창세기 6:9의 주석

These are the generations of Noah. Noah etc. The text wants to praise Noah for having been whole from his beginning until his end. And this is why it is said, "These are the generations of Noah. Noah..." This intends to emphasize [Noah's wholeness] from his beginning until his end, he was of one value and of singularly similar acts. And an explanation for this reason that the text says "A righteous man he was in his generations" is that he was as such in generations when people are not seen as righteous--throughout all of this, as if in all of his generations, both in the generation of his youth and in the generation of his old age. Throughout them all, he was of one character. He was a righteous man in all of the generations that passed over him. And the text says "complete" (tamim), for he was not like some of the righteous people who have erred and in the end changed course and turned over (towards righteousness). Rather, he had always been 'complete,' for he had no blemish or perversion. And, if you were to say, "How is it possible for him to have had this [quality]?" Then, say that the reason for this is "Noah walked with God." This is to say, that he never had any dealing with a human creature, but he would spend all day alone [i.e., with God]. And for this, he had the power to be saved from those [humans] and did not sin at all. Proof has been brought for his isolation, for the whole world had engaged in sexually illicit actions, and that is how they had many sons and daughters, and, as such, it says, "It was when the human species began to increase." Indeed, Noah did not produce offspring until he had reached 600 years of age, and all that he produced was three sons and nothing more, and all of this is to teach about his isolation. And for this, the text doubly mentioned their generations here, for the text said indeed, "in all of the world," and this is why the text said, "the land became corrupt etc."

אלה תולדת נח נח איש צדיק THESE ARE THE PROGENY OF NOAH: NOAH WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN — Since the text mentions him it sings his praise, in accordance with what is said, (Proverbs 10:7) “The mention of the righteous shall be for a blessing.” Another explanation is: since after stating “These are the progeny of Noah”, it does not at once mention the names of his children but declares that he “was a righteous man”, Scripture thereby teaches you that the real progeny of righteous people are their good deeds (Genesis Rabbah 30:6).

THESE ARE ‘TOLDOTH’ NOAH. Commentators¹Ibn Ezra and R’dak. These commentators felt the difficulty in explaining toldoth to mean “progeny” or “generations” since it further states, And Noah begot three sons. have explained the word toldoth to mean “his experiences” [or “his events”] much the same as the sense of: what a day ‘yeiled’ (may bring forth).²Proverbs 27:1.
In this way the word toldoth refers to the entire section [since all the events of the flood are occurrences in the life of Noah]. But this does not appear to me to be correct since the external events in the life of a person, [over which he has no control], are not his toldoth.
The correct interpretation is that the word toldoth here retains its literal meaning of “progeny,” just as, These are ‘toldoth’ (the progeny of) the sons of Noah;³Genesis 10:1. And these are ‘toldoth’ (the progeny of) Ishmael.⁴Ibid., 25:12. Thus Scripture is saying, “These are the progeny of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
Scripture however repeats, And Noah begot three sons,⁵Verse 10. because [at the end of the first verse] it interrupted by saying, Noah was a righteous man, and whole-hearted, in order to inform us why He commanded him concerning the ark. And even though Scripture has already stated above, And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth,⁶Above, 5:32. it returns to mention them a second time in order to relate that Noah was unlike all his ancestors who begot daughters and sons. This is the meaning of the words, three sons;⁵Verse 10. Scripture mentions their number in order to say that these three alone were his progeny, and they were saved by his merit, and by them was the whole earth overspread.⁷Genesis 9:19.

אלה תולדות נח, his later descendants.

אלה תולדת נח, Theses are the generations of Noach. When the Torah uses the term "these," it usually intends to exclude something, i.e. "these generations and not any others." In this instance there was no need for the Torah to use the term "these," as we already know that all the generations were doomed. For this reason the sages understand the word to teach us that the principal "generations," i.e. descendants of a person, are man's good deeds. They therefore read the verse as if there were no comma between the words נח, נח to indicate that Noach's descendants were his good deeds (Bereshit Rabbah 30,6). The Midrash was careful to say that the "principal" descendants of the righteous are their good deeds; naturally they also have other descendants. When the good deeds of Noach are described by the word אלה, this is only in contrast with those of the word תולדת at the beginning of chapter 5.

אלה תולדות נח, נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו, the meaning of the word תולדות is similar to “history of,” i.e. this it what happened to Noach, etc. It concerns both the deluge and what came after. We encounter the same pattern when the Torah introduced a paragraph with the words אלה תולדות יעקב, יוסף in Genesis 37,2 where this is an introduction to history related to Yaakov’s family. In Proverbs 27,1 we have a verse concluding with the words “the day will give birth to.” The root ילד is the root of the word תולדה and תולדות, i.e. it refers to future developments. Developments are matters that are the result of days following one another.

תולדות נח, a reference to his history, commencing with his own life and continuing with that of his offspring.

