Kommentar zu Bereschit 7:5

ויעש נח AND NOAH DID — This refers to his coming to the Ark.

ויעש נח ככל אשר צוהו השם. Noach did in accordance with all that G'd commanded him. Rashi comments that this refers to his entering the ark. If that were the meaning there was no need for the Torah's comment as the Torah spells this out in 7,7 as well as 7,13.

ויעש נח, he entered the ark together with the animals slated for survival, as mentioned in ויבא נח in verse 7.

מן הבהמה הטהורה ומן הבהמה אשר איננה טהורה....שניים,שניים באו אל נח. “Of the pure domesticated beasts, and of the not pure domesticated beasts, they came to Noach in pairs.” According to Rashi none of these beasts arrived in fewer numbers than 2 each. Some commentators understand the expression as referring to 2 pairs of each, applying the same to the pure beasts of which 7 pairs each were brought into the ark. According to Nachmanides one pair of each species came of their own volition, whereas Noach added six more pairs of each of the pure species. He had to supply the animals needed as sacrificial offerings by exerting himself.

אשר איננה טהורה, “which was not pure.” The reason why here the Torah uses the word איננה to describe something negative, as opposed to the word לא used in verse 8, is that the word refers to a subject that had already been mentioned without being described as impure. [Following Rashi, the author understands the word לא טהורה as applying to beasts which are fit to eat for Jews, such as deer, of which Solomon kept a whole stable for his guests, whereas איננה describes a totally impure animal, one which is forbidden for Jews to eat even as חולין, non-consecrated meat. Ed.] You should realize that we have been taught in the first chapter of tractate Pessachim folio 3 that the Torah used eight extra letters in order to avoid describing something as טמא, outright defiled, when the same point could be made by using more refined language such as here, i.e. “not pure,” instead of ”defiled, impure.” The Talmud quotes our verse. One could ask why the Talmud did not quote the earlier verse to make the same point. The reason, presumably, is that in that verse the Torah did not speak about impure animals but about animals which are impure only in respect of their fitness to be offered as a sacrificial offering. However, Nachmanides pursues a different approach, claiming that all the “pure animals” were fit as sacrifices, quoting ויקח נח מכל הבהמה הטהורה וגו', “Noach took from all manner of pure animal and bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” He adds that for the Israelites later after the revelation at Mount Sinai, only pigeons were fit as sacrifices from among the fowl, and only large cattle and small cattle from among the mammals. Nachmanides continues to explain the third time the Torah dwells on the same subject saying

I believe that the Torah meant tell us that Noach did indeed take seven pairs each from all the respective categories of pure mammals and pure birds, although the report in 7,8-7,9 does not mention that seven pairs came to the ark of their own accord.

כאשר צוה אותו אלוקים, “as G’d had commanded him,”(7,16) as testifying that just as Noach complied meticulously with G’d’s instructions about entering the ark, etc., he also complied with G’d’s detailed instructions about leaving the ark. This brief reference is directly linked to the other instructions that the Torah detailed in earlier verses. The words והבאים זכר ונקבה at the beginning of verse 16, mean that these animals appeared at the last possible moment before the commencement of the deluge, and that they were welcomed by Noach who had entered the ark by that time. These animals had been driven by a divine inspiration to behave as they did at that time. Our verse is somewhat abbreviated and means: “all those who came to Noach as males and females of all flesh, Noach let into the ark because G’d had so commanded him.” The meaning of the words שניים, שניים in the previous verse is that G’d had commanded these animals to present themselves in pairs, male and female. It is possible that the words ויעש נח, as well as ונח בן שש מאות שנה, in verses 5-6 and all the subsequent verses up to 11 בשנת שש מאות שנה לחיי נח, “in the sixth hundredth year of Noach’s life,” do not tell us about a separate action at all, but illustrate that Noach complied in every detail with the instructions which he had receive from G’d. Having reported this, the Torah proceeds to inform us about when precisely the deluge began. [Those who prefer to believe that the calendar at that time did not correspond to our calendar nowadays, are reminded that there would be no point in the Torah telling us about such dates unless we could relate to them from our own experience. Ed.] Ibn Ezra explains the words ויבא נח ובניו ואשתו ונשי בניו אתו אל התבה, (7,7) as not meaning that they entered the ark at that time, but that all these animals came to Noach’s house on the 10th of the month, [according to our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 3,6) the beginning of the deluge was postponed at the last moment to allow for the seven days’ mourning for Methuselah who died then to have been observed. Ed.] The words מפני המבול would mean that what prompted these animals to come at that time was that they felt that the disaster called deluge was imminent.