Kommentar zu Bereschit 8:4

בחדש השביעי IN THE SEVENTH MONTH — viz., Sivan, which is the seventh from Kislev in which the rains stopped falling.

AND THE ARK RESTED IN THE SEVENTH MONTH, ON THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH. Rashi wrote: “From here you may infer that the ark was submerged in the water to a depth of eleven cubits.” This he wrote on the basis of the calculation written in his commentaries, and it is so found in Bereshith Rabbah.¹¹⁰33:10. But since in certain places Rashi minutely examines Midrashic traditions and for the same verses also takes the trouble to explain the simple meanings of Scripture, he has thus given us permission to do likewise for there are seventy ways of interpreting the Torah,¹¹¹Midrash Othiyoth d’Rabbi Akiba. and there are many differing Midrashim among the words of the Sages. And so I say that this calculation which they have mentioned does not fit into the language of Scripture unless we bear with that which explains And the ark rested in the seventh month as referring to that day mentioned above [in Verses 2-3] when the rain was withheld and the waters receded from the earth and decreased continually. [This interpretation of the seventh month is] unlike the counting of the second month¹¹²Above, 7:11. mentioned in the beginning of the section, [which Rashi explains there as being “the second month” of the creation calendar], and unlike the counting stated at the end of the section [in Verse 13: in the first month, which Rashi similarly explains as being “the first month” of the creation calendar]! And how is it possible that in the second verse Scripture should immediately retract [from using the withholding of the rain as a reference point for counting] and state, until the tenth month,¹¹³Verse 5. and proceed to another reference point, counting it, as Rashi explains, as the tenth month with reference to the coming of the rains!
The evidence Rashi brings from the submergence of the ark in the waters is no proof for he attributes an equal decrease of water to each of the days — namely, a cubit every four days — and it is known in nature concerning the decrease of water that a great river which decreases at first a cubit every four days will at the end decrease four cubits in a day. Thus according to this calculation of Rashi, on the first day of the month of Ab the tops of the mountains were seen,¹¹⁴Rashi, ibid. and on the first day of Tishri the earth dried.¹¹⁵Rashi, Verse 13. Thus in sixty days the waters decreased the entire height of the high mountains consisting of many thousands of cubits, [surely a greater rate than four cubits a day, as Rashi would have it]! Besides, when Noah sent forth the dove on the seventeenth day of the month of Ellul,¹¹⁶The raven was sent by Noah forty days after the tops of the mountains were seen on the first day of Ab. (See Verses 5-6). This brings us to the tenth of Ellul. Seven days later, on the seventeenth day of Ellul, he sent forth the dove. the waters were yet on the face of the entire earth,¹¹⁷Verse 9. and the trees were covered, and in a matter of twelve days¹¹⁸From the eighteenth of Ellul to the first of Tishri is a period of twelve days. the whole earth dried! And by way of reason, if the ark was submerged in the waters eleven cubits, that being more than a third of its height [which was thirty cubits],¹¹⁹Above, 6:15. it would have sunk because it was wide at the bottom and finished to a cubit at the top,¹²⁰Ibid., Verse 16. contrary to the structure of ships, and there was also in it great weight!
From the simple interpretation of Scripture it appears that the hundred and fifty days mentioned in connection with the prevailing of the waters¹²¹Above, 7:24. include the forty days of the coming down of the rains¹²²Ibid., Verse 12. since the main increase and prevailing of the waters took place during these days. Thus the waters began decreasing on the seventeenth day of Nisan,¹²³From the seventeenth day of Cheshvan (the beginning of the rains) to the seventeenth day of Nisan there are 150 days. This is contrary to Rashi, who said that the decrease of the waters began forty days later on the first of Sivan. and thirty days later — the seventeenth day of the month Iyar,¹²⁴According to Rashi this was on the seventeenth of Sivan. which was the seventh month from the time the rain began to fall¹²⁵According to Rashi, “the seventh month,” mentioned in connection with the resting of the ark upon the Ararat mountains, was the seventh month after the rains stopped, as explained above. — the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. Seventy-three days later, on the first of Ab, which was the tenth month from the time the rain began to fall, the tops of the mountains were seen. We have thus made a small correction in the interpretation of the language of Scripture, [namely, that all counting begins from the time the rain began to fall].
But the correct interpretation appears to me to be that the hundred and fifty days¹²¹Above, 7:24. were from the seventeenth day of the second month, namely, the month of Marcheshvan, to the seventeenth day of the seventh month, namely, the month of Nisan, and that was the day when the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat.¹²⁶This is unlike his opinion above that the ark rested thirty days after the seventeenth of Nisan. For then G-d caused a strong east wind to pass all the night and made the waters dry land,¹²⁷Exodus 14:21. Also see Verse 1 here in Chapter 8. meaning that they decreased very much, and the ark rested. The proof for this is that Scripture does not say here, “and the waters decreased on such a month and on such a day and the waters decreased continually until the seventh month, and the ark rested, etc.,” as it said concerning the other decrease when the tops of the mountains were seen, for on the very day the waters began decreasing, the ark rested. The order of events in this matter was thus: on the day the rain began to fall all the fountains of the great deep were broken up,¹¹²Above, 7:11. and the windows of the heavens were opened and the rain came down for forty days. During that time the waters prevailed fifteen cubits above¹²⁸Above, 7:19. [the summits of all the mountains]. The rain stopped at the end of forty days, but “the fountains of the deep” and “the windows of the heavens” remained open. The atmosphere was very damp, and the whole earth was full of water, not like waters poured down a precipice,¹²⁹See Micah 1:4. nor ever to become dried. And they stood thus in their power until one hundred and fifty days from the day the rain began were completed. Then G-d caused a very powerful wind to pass through the heavens and over the earth, and the fountains of the deep were stopped¹³⁰Verses 1-2. for the water that flowed from them returned to its place until the deep filled up as it was before the flood, and the openings of its fountains were locked, as were “the windows of the heavens.” And the air was dried very much by a drying wind, and the water on the earth was licked up.¹³¹See I Kings 18:38. Thus the waters decreased exceedingly on that day, and the ark, which was submerged in the waters about two to three cubits, rested. Seventy-three days after that — on the first day of the tenth month, namely, the month of Tammuz — the tops of the mountains were seen. At the end of forty additional days — on the tenth day of the eleventh month, Ab — Noah opened the window of the ark, and three weeks later the dove left him; thirty days later, he removed the covering of the ark.

