Midrash for Genesis 8:4

(Ps. 36:7:) “Your righteousness (rt.: tsdq) is like the mighty mountains; [Your judgments are like the great deep].” R. Judah bar Simon said, “The charity (rt.: tsdq) which You did with Noah in the ark was like the mighty mountains.³³Lev. R. 27:1. [Thus it is stated (in Gen. 8:4),] ‘And the ark came to rest in the seventh month on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.’ And the judgments are those which You rendered with [his] generation and carried out strictly with them as far as the great deep. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 7:11), ‘on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth.’ Moreover, when You remembered him, You did not remember him alone, as stated (in Gen. 8:1), ‘Then God remembered Noah, all the beasts, and all the cattle […].’” When R. Joshua ben Levi went away to Rome, he saw there two marble columns covered with bedding³⁴Gk.: koitai (“beds”). so that they would neither be cracked in the burning heat nor frozen in the cold.³⁵Above, Gen. 2:8; Gen. R. 33:1; PRK 9:1. He [also] saw there a certain pauper with a reed mat under him and a reed mat over him. With reference to the columns, he read (Ps. 36:7), “Your righteousness (i.e., your charity) is like the mighty mountains.” Indeed, when You give, You bestow abundantly. But with reference to the pauper, he read (ibid., cont.), “and Your judgments are like the great deep.” [Indeed,] when You are striking, you deal strictly. What is the meaning of (Ps. 36:7, cont.), “You save man and beast, O Lord.” Alexander of Macedon went off to the king of Qatsia beyond the mountains of darkness.³⁶Lev. R. 27:1; PRK 9:1; Tamid 32ab. He arrived at the province named Carthage, which was entirely [inhabited by] women. They came out to meet him. They said to him, “If you wage war with us and are victorious against us, your name will go forth in the world as one who destroyed [a province of] women; and if we wage war with you and conquer you, your name will go forth in the world for having women wage war with you and conquer you. Then you will never again stand up to [another] kingdom.” When he went away, he wrote over the entrance³⁷Gk.: pylai. gate, “I, King Alexander of Macedon, was a fool until I came to the province of Carthage and learned [to take] counsel from women.” He went to another province named Africa. They came out to meet him with golden apples, with golden pomegranates and with golden bread. He said to them, “Is gold eaten in your land?” They said to him, “Was it not like this for you in your own country, why did you come to us?”³⁸Cf. Tamid 32b: “If you wanted [regular] bread, did you have no bread in your own place to eat that you should have taken [to the road] and come here?” He said to them, “I have not come to see your wealth. Rather I have come to see your laws.” While they were sitting [there], two men came before the king for judgment. One said, “Your majesty, I bought a deserted building from this man; and when I cleaned it out, I found a treasure in it. So I said to him, ‘Take your treasure, because I [only] bought a deserted building. I did not buy a treasure.’” But the other said, “Just as you are afraid of a punishment for robbery, so likewise am I afraid of punishment for robbery; for when I sold you the deserted building, I [also] sold you whatever was in it.” The king summoned one of them. He said to him, “Do you have a son?” He said, “Yes.” He called the other one. He said to him, “Do you have a daughter?” He told him, “Yes.” [The king] said to them, “Let them go and marry one another. Then both of them will use up the treasure.” Now Alexander began to be amazed. The king said to him, “What reason do you have to be amazed? For did I not judge well?” He told him, “Yes.” He said to him, “If this case had arisen in your land, what would you have done about it?” He said to him, “We would have taken the head off of this one and off the other one. Then the treasure would go to the house of the king.” He said to him, “But does the sun shine upon you?” He told him, “Yes.” “And does the rain come down upon you?” He told him, “Yes.” “Are there perhaps [some] sheep and goats in your land?” He told him, “Yes.” He said to him, “[Woe to] that man! It is for the sake of the sheep and the goats that the sun shines for you and that the rain comes down upon you. So it for the sake of the [flocks] that you are saved.” Thus it is written (in Ps. 36:7, cont.), “You save human and beast, O Lord.” For the sake of the beast does the Lord save man. Israel said, “Master of the world, we are like man; [but] save us like beasts,³⁹Unlike humans, cattle are not responsible for what they do wrong. since we are drawn after You like beasts, as stated (in Cant. 1:4), “Draw me after you […].” Where are we drawn after You? To the Garden of Eden, as stated (in Ps. 36:9), “They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You have them drink at the river of Your Edens.” R. Eleazar bar Menahem said, “’Your Eden’ (in the singular) is not written here, but ‘Your Edens,’ because each and every righteous person has an Eden for himself.” (Ps. 36:7, cont.:) “You save human and beast, O Lord.” R. Isaac said, “The ordinance for humanity and the ordinance for the beast are one. An ordinance for humanity is (Lev. 12:3), ‘And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.’ And an ordinance for the beast is (Lev. 22:27), ‘and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable.’”

