“And behold I will bring the flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh that has in it the breath of life from under the heaven, everything that is on the earth shall perish. And I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.” (Bereshit 6:18)

In the midst of destruction are sown the seeds of renewal. As God orders Noah and his family into the ark in anticipation of the flood, He mentions his promise that he intends to fulfill with Noah in the future. Yet, it is not clear to what promise God is referring, as no promise or covenant was previously mentioned in the text. Many commentators try to resolve this difficulty. Their explanations fall into three categories.

The Covenant of the Rainbow

Some commentators contend that the promise referred to in verse 6:18 is the promise that God makes at the conclusion of the flood not to again destroy the world. This covenant is found in chapter 9:

"ואתם פרו ורבו שרצו בארץ ורבו בה….ואני הנני מקים את בריתי אתכם ואת זרעכם אחריכם….והקימותי את בריתי אתכם ולא יכרת כל בשר עוד ממי המבול ולא יהיה עוד מבול לשחת את הארץ." (בראשית ט:ז,ט,יא)

“And as for you, be fruitful and multiply, sprout forth abundantly on the earth, and multiply in it….And behold I establish my covenant with you and with your seed after you….And I will establish my covenant with you, and all flesh shall not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood, nor shall there any more be a flood to destroy the world. (Bereshit 9:7,9,11)

Ibn Ezra and Sforno follow this approach in their commentaries on verse 6:18:

אבן עזרא: והקרוב אלי שזאת הברית רמז לקשת.

Ibn Ezra: And the explanation that is near to me, that this covenant hints to the rainbow (the sign of the covenant mentioned in 9:11).

ספורנו: את בריתי: אחר המבול.

Sforno: My covenant: After the flood.

The compelling feature of this explanation is the linguistic similarity between verses 6:18 and 9:11. Nevertheless, there are two major difficulties in this explanation as well:

1) What is the value of referring to a promise that Noah presumably knew nothing about. Similarly, from a literary standpoint, why would the text refer to a promise that is unfamiliar to the reader.

2) Did God already have in mind not to destroy the world again? If so, why did he not retract his original plan to bring the flood?

A Personal Pact With Noah And His Family

A number of commentators contend that verse 6:18 refers not to a future promise made to mankind, but to a contemporary personal promise made to Noah and his family. This approach is taken by the Radak and by Ibn Ezra in an alternative explanation:

רד"ק: ברית שאני כורת עמך שתנצל ממי המבול אתה וכל אשר עמך אקיימנו לך.

Radak: The covenant that I am making with you, that you and all that is with you will be saved from the waters of the flood, I will fulfill.

אבן עזרא: לאות שה' נשבע לו שלא ימות הוא ובניו במבול.

Ibn Ezra: As a sign that God had sworn to him that he and his sons would not die in the flood…

This explanation sees the promise as an implied covenant that is understood from the text, but not specifically mentioned. The very fact that Noah was told to build the ark indicates God’s intent to save him and his family.

The Covenant of Creation

The third approach among the commentators regarding the covenant mentioned in verse 6:18 is that it refers to a promise made at the time of creation. As such, it is a covenant that was made in the past and can, therefore, be referred to in our context without identification. The following are two commentaries that utilize this approach.

אברבנאל: הא-ל יתברך בתחילת הבריאה שם חוק גבול לים, שאם יהיה טבע המים לכסות הארץ, לא יהיה כן תמיד….והנה דור אנשי המבול כאשר עברו חוקם והפרו גבולם ובריתם, ראה הקב"ה להפר גם כן עמהם את בריתו …. וכאלו אמר ה' לנח … כמו שהם הפרן את בריתי, אף אני אסלק את בריתי ואת אמונתי וחסדי מהם ואסיר את גבול הים ושטף ועבר, אבל הברית והחסד הזה אקים אתך.

Abarbanel: God Almighty at the beginning of creation set a law that limited the sea, that if the nature of the water was to cover the earth, it would not always be so….And because the men of the generation of the flood transgressed their law and broke their border and their covenant, God saw fit to also break his covenant with them….And it was as if God said to Noah… “Just as they broke their covenant, so I will remove my covenant and my faithfulness and kindness from them, and I will remove the border of the water which will pass over it and flood; but the covenant and the kindness I will fulfill with you.”

קאסוטו: נאמר לנח שכל בני אדם עתידים לגווע במבול, ואם כך יהיה, ההבטחות שהבטיח א-לקים לאדם הראשון (בראשית א:כח) מה יהיה עליהן? אם כן איפא ברית כרותה לבני אדם שיפרו וירבו וימלאו את הארץ… ואי אפשר שלא יקיים א-לקים את דברו. לפיכך לאחר שנאמר "כל אשר בארץ יגווע" נאמר כאן תיכף ומיד "והקמתי את בריתי אתך" להגיד: הברית שכרתי את אדם הראשון, אקיים אותה בך ובזרעך. בכם ימשך קיומה של האנושות.

Cassuto: It was stated to Noah that all mankind would in the future perish in the flood. And if so, what would become of the promises that God made to Adam, the first man (Bereshit 1:28)? If then, God promised man that he would be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth,…it is impossible that God would not fulfill his promise. Therefore, immediately after it says “all that is on the earth will perish” it states “and I will fulfill my covenant with you”, to say: The covenant that I made with Adam the first man, I will fulfill with you and your children. Through you the existence of mankind will be maintained. (Cassuto, From Noah to Abraham, p. 47)

Each of these commentators contends that inherent within God’s creation was a commitment to its continuity. According to Abarbanel, this commitment manifested itself in the laws of nature, which maintained the borders between the sea and the dry land. Abarbanel’s interpretation is based on a verse in Yirmiyahu (33:25) which refers to the laws of nature as a covenant:

"כה אמר ה' אם לא בריתי יומם ולילה חוקות שמים וארץ לא שמתי..."