ותנח התבה בחדש השביעי, this is the month of Sivan being the seventh month counting from the end of the rain descending which occurred in Kislev. Even though, as we know, the rains had begun to fall in the month of Marcheshvan, the Torah speaks here of a count beginning in Kislev seeing that the end of the rains and the end of the ark floating around have something in common in terms of stages of the deluge ending.
על הרי אררט, perhaps those were the tallest mountain range, or it happened that the ark was in that region on the day in question. At any event, the mountain range of Ararat is one of the highest mountain ranges that we know of. What is clear is that lower mountain ranges on earth did not become visible to people in the ark until the tenth month. The meaning of the line is that the process of the waters diminishing continued progressively until at the beginning of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible. These “mountains” were actually only hills. The process continued unabated. The “tenth” month mentioned here was the month of Av, seeing it was the tenth month counting from the month during which the rains had started, Marcheshvan.

ותנח התבה בחודש השביעי, “the ark came to rest in the seventh month.” According to Rashi this was the month of Sivan, and we would learn from this information that the keel of the ark was submerged in the water by 11 cubits (approx 6.6 meters) Nachmanides confirms that Rashi’s explanation follows Bereshit Rabbah He adds that seeing that Rashi himself frequently takes issue with such Midrashim in light of the dictum that on the one hand there are 70 facets to the written Torah, whereas at the same time we must establish the plain meaning of the text, (a major concern of Rashi), we too may also be permitted to emphasise another aspect of our verse. The difficulty with Rashi’s explanation is that he counts the words “in the seventh month,” as referring to a date, as the seventh month after the original rains had stopped at which time the waters had already begun to recede; how can the Torah immediately afterwards refer to the first of the month of the 601st year of Noach’s life (8,13) where clearly the reference must be to the first month of the calendar year, i.e. the first of Tishrey? How could the Torah switch its terms of reference and confuse its readers? Besides, whence do we have proof that the keel of the ark was submerged by 11 cubits? This calculation appears based on Rashi’s assumption that the waters receded at a constant speed of 1 cubit every four days, seeing that the keel of the ark had been reported as above the highest mountain by 15 cubits (7,20). From the 1st of Sivan till the first of Av there are 60 days. If the ark, as reported, ran aground on the17th of the seventh month, and the summits of the highest mountains became visible once more, how could the surface of the earth become dry by the first of Tishrey according to Rashi’s calculation, seeing that many mountains were thousands of cubits high? According to the calculation of Rashi all this took place within 13 days (from the 17th of the seventh month counting from Kislev, as interpreted verse 4) Furthermore, from a mariner’s point of view, a vessel which is more than one third submerged in water (the ark’s total height being 30 cubits), is not really capable of navigating waters, too much of its weight being under the water’s surface. In view of the problems of Rashi’s interpretation, Nachmanides understands that the 150 days which the Torah describes the waters as being turbulent and rising, commence by including the 40 days of rain, so that these days concluded on the 17th of Iyar, seeing that the major flooding took place during the 40 days of incessant rainfall. 73 days after the 17th of Iyar on the first of the tenth month, i.e. the first of Av. This was the tenth month after the beginning of the rainfall, the tops of the mountains becoming visible. Another approach to the report of the dates in the Torah, and this is the correct approach according to Nachmanides, is that the 150 days certainly commenced with the 17th of the second month (Marcheshvan) the day the deluge began, and ended on the 17th day in Nissan (which is the seventh month after Tishrey, which is the first month of the year.) On this day the ark came to rest on Mount Arrarat, for then G’d made a strong easterly wind blow (verse 1).This wind dried out the surface of the earth.(The wind accelerated the lowering of the water level dramatically.) Until the Exodus from Egypt all of mankind considered the first of Tishrey as New Year. Only immediately prior the Exodus from Egypt did G’d command the Jewish people to henceforth count “their” years from the first of the month of Nissan. [concerning matters which they did not have in common with mankind as a whole, Ed.] Proof that this approach is correct is the fact that the Torah does not mention that the waters decreased by a certain amount on a certain day during a specific month. Such details were reserved for the second stage of the recovery after the waters had peaked, such as when the Torah mentions the date on which the highest mountain peaks once again became visible. The sequence in which the various stages occurred was as follows: on the day the rain started falling on earth, the fountains of the earth below also opened and added huge amounts of water which flooded the surface of the earth. The atmosphere became extremely saturated with moisture. The flooding of the earth continued at this level for 150 days. At that point G’d made a strong wind sweep over the earth that accounted for a sudden and substantial drop of the water level on earth as well as a drying of the atmosphere. The water level dropped so much on that day as a result of that wind that the ark landed on top of Mount Arrarat on that same day. Prior to that the ark’s keel had been submerged by 2-3 cubits. 73 days later, on the first of the month of Tamuz, the tenth month of the year, the tops of various mountains became visible. 40 days later, on the tenth of Av, Noach opened the window of the ark for the first time and three weeks later on the first day of Ellul he dispatched the dove for the first time. 40 days later he decided to remove the roof of the ark. The meaning of the words (verse 1) “G’d made a wind sweep the earth so that the waters calmed,” is something that occurred simultaneously with the retreat of the subterranean waters into the bowels of the earth. You will note that the Torah speaks of a wind sweeping over the earth, not over the water.

Which is the seventh month from Kislev, in which the rain stopped. The counting cannot start from the rainfall, as it is not logical that the count of 150 days includes forty of rain and [110] of powerful waters. It must be either rain alone or powerful waters alone. Since it cannot be rain alone [see 7:17], it must be powerful waters alone. Thus they were two separate periods and did not finish until Sivan 1.