Another interpretation (of Exod. 25:3): AND THIS IS THE PRIESTLY SHARE…: [GOLD, SILVER, AND BRONZE]. GOLD corresponds to the kingdom of Babylon, concerning which is written (in Dan. 2:38): YOU (Nebuchadnezzar) ARE THE HEAD OF GOLD.²¹Tanh., Exod. 7:7; cf. Exod. R. 35:5; above, 3:15. SILVER: This denotes the kingdom of Media, concerning which is written (in Esth. 3:9): THREE THOUSAND TALENTS OF SILVER.²²The money was to be Haman’s payment into the treasury of the king of the Persians and Medes. AND BRONZE: This denotes the kingdom of Greece, which was the least of them all. (Exod. 25:5:) REDDENED (rt.: 'DM) RAM SKINS. This denotes the kingdom of Edom, as stated (in Gen. 25:25): THE FIRST (i.e., Esau) CAME FORTH RUDDY (rt: 'DM).²³See also above, Gen. 8:4. The Holy One said: Although you have seen these four kingdoms exalting over you, by your life, I am producing salvation for you out of the midst of slavery. What is written next (in Exod. 25:6)? OIL FOR LIGHTING (ma'or). What is the meaning of LIGHTING? This denotes the Messianic (Mashiah) King, as stated (in Ps. 132:17): THERE I WILL MAKE A HORN SPROUT FOR DAVID; [I HAVE PREPARED A LAMP FOR MY ANOINTED ONE (Mashiah)].²⁴Below, 8:6. When Daniel saw these [four] kingdoms, he was afraid. It is so stated (in Dan. 7:15): AS FOR ME, DANIEL, MY SPIRIT WAS DISTURBED <WITHIN ME; AND THE VISION OF MY HEAD ALARMED ME>. What did Daniel see? It is simply that, when Nebuchadnezzar saw the dream, Daniel came and interpreted it for him. He said to him (in Dan. 2:38): YOU (Nebuchadnezzar) ARE THE HEAD OF GOLD. (Dan. 2:32:) <THE HEAD OF THAT STATUE WAS OF FINE GOLD;> ITS BREAST AND ITS ARMS WERE OF SILVER. This <silver> denotes the kingdom of Babylon.²⁵Cf. the Oxford MS, marked, “Michael 577, no. 155”; Codex Vaticanus, Ebr., 34; and the parallels in Tanh., Exod. 7:7 and Exod. R. 35:5. They all read here, “Kingdom of Media,” and identify the other kingdoms to fit this rendering. (Dan. 2:39:) BUT ANOTHER KINGDOM SHALL ARISE AFTER YOU, INFERIOR TO YOU. (Dan. 2:32:) ITS BELLY AND ITS THIGHS WERE OF BRONZE. This denotes the kingdom of Media. (Dan. 2:39, cont.:) THEN YET A THIRD KINGDOM, ONE OF BRONZE, WHICH SHALL RULE OVER THE WHOLE EARTH. (Dan. 2:33:) ITS LEGS WERE OF IRON. This denotes the kingdom of Greece. (Dan. 2:40, 42:) BUT THE FOURTH KINGDOM SHALL BE AS STRONG AS IRON<….> {AND ITS} [THE] FEET²⁶The Masoretic Text renders, “AND THE TOES OF THE FEET.” WERE PARTLY {OF} IRON AND PARTLY {OF} CLAY. This is Edom. Why was it likened to iron and clay? Our masters have said: This wicked kingdom is going to use clay coinage.

[Another interpretation] (of Ps. 36:7 [6]): YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS LIKE THE MIGHTY MOUNTAINS; < YOUR JUDGMENTS ARE LIKE THE GREAT DEEP >. R. Judah bar Simon said: The righteous act which you did with Noah in the ark was LIKE THE MIGHTY MOUNTAINS.⁴¹Tanh., Lev. 8:6; Lev. R. 27:1. [Thus it is stated] (in Gen. 8:4): AND THE ARK CAME TO REST IN THE SEVENTH MONTH, ON THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH, UPON THE MOUNTAINS OF ARARAT. And the JUDGMENTS are those which you rendered with his generation and carried out strictly with them as far as THE GREAT DEEP. [Thus it is stated] (in Gen. 7:11): ON THAT DAY ALL THE SPRINGS OF THE GREAT DEEP BURST FORTH. Moreover, when you remembered him, you did not remember him alone, as stated (in Gen. 8:1): THEN GOD REMEMBERED NOAH, ALL THE BEASTS, AND ALL THE CATTLE.