANAKH
In Parashat Noach, God, upset by what is happening with creation, decides to destroy almost all life in a flood. God warns one person, Noah, and instructs him to build an ark.
Reemerging to Begin Again
TANAKH
Parashat Noach describes the forty days of rain with which God floods the world, wiping out all the people and animals except those on board Noah’s ark. After the flood waters subside, Noah, his family, and the animals emerge from the ark.
The Tower of Babel
TANAKH
After the story of Noah and the flood, Parashat Noach lists the genealogy of Noah’s descendants, leading up to the incident of the Tower of Babel. Fearing dispersal, people gather to build a tower, but God notices and undermines their plan.
Eating Meat
COMMENTARY
In Genesis 9, after the flood, God explicitly permits Noah to consume animals and also expresses a somewhat unclear limitation on that consumption. 11th-century northern French rabbi and commentator Rashi explains the context for the permission to eat meat and the nature of the restriction.
The Rainbow Connection
COMMENTARY
After the passengers of the ark exit onto dry land, God promises not to destroy the world by flood again, placing a rainbow in the cloud as a reminder of the oath. 13th-century Spanish scholar Ramban explores the meaning of this sign.
Confounded Language of Confounded Language
COMMENTARY
According to Parashat Noach, Noah’s descendants all spoke the same language until they attempted to build the Tower of Babel, at which point their languages diverged. 12th-century Spanish commentator Abraham ibn Ezra expresses his disagreement with other grammarians about the proper understanding of the word “confound” in the verse.
Of the Raven and the Dove
SECOND TEMPLE
After the rains cease, the ark lands on a mountaintop, and the flood waters recede, Noah sends out a raven and then a dove to determine the state of the world. Early-first-century philosopher Philo of Alexandria discusses the significance of these two species of birds.
Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat, Simon de Myle, 1570
Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat, Simon de Myle, 1570
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