.בחודש השביעי, “in the seventh month.” The “seventh” month mentioned here is the month of Sivan starting with Kislev, the month during which the rains had ceased. On the tenth of the first month (verse 5) the first mountain tops became visible to Noach. This was the month of Av in our calendar, which is the tenth month of the year starting with Cheshvan the month during which the rain started falling. This is how Rashi understands the text of the Torah. If you were to argue that the year of the deluge could have been a year which had 13 months, something easily computed, the whole calculation is erroneous. From the data in the Torah, 1656 years had elapsed since the creation of Adam. We observe a cycle of 19 years during which 7 years are leap years, i.e. years of 13 months. A calculation would reveal that the year of the deluge would have been the third leap year during such a cycle. The result would be that the month of Sivan would not be the seventh but the eighth month of that particular year. According to this calculation the deluge would have commenced instead of in the 1656th year, in the year following. A different interpretation of the data provided by the Torah: The calculation of the year of the deluge is based on the year of tohu, the period preceding the creation of Adam. If so the year of the deluge was not a leap year. A third possible approach to the data provided by the Torah on the timing of the deluge: the year of the deluge was not included in calendar calculations of world history, according to Rabbi Yochanan in B’reshit Rabbah 33,3, as the planets in heaven did not describe their regular orbits during that period. Rabbi Yonathan responded to that statement by Rabbi Yochanan, that while the planets did not perform their function during that year, this does not mean that the year is to be considered as not having occurred.

בשבעה עשר יום ON THE SEVENTEENTH DAY — From here you may infer that the Ark was submerged in the water to a depth of eleven cubits. For it is written (next verse) “In the tenth month on the first day of the month the tops of the mountains were seen” and this was Ab which is the tenth month after Cheshvan — after the rain began to fall. Now the waters were 15 cubits high above the mountains so that they subsided from the first of Sivan to the first of Ab 15 cubits for those 60 intervening days, which is one cubit each four days. Consequently by the sixteenth of Sivan they had subsided only 4 cubits, and since the Ark rested on Ararat on the next day, you may learn that it was submerged eleven cubits in the waters which were then still above the mountain tops (Genesis Rabbah 33:7).

AND G-D MADE A WIND TO PASS OVER THE EARTH.¹³²Verse 1. This means that there was a great and powerful wind coming out from the bowels of the earth over the face of the deep and hovering over the waters, and the fountains of the deep were stopped thereby. This is so since Scripture does not say, “and G-d made a wind to pass over the waters.”

Immersed eleven amohs in the water. Meaning: at least eleven amohs were immersed, maybe more. For there might be mountains higher than those of Ararat, and the ark did not come to a rest earlier because it did not reach those mountains. (R. Yaakov Taryosh)

