NOACH
Genesis 6:9 - 11:32

the flood was a reset

A divine cleansing that gave humanity a chance to begin anew under Yehovah’s covenant.

The Ark afloat in silence after the waters of judgment receded.

Read the Story as Told in Scripture

TORAH | Genesis 6:9 - 11:32

9These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God. 10And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16A light shalt thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die. 18But I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. 19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20Of the birds after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. 22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

7 And Yehovah said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female: 3of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. 4For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the ground. 5And Noah did according unto all that Jehovah commanded him.

6And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. 7And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 8Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creepeth upon the ground, 9there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah. 10And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. 11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

13In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; 14they, and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life. 16And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him: and Jehovah shut him in. 17And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. 18And the waters prevailed, and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. 19And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered. 20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. 21And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both birds, and cattle, and beasts, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: 22all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, of all that was on the dry land, died. 23And every living thing was destroyed that was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark. 24And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

8 And God remembered Noah, and all the beasts, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; 2the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; 3and the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. >>5And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

<<6And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 7and he sent forth a raven, and it went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 9but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark; for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her in unto him into the ark. 10And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 11and the dove came in to him at eventide; and, lo, in her mouth an olive-leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. 12And he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove; and she returned not again unto him any more.

13And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dried. 14And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry. 15And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16Go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. 17Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh, both birds, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 18And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him: 19every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatsoever moveth upon the earth, after their families, went forth out of the ark.

20And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar. 21And Yehovah smelled the sweet savor; and Jehovah said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, for that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more everything living, as I have done. 22While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

9 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens; with all wherewith the ground teemeth, and all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered. 3Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; as the green herb have I given you all. 4But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5And surely your blood, the blood of your lives, will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it: and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, will I require the life of man. 6Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. 7And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

8And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that go out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. 11And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, 15and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

18And the sons of Noah, that went forth from the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. 19These three were the sons of Noah: and of these was the whole earth overspread.

20And Noah began to be a husbandman, and planted a vineyard: 21and he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. 22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 23And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. 24And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done unto him. 25And he said,

Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26And he said,
blessed be Yehovah, the God of Shem;
and let Canaan be his servant.
27God enlarge Japheth,
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his servant.

28And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

10 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, namely, of Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

2The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. 3And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 4And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

6And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan. 7And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah: Sheba, and Dedan. 8And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before Jehovah: wherefore it is said, Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Yehovah. 10And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, 12and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great city). 13And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 14and Pathrusim, and Casluhim (whence went forth the Philistines), and Caphtorim.

15And Canaan begat Sidon his first-born, and Heth, 16and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, 17and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, 18and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad. 19And the border of the Canaanite was from Sidon, as thou goest toward Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, unto Lasha. 20These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.

21And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born. 22The sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, and Aram. 23And the sons of Aram: Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. 24And Arpachshad begat Shelah; and Shelah begat Eber. 25And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 27and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, 28and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 29and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. 30And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. 31These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

32These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and of these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

11 And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. 2And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5And Yehovah came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6And Jehovah 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 withholden from them, which they purpose to do. 7Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. 8So Yehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city. 9Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because Yehovah did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did Jehovah scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

10These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arpachshad two years after the flood: 11and Shem lived after he begat Arpachshad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

12And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years, and begat Shelah: 13and Arpachshad lived after he begat Shelah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

14And Shelah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: 15and Shelah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

16And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg: 17and Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

18And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: 19and Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

20And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug: 21and Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

22And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: 23and Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

24And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: 25and Nahor lived after he begat Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

26And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. 28And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 29And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 30And Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.


Scripture text from the American Standard Version (ASV), 1901. Public Domain.
Prophets | Isaiah 54:1 - 55:5

54

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith Yehovah. 2Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. 3For thou shalt spread abroad on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall possess the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

4Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth; and the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou remember no more. 5For thy Maker is thy husband; Yehovah of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called. 6For Yehovah hath called thee as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off, saith thy God. 7For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 8In overflowing wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting lovingkindness will I have mercy on thee, saith Jehovah thy Redeemer.

9For this is as the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. 10For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but my lovingkindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall my covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee. 11O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will set thy stones in fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. 12And I will make thy pinnacles of rubies, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy border of precious stones. 13And all thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children. 14In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee. 15Behold, they may gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall because of thee. 16Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the fire of coals, and bringeth forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. 17No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Yehovah, and their righteousness which is of me, saith Yehovah.

55 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 3Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. 4Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples. 5Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not; and a nation that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.


Scripture text from the American Standard Version (ASV), 1901. Public Domain.
Luke 17:20-27

20And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he (Yeshua) answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you.

22And he (Yeshua) said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 23And they shall say to you, Lo, there! Lo, here! go not away, nor follow after them: 24for as the lightning, when it lighteneth out of the one part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall the Son of man be in his day. 25But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. 26And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.


Scripture text from the American Standard Version (ASV), 1901. Public Domain.

The Hebrew Roots of Rest and Comfort

One of the most emblematic figures in the Hebrew Scriptures is the man born in the tenth generation from Adam — Noach (Noah).

The Meaning and Weight of a Name

In Hebrew, however, a name is much more than that. It represents, among other things, the essence, physical and prophetic nature, character, reputation, authority...

A Brief Insight

Parashah Noach (Genesis 6:9–11:32) recounts the story of Noah, a righteous man in a corrupt generation. Yehovah commanded him to build an ark to save his family and the animals from the flood that would destroy the earth. After the judgment, Yehovah established a covenant with Noah, symbolized by the rainbow, promising never again to destroy the earth by water. However, humanity once again rebelled by building the Tower of Babel, seeking to make a name for themselves. Yehovah confused their languages and scattered them across the earth. The parashah teaches about obedience, judgment, and divine mercy, emphasizing the need to walk in righteousness even in the midst of a wicked generation.

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