Midrash sur La Genèse 8:20

(Deut. 3:23:) I BESOUGHT THE LORD…. This text is related (to Job 9:22): IT IS ALL ONE; THEREFORE, I SAY: HE DESTROYS THE INNOCENT AND THE WICKED. Moses said: Sovereign of the World, everything is equal before you.¹Tanh., Deut. 2:1. There is one determination for the righteous and for the wicked. Similarly also Solomon says (in Eccl. 9:2): SINCE EVERYTHING <HAPPENS> TO EVERYONE, THE SAME LOT <FALLS> TO THE RIGHTEOUS AND TO THE WICKED, TO THE GOOD, TO THE CLEAN AND TO THE UNCLEAN, TO THE ONE WHO SACRIFICES AND TO THE ONE WHO DOES NOT SACRIFICE. AS IT IS WITH THE GOOD, SO IT IS THE SINNER; THE ONE WHO TAKES AN OATH IS LIKE ONE WHO FEARS AN OATH. (Eccl. 9:2:) TO THE RIGHTEOUS refers to Noah.²Lev. R. 20:1; Eccl. R. 9:2:1; PRK 26:1; cf. Tanh., Lev. 6:1; above, Lev. 6:1. R. Pinhas <said> in the name of R. Johanan, <who spoke> in the name of R. Eleazar the son of R. Jose the Galilean: When Noah came out of the ark, the lion bit him and maimed him so that he became unfit to offer sacrifice; so his son Shem offered sacrifice in his place.³Contrary to Gen. 8:20. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) AND TO THE WICKED refers to Pharaoh Necho. When he wanted to sit on Solomon's throne <and> did not know its mechanism,⁴Gk.: manganon. a lion which was on the throne⁵I Kings 10:19-20 = II Chron. 9:18-19. bit him and maimed him. The former died with a limp, and the latter died with a limp. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) TO THE GOOD refers to Moses, as stated (in Exod. 2:2): AND WHEN SHE SAW THAT HE WAS GOOD, in that he was born circumcised.⁶Sot. 12a; Exod. R. 1:20. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) TO THE CLEAN refers to Aaron, who would cleanse the sins of Israel. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) AND TO THE UNCLEAN refers to the spies. The one group (i.e., the spies) uttered slander against the land of Israel, while the other (i.e., Moses and Aaron) uttered praise for the land of Israel; <still> the former did not enter <the land>, nor did the latter enter it. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) TO THE ONE WHO SACRIFICES refers to Josiah, as stated (in II Chron. 35:7): THEN JOSIAH DONATED TO THE LAY PEOPLE A FLOCK OF LAMBS <AND KIDS, ALL FOR PASSOVER SACRIFICES>. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) AND TO THE ONE WHO DOES NOT SACRIFICE refers to Ahab, who abolished the sacrifices from upon the altar, since this is what is written (in II Chron. 18:2): WHERE AHAB SLAUGHTERED SHEEP AND CATTLE FOR HIM <IN ABUNDANCE>, (ibid.:) FOR HIM (i.e., for Jehoshaphat) as a feast and not for sacrificial offerings. <Nevertheless> the former died by arrows, as written (in II Chron. 35:23): THEN THE ARCHERS SHOT KING JOSIAH,⁷Cf. yQid. 1:7 (61a); Ta‘an 23b; MQ 28b; Sanh. 48:b. and the latter died by arrows, as written (in I Kings 22:34 = II Chron. 18:33): BUT A CERTAIN MAN DREW HIS BOW AT RANDOM <AND STRUCK THE KING OF ISRAEL>. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) AS IT IS FOR THE GOOD refers to David, of whom it is stated (in I Sam. 16:12): WITH BEAUTIFUL EYES AND A GOOD APPEARANCE. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) SO IT IS THE SINNER refers to Nebuchadnezzar, of whom it is written (in Dan. 4:24 [27]): ATONE FOR YOUR SINNING THROUGH RIGHTEOUSNESS. The former built the Temple and reigned forty years. The latter destroyed the Temple and reigned forty years. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) THE ONE WHO TAKES AN OATH (without keeping it) refers to Zedekiah, of whom it is written (in II Chron. 36:13): AND HE ALSO REBELLED AGAINST NEBUCHADNEZZAR WHO HAD MADE HIM TAKE AN OATH BY GOD. What was his rebellion?⁸Ned. 65a. Zedekiah discovered Nebuchadnezzar as he was actually eating a live rabbit. Nebuchadnezzar said to Zedekiah: Swear to me that you will not reveal it. He swore to him. In the end he was inwardly sorry. He had his oath absolved and told the five kings who had allowed Nebuchadnezzar to rule over them. When the other kings heard <what he did>, they despised him. Moreover they were saying against him: Should this man be ruling the earth, when he eats live rabbit! When Nebuchadnezzar heard <what they were saying>, he sent to have the Sanhedrin⁹Gk.: Synedrion. and Zedekiah come to him. He said to them: Have you seen what Zedekiah has done to me? <Zedekiah> said to them: I had my oath absolved. He (Nebuchadnezzar) said to the Sanhedrin: Who absolved the oath? They said to him: One absolves <an oath, if there is> danger to one's life. He said to them: When? They said to him: On the same day. <He said to them:> in the presence of him <to whom the oath was sworn> or not in his presence? They said to him: In his presence. <He replied:> But what was the reason for not saying so to Zedekiah? Immediately (in the words of Lam. 2:10): THE ELDERS OF THE DAUGHTERS OF ZION SIT ON THE GROUND AND SILENCE. R. Isaac said: <This teaches that> they removed the pillows and cushions from beneath them. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) LIKE ONE WHO FEARS AN OATH. This refers to Samson, {since it says (in Jud. 15:12):} [THEN SAMSON SAID] TO THEM. SWEAR TO ME THAT YOU YOURSELVES WILL NOT ATTACK ME. From here <we know> that he feared an oath. The former died with his eyes gouged out, and the latter died with his eyes gouged out. [The latter died with his eyes gouged out] according to what is stated (in II Kings 25:7 = Jer. 39:7 = Jer. 52:11): THEN HE PUT OUT ZEDEKIAH'S EYES. This was one of seven who were like the first Adam <in one feature>.¹⁰Cf. Sot. 10a. <In the case of> Zedekiah <it was> because of his eyes. So for they thrust iron lances¹¹Gk.: logchai. into his eyes, but his eyes were not put out until they slaughtered his children before his eyes. It is so stated (in Jer. 39:6 = Jer. 52:10 // II Kings 25:7): AND THE KING OF BABYLON SLAUGHTERED <THE CHILDREN OF ZEDEKIAH BEFORE HIS EYES (AT RIBLAH)>. Samson also [died with his eyes gouged out, as stated (in Jud. 16:21):] SO THE PHILISTINES SEIZED HIM AND GOUGED OUT HIS EYES.

Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. This verse alludes to Noah. How is that? Of every clean beast thou shall take to thee seven and seven, and of beasts that are unclean two and two (Gen. 7:2), but when the time comes to depart from the ark, it is written: He took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar (ibid. 8:20), even though he had not been commanded to do so. Noah said to himself: The Holy One, blessed be He, told me to take a greater number of clean beasts than of unclean ones. He must have done this so that I might offer them as burnt offerings and sacrifices. Therefore he took of every clean beast, and every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. Hence, Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning (Prov. 9:9).

And Noah and his sons dwelt in the land that the Lord pointed out to them, and they served ‎the Lord through all the days of their lives. And the Lord blessed Noah and his sons when they ‎left the ark, and the Lord said unto them: Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. And ‎become powerful and very numerous in the whole earth. And these are the names of the ‎sons of Noah: Japheth, Ham and Shem. And children were born unto them after the flood, for ‎they had taken unto themselves wives before the flood. And these are the names of the sons ‎of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras; ‎seven sons. And the sons of Gomer were: Ashkinaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons ‎of Magog were: Elichalof, and Labab. And the sons of Madai were: Achon, and Zeelo, and ‎Chazoni, and Lot. And the sons of Javan were: Elisha, and Tarshish, and Kittim, and Dadanim. ‎And the sons of Tubal were: Ariphi, and Kesed, and Taari. And the sons of Meshech were: ‎Dedan, and Zaron and Shebashni. And the sons of Tiras were: Benib, and Ghera, and Luperion, ‎and Ghelae. These are the sons of Japheth according to their families, and their numbers in ‎those days were about four hundred and sixty men. And these are the sons of Ham: Cush, and ‎Mizrain, and Phut, and Canaan, four sons. And the sons of Cush were: Seba, and Havilah, and ‎Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah were Sheba, and Dedan, and ‎Mizrain begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, and Pathrusim, and Cas ‎luchim, and Caphtorim. And the sons of Phut were: Ghebut, and Hadon, and Benah, and Adon. ‎And the sons of Canaan were: Sidon, and Heth, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, and the ‎Hivite and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. ‎These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, and their numbers in those days were ‎about seven hundred and thirty men. And these are the sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and ‎Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, five sons. And the sons of Elam were: Shushan, and Mahul and ‎Harmon. And the sons of Asshur were: Miros and Makil. And the sons of Arphaxad were: ‎Salah, and Aner, and Ash kol. And the sons of Lud were: Peter and Bizon. And the sons of ‎Aram were: Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. These are the sons of Ham according to their ‎families, and their numbers were in those days about three hundred families. These are the ‎generations of Shem: Shem begat Arphaxad, and Arphaxad begat. Selah, and Selah begat ‎Eber; and unto Eber were born two sons, the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the sons ‎of man became divided, and in his last days the earth also was divided; and his brother's name ‎was Joktan, because in his days the duration of the life of the sons of man became short ‎vened and lessened. And these are the sons of Joktan: Almodad, and Sheleph, and ‎Hazarmaveth, and Yerah, and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, and Obal, and Abimael, and ‎Sheba, and Ophir, and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. And his brother ‎Peleg begat Reu, and Reu begat Serug, and Serug begat Nahor, and Nahor begat Terah. And ‎Terah was eighty-three years old when he begat Haran and Nahor.‎