ותנח התבה בחדש השביעי בשבעה עשר יום, “the ark came to rest on the seventeenth day of the seventh month.” According to Rashi, we learn from this verse that the ark was deep in the water to a depth of 11 cubits. If you were to counter that the Torah reported that the tops of the mountains had become visible on the first day of Av, and that by the first day of Tishrey nature had resumed to function as usual, as we know from verse 13, this would suggest that during the preceding 60 days the water level had dropped precipitously, and there are certainly many mountains that are higher than 15 cubits, so that the water level must have receded by a whole cubit every four days, how could the ark still have been in eleven cubits of water?We would have to answer that the (air surrounding mountains is measured by different yardsticks than the earth upon which they rise, so that all of the mountains and the waters surrounding them receded totally during those 60 days. The waters in the airspace above the level of the mountains receded at a different rate of speed. Once the waters had dropped below the mountainous regions, they retreated at the rate of one cubit per day. The proof that this interpretation is true is the fact that we do not encounter the expression חסרון, diminution, reduction, when the Torah speaks of the mountain tops having become visible again. This teaches that a minor abatement of the waters was not deemed worthy of comment. Rashi also comments: “if you were to interpret the word שביעי, “seventh month,” as referring to the month of Sivan, as referring to the period during which the waters abated, how could you understand the line: “the ark came to rest in the seventh month of the cumulative abatement of the waters as occurring on the seventeenth of the month?” At that time the waters had not yet even stopped increasing in their inundation of the surface of the earth? We had already proved that the waters inundated progressively more parts of the earth commencing with the cessation of the rain for 150 days! This day only concluded on the first day of Sivan! This was the day when the deluge reached its crest! Every day thereafter was part of the recovery from the deluge. According to Rashi, the relevant dates of the story of the deluge are as follows: “in the second month of the year. i.e. the month of Cheshvan, which according to the Talmud in Rosh Hashanah 12 is the second month of the year, the deluge commenced. According to the compilation of a well known historical text relied upon by our sages, known as seder olam, the sages accepted the view of Rabbi Eliezer concerning the Torah report of the deluge, whereas they accepted the view expressed by Rabbi Joshua, concerning the calculations of the seasons of the year. According to this view both the rains and the opening of subterranean wells commenced on the 17th day of the month of Cheshvan, on the morning of that day. Both events continued until the morning of the 28th day of Kislev. At that point both rain and waters from subterranean parts of the globe ceased, but the inundation was felt as increasing until the ark‘s bottom was 15 cubits above the top of the highest mountain. As a result the ark kept on moving. The process of waters rising continued from the morning of the 28th of Kislev until sundown on the first day of Sivan. This was followed immediately by the verse: ויזכור אלוקים את נח, that G-d remembered Noach, etc. (8,1) revealing that as from that day on the waters receded at the end of 150 days. (verse 3) The ark running aground occurred 7 days later on the 17th day of the seventh month, i.e. the 17th of Sivan.(verse 3). It was the seventh month after the rains had commenced to fall. The waters kept receding after the rains had ceased (verse 5) from the first of Sivan until the month of Av, the tenth month after the rains had commenced descending on the earth. On the first day of the tenth month the tops of the highest mountains became visible. 40 days later on the tenth day of Ellul, Noach opened the window of the ark and sent out the raven. The raven not having returned, Noach sent out the pigeon after having waited for seven days. (according to Rashi). The pigeon returned to the ark not having found a foothold outside of it. Noach waited another seven days before sending out the pigeon again. This time the pigeon returned on the evening of the same day carrying part of an olive leaf in its beak. Some commentators believe that this leaf came from Mount Olives in the land of Israel. (Rabbi Levi in B’reshit Rabbah 33,6 according to the view that the rains did not flood the soil of the Land of Israel) The Scriptural basis for this view is found in Ezekiel 22,24: לא גושמה ביום זעם, “which was not rained upon on the day of anger.” Noach then waited