אלה תולדות נח, “these are the offspring of Noach.” Some commentators understand the word תולדות as referring to important events in the life of Noach, similar to Genesis 10,1 ואלה תולדת בני נח, or אלה תולדות השמים in Genesis The fact that the Torah repeated the words ויולד נח וגו', that Noach begat 3 sons, information we had been told already in Genesis 5,32 is due to the interruption of the Torah’s narrative by telling us that Noach was a righteous man and that this accounted for his and his family being spared during the deluge. Seeing that Noach begat only three sons, as opposed to most of his contemporaries, the Torah wishes to emphasise this point. Even during the 350 years which he lived on after the deluge he sired no more children. These three sons alone were his biological offspring and they were saved because of that (not their own merit).

Since it mentions him, it tells of his praiseworthiness. The Re’m writes that Scripture repeats Noach’s progeny here, though it already mentioned it in the last Parshah, to tell us that he fathered only these — he did not have more children later, who were unworthy of entering the ark. But the Nachalas Yaakov disagrees, since Rashi explained above (5:32) that Noach did not begin to have children until age 500 so they would still be young at the time of the Flood and thus be saved even if they were wicked. Rather, the Torah mentions his progeny again here to tell us that they were righteous. For it says here אלה תולדות, [rather than ואלה], thereby disqualifying what preceeded: the generation of the Flood. [See Rashi on ואלה המשפטים, Shemos 21:1.] In other words, Noach’s progeny are called תולדות but those of the generation of the Flood do not deserve to be called תולדות.

אלה תולדת נח. Wie oben mit אלה תולדת השמים והארץ eine neue Reihe der Entwicklungen eingeführt wird, so hier eine neue Reihe der Menschenentwicklung. Die bisherige Menschheit geht ihrem Untergang entgegen. Noa ist ein zweiter Adam und steht an der Spitze eines neuen Menschengeschlechts.

אלה תולדת נח נח, “these are the generations of Noach, Noach;” why has the name of Noach been repeated here twice? He was exemplary vis a vis spiritual beings in the heavenly spheres as well as vis a vis his contemporaries on earth. (B’reshit Rabbah, 30,4) The meaning is to tell us that whenever we encounter such a construction of a person’s name appearing twice in a row, it is to remind us that the person concerned was a righteous person. An example for this is found in Genesis 2,11, where the name Avraham appears twice in a row. This interpretation has been challenged in the Jerusalem Talmud where it is pointed out that we find the same repetition of a man’s name applied to Avraham’s father Terach, a renowned idolater and seller of heathen images (Genesis 11,27) The answer provided by B’reshit Rabbah is that Terach, though an idolater had become a penitent. It is this very fact that convinced our sages that he had become a penitent before his death. This also explains why Avraham was told by G–d in Genesis 15,15, that he would join his fathers in the hereafter.

אלה תולדות נח, “These are the descendants of Noach;” according to B’reshit Rabbah 30,3, whenever a paragraph commences with the word: אלה, this is equivalent to dissociating what occurs from then on with what had been discussed previously; Noach, was not a continuation of the history of mankind up until now, but represents a 180 degree turn from that history. Whereas the generations prior to him progressed toward their destruction, he represented a new beginning for mankind. He founded a new type of human being.

בדורותיו IN HIS GENERATIONS — Some of our Rabbis explain it (this word) to his credit: he was righteous even in his generation; it follows that had he lived in a generation of righteous people he would have been even more righteous owing to the force of good example. Others, however, explain it to his discredit: in comparison with his own generation he was accounted righteous, but had he lived in the generation of Abraham he would have been accounted as of no importance (cf. Sanhedrin 108a).

צדיק, in his deeds,

נח, the name occurs three times in the same verse, when a single mention of his name would have sufficed. In Numbers 8,19 the name בני ישראל occurs 5 times in one verse. According to Tanchuma 5 on our parshah such apparently needless repetitions are an expression of special affection by the writer for the subject described. Such formulations are referred to by Rashi in Numbers 8,19), as well as by Ibn Ezra as צחות הלשון, “stylistic purity.” [repeating Noach’s name 3 times indicates his popularity with G’d at that time. Ed.]

איש צדיק תמים היה, “he was a perfectly righteous man.” The meaning of the expression צדיק תמים is that he was a righteous man among other righteous men, i.e. had been found righteous when coming up for judgment. When a person such as Noach is found righteous, his erstwhile sins, potential causes for punishment, are converted into righteousness. This is the meaning of the verse (Deut. 25,1) והצדיקו את הצדיק והרשיעו את הרשע, “they (the judges) will exonerate the righteous (totally) and condemn the wicked.” In the case of Avraham, of whom G’d said that He knows him to be practicing and teaching צדקה ומשפט, (Genesis 18,18) He bestowed two kinds of praise upon him, צדקה, a practicing צדיק, and משפט, the meting out of משפט by tempering it with mercy, רחמים. Ibn Ezra understands the word צדיק as referring to Noach’s deeds, and תמים as referring to his motivation. [his righteousness was not prompted by self-serving considerations. Ed.] When the Torah continues that Noach walked with G’d, ויתהלך נח את האלוקים, this means that he did not even allow himself to be guided by astrology and similar considerations, but followed directly in the paths of G’d to the extent that they had been revealed. He certainly did not practice any form of idolatry. Alternatively, the Torah describes Noach here as a prophet, seeing that the formulation אחרי ה' תלכו ואותו תיראו”follow the Lord and remain in awe of Him,” is used by the Torah to describe the prophet who distances himself from idolatry.