“Thus says the Lord: If I have not appointed my covenant with day and night, the laws of heaven and earth I have not set…”

According to Cassuto, God’s commitment to continuity manifested itself in the commandment to man to be fruitful and multiply. According to both commentators, the promise of continuity will be fulfilled through Noah and his family. The later promise not to destroy the world is unrelated to this covenant.

Procreation During and After the Flood

Interestingly, the second half of verse 6:18 deals by inference with the issue of procreation. Rashi makes note of the order of the words in the verse:

רש"י: "אתה ובניך ואשתך ונשי בניך": האנשים לבד והנשים לבד, מכאן שנאסרה בתשמיש המטה.

Rashi: “You and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives”: The men separately and the women separately. From here we know that marital relations were forbidden.

Apparently, Noah and his family complied with this requirement of abstinence as indicated in the word order of verse 7:7:

"ויבא נח ובניו ואשתו ונשי בניו אתו אל התבה מפני מי המבול."

“And Noah came and his sons and his wife and his son’s wives with him to the ark, because of the waters of the flood.”

In contrast, when God prepares Noah and his family to leave the ark, we note a change in the word order indicating that, with the cessation of the flood, the commandment to procreate is once again in force.

"צא מן התבה אתה ואשתך ובניך ונשי בניך אתך." (בראשית ח:טז)

רש"י: איש ואשתו, כאן התיר להם תשמיש המטה.

“Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.” (Bereshit 8:16)

Rashi: A man and his wife. Here he permitted marital relations.

We find, however, from the order of the words in verse 8:18, that apparently Noah and his family refrained nevertheless from engaging in procreation.

"ויצא נח ובניו ואשתו ונשי בניו אתו."

“And Noah went out and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him.”

Rashi suggests in his commentary on verse 9:9 that Noah refrained from having marital relations until God promised never again to destroy the world.

"ואני הנני מקים את בריתי אתכם ואת זרעכם אחריכם."

רש"י: "ואני הנני מקים": מסכים אני עמך. שהיה נח דואג לעסוק בפריה ורביה עד שהבטיחו הקב"ה שלא לשחת העולם עוד.

“And behold I establish my covenant with you and with your seed after you.”

Rashi: “And behold I establish”: I agree with you. Noah worried about engaging in procreation until God promised him that he would not destroy the world again.

Rashi’s analysis compliments nicely the interpretation of Cassuto above. The seeds of renewal were sown before the flood brought destruction to the world. God promised to fulfill his commitment to the continuity of the world and of mankind. Noah, however, hoped for a better world. He refused to implement his role in the preservation of the continuity of man until God promised that he would never destroy the world again. Thus, Noah fulfills the prophecy of his father, Lemech, at the birth of his son:

"זה ינחמינו ממעשנו ומעצבון ידינו מן האדמה אשר אררה ה'" (בראשית ה:כט)

“This one will comfort us from our deeds and from the toil of our hands because of the ground that God has cursed.” (Bereshit 5:29)

With the covenant of the rainbow, Noah succeeded in changing the way in which the world functioned. No longer would there be ongoing supernatural intervention linking human behavior and the productivity of the land. Rather, God promised a natural order in which “planting time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night would not cease.”

The Destruction of the Temple and the Promise of Redemption

The Haftarah for Parshat Noah applies these same concepts to the destruction of the Temple. Once again, the seeds of redemption can be found in the midst of the destruction:

"ברגע קטן עזבתיך וברחמים גדולים אקבצך…. כי מי נח זאת לי אשר נשבעתי מעבר מי נח עוד על הארץ כן נשבעתי מקצף עליך ומגער בך." (ישעיהו נד:ז,ט)

“For a small moment have I forsaken you, but with great mercy will I gather you…. For this is like the waters of Noah to me. As I have sworn that the waters of Noah will no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be furious with you nor rebuke you.” (Yeshayahu 54:7,9)

Although they were exiled to Babylonia, the Jewish people were assured that they would be redeemed. The same sentiment is expressed by Rabbi Akiva at the time of the destruction of the second Temple when he and his colleagues viewed the ruins of the Temple:

Another time, they were going up to Jerusalem. When they came to Mount Scopus they tore their clothing (as a sign of mourning). When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox go out of the place of the Holy of Holies. They started to cry, and Rabbi Akiva started to laugh. They said to him: “Why are you laughing?” He said to them: “Why are you crying?” They replied: “The place about which it is written that a non-priest who approaches will die is now a place where foxes roam, should we not cry?” He said to them: “That is why I am laughing. It is written (Yeshayahu 8:2): ‘And I took to myself faithful witnesses, Uriah the Priest and Zecharyah the son of Yeverechayahu.’ But what does Uriah have to do with Zecharyah? Uriah is from the first Temple and Zecharyah is from the second Temple? The verse connects the prophecy of Zecharyah to the prophecy of Uriah. With regard to Uriah it states: ‘Therefore, because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field.’ (Michah 3:12) In Zecharyah it states: ‘Old men and old women shall once again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem.’ (Zecharyah 8:4) Until the prophecy of Uriah was fulfilled, I could not be certain that the prophecy of Zecharyah would be fulfilled. Now that the prophecy of Uriah has been fulfilled, I know for certain that the prophecy of Zecharyah will be fulfilled.” They said to him: “Akiva, you have comforted us (נחמתני)! Akiva, you have comforted us! (Makot 24b)