for another seven days before dispatching a pigeon a third time. That time the pigeon did not return to the ark. Immediately after this, the Torah reports, (8,13) that the waters on earth had dried as of the first day of the month of Tishrey in the 601st year of Noach’s life. Finally, on the 27th day of Cheshvan, (57 days later) the soil was dry enough for man and beast to walk on without sinking into mud. Some commentators wonder what forced Rashi to state that the words: “it was at the end of forty days,” in 8,6 refer to 40 days after the tops of the mountains had become visible. If correct, why would the pigeon not have found a foothold on earth then? After all, 47 days had elapsed since that time before Noach sent out the pigeon. Some commentators dismiss this argument saying that since no actual land surfaces were visible, the pigeon did not find a suitable place to rest. We may assume that Rashi accepted the report of the Torah as following events chronologically so that the date on which the pigeon finally decided to remain outside the ark was on the first of Tishrey when the surface of the earth appeared dry, [capable of supporting the weight of a little bird. Ed.] Some commentators begin the count of 150 days from the first day the rains had commenced, i.e. from the 17th day of Cheshvan. Those days accordingly would include the 40 days of incessant rainfall. They consider the seventh month, Iyar as already a month during which the waters receded, just as we consider the tenth month as the month during which the waters receded. Their interpretation of the Torah’s report, commencing with 8,18: “the waters grew more powerful,” is thus: starting with the 17th of Cheshvan the water level on earth kept rising for a continuous 150 days culminating on the 20th day of Nissan. On that day the tide was turned and the waters began to recede. The ark came to rest on Mount Arrarat in the month of Iyar, i.e. the seventh month during which the waters were receding, on the 17th of that month. The waters continued to recede until the tenth month continuously, and during the tenth month of their retreat on the on the first of that month the tops of the tallest mountains became visible. The 15 cubits of water which had covered the tallest mountains for 95 days, between the 20th of Nissan until the 1st day of Av, had retreated at the rate of 1 cubit every 6 and a half days between the 20th of Nissan and the 16th day of Iyar, whereas the 11 cubits of the ark which were beneath the water level, retreated during the 7 days between the 17th of Iyar and the 1st day of Av, at the rate of one cubit every 6 and a half days. Some commentators explain the conclusion of this section in accordance with what we have learned in Seder Olam, which addresses the meaning of the paragraph commencing with: “it was at the end of 40 days (8,6)” as referring to 40 days which commenced with the first day in Sivan and concluded on the 10th day of Tammuz. According to that calculation, Noach immediately opened the window of the ark on that day and dispatched the raven. He then waited for seven days before dispatching the pigeon. He waited another seven days before dispatching the pigeon again. The reason why the pigeon on that occasion did not return was that it had found room on a top of a mountain that had been revealed in the meantime. The day under discussion was the first day of the month of Av, as already mentioned, seeing that the Torah had written that the tops of the mountains became visible on the first of the tenth month (8,5). Av is the tenth month of the year if the month during which the deluge started is considered as the “first month.” According to this method of counting, any part of a month is considered as if it were a full month. On the other hand, the month of Elul is never considered as the tenth month following Kislev during which the rains ceased, for if so, why when Noach dispatched a bird a third time would the pigeon not have returned to the ark seeing that according the calculation the tops of the mountains had not yet reappeared until the first of the month of Elul?Do not query the verse commencing with the words: והמים הלוך וחסור, “and the waters continued to diminish,” (8,5) by asking by what yardstick Noach decided on when to dispatch another bird, this is no problem for once the process of waters receding had commenced until the ark had come to rest on Mount Arrarat, Noach could confidently expect that with the passage of another week the chances of land appearing had increased. Between the first day of Av and the until the first day of Tishrey all the waters remaining from the deluge had been absorbed by the earth, and by the 27th of the month of Cheshvan the earth had become dry enough to walk on and to build on.