That the main progeny of the righteous... It seems that Rashi means as follows. It is written, “These are the progeny of Noach,” and then it explains, “Noach was a righteous man,” thus we see that good deeds are also called progeny. And it first states, “Noach was a righteous man,” and only afterwards, “Noach fathered three sons,” thus we see that good deeds are the main progeny.

Another meaning of the sequence נח נח, is illustrated in an imaginary conversation between Moses and Noach reported in Devarim Rabbah 11,3. In that conversation Noach claimed to have been greater than Moses because he was saved during the deluge. Moses retorted that Noach had not been able to save anyone other than himself, whereas he had saved his generation after the sin of the golden calf. The word אלה accordingly describes the limited value of Noach's good deeds. They sufficed only to save himself. The additional word בדורתיו further underlines that Noach did not succeed to make penitents out of his peers. His sons who were considered as his "branches" are therefore included in the name Noach. The Torah accords Noach a compliment which it did not accord to righteous people who had lived before his time. Noach's righteous predecessors all had other righteous people to model themselves after, something that did not apply to Noach. He grew up surrounded only by wicked people. The word אלה therefore also has a positive connotation in that it sets Noach's pious conduct apart from all those who had preceded him.

HE WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN AND WHOLE-HEARTED. Scripture mentions that he was guiltless and perfect in his righteousness in order to inform us that he was worthy to be saved from the flood without any punishment whatever since he was whole-hearted in righteousness. For a tzadik (a righteous person) is one who is found guiltless in judgment as opposed to the wicked person, as Scripture says, And they come unto judgment, and the judges judge them, by justifying the righteous, and condemning the wicked;⁸Deuteronomy 25:1. and also, For Thou art just in all that has come upon us, for Thou hast dealt truly;⁹Nehemiah 9:33. similarly, In righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.¹⁰Leviticus 19:15. But in the case of Abraham, concerning whom it says, that he will command his children to do ‘tz’dakah’ and ‘mishpat,’¹¹Genesis 18:19. Scripture praises him for righteousness which is synonymous with judgment, and for mercy which is synonymous with tz’dakah.¹²Ramban is thus saying that where Scripture uses tzedek alone it means “guiltless in judgment,” but in the case of Abraham where in addition to tzedek (or tz’dakah) Scripture also mentions mishpat, (judgment) mishpat of necessity means “guiltless in judgment,” while tz’dakah in this case means “mercifulness.”
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said, “Righteous in deeds; whole-hearted in his heart.” However, it is written, Thou art whole-hearted in thy ways;¹³Ezekiel 28:15. [the term “whole-hearted” is thus used in connection with “ways” and not with matters of the heart].
Now after Scripture said that Noah was a righteous man, meaning that he was neither a man of violence nor one who perverted his ways as did the guilty ones of his generation, it further said that he walked with the glorious Name,¹⁴See Deuteronomy 28:58. fearing Him alone. He was not enticed by the astrologers, enchanters and soothsayers, and surely not by idolatry, and he paid no heed to them at all; to G-d alone he did always cleave, and he walked in the way G-d chose or taught him for he was a prophet. This is analogous in meaning to the verse, After the Eternal your G-d shall ye walk, and Him shall ye fear,¹⁵Ibid., 13:5. which is stated in connection with the removal of him who prophesies to encourage the worship of idols and gives a sign or wonder to verify his words, as I will explain. I will again mention this in connection with the verse, Walk before Me, and be thou whole-hearted,¹⁶Genesis 17:1. if He Who is perfect in knowledge¹⁷See Job 36:4. will be with me.
Now since Noah was a righteous man and undeserving of punishment, it was fitting that his sons and his household be saved by his merit for if his sons were to perish, it would have been a punishment upon him. Or it may be said that he was a perfectly righteous man, and his sons and household were also righteous since he taught them; this is analogous to that which is written concerning Abraham: For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household.¹¹Genesis 18:19.

Indem aber nicht sofort seine Kinder, sondern er selbst gleichsam als seine erste תולדה genannt wird, gibt dies den Weisen Gelegenheit zu der Bemerkung, dass das erste Produkt des Menschen, die erste Frucht seiner Arbeit, sein eigener Charakter ist, und nun zumal in einer Zeit, wie diejenige Noa׳s, in welcher es gewiß der höchsten auf sich selbst gerichteten Energie bedurfte, sich aus der allgemeinen Verderbnis für das Reine und Gute emporzuretten. Da ist sicherlich das erste und das edelste Erzeugnis des Braven: er selbst. איש צדיק תמים, das sind die Charakterseiten, durch welche Noa מצא חן בעיני ד׳, und die Gott zugleich als Saatkörner des künftigen Menschengeschlechtes in diesem neuen Stammvater erwählte.

איש, “a man;” The author of Midrash Tanchuma (2) on this parshah, commences this paragraph with a quotation from Proverbs 11,30: פרי צדיק עץ חיים