AND THE WATERS ASSUAGED (‘VAYASHOKU’).¹³²Verse 1. This means that the waters which were flowing from the deep subsided. It is the same expression as, Then the king’s wrath ‘shachachah’ (assuaged),¹³³Esther 7:10. meaning that his anger subsided. Or it may be that this is an expression of a thing being concealed and swallowed up. Thus the verse teaches that the waters of the deep were swallowed up in their place. And so did the Rabbis say in Seder Olam:¹³⁴Chapter 4. The Seder Olam (Order of the World) is a historical record of events from the time of creation to the destruction of the Second Temple. It was authored by Rabbi Yosei, a disciple of Rabbi Akiba. “The waters that went up were dried by the wind, and those that went down were swallowed in their place.”

AND THE RAINS FROM THE HEAVENS WERE WITHHELD.¹³⁵Verse 2. This means that no more rain came down until they [Noah and his family and all living creatures] went out of the ark for by this wind [which G-d made to pass over the earth] the heavens became as iron.¹³⁶See Leviticus 26:19. Neither dew nor rain came down, the air lost its moisture, and the waters dried up for the rain of the flood completely stopped after the fortieth day.

AND THE WATERS RETURNED FROM OFF THE EARTH CONTINUALLY.¹³⁷Verse 3. The verse states that the waters decreased gradually until the face of the ground was dried up.¹³⁸Verse 13.
And after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.¹³⁷Verse 3. This is connected with the following verse, And the ark rested,¹³⁹Verse 4. thus stating that on that day there was a great decrease in the waters which enabled the ark to rest [on the mountains of Ararat], as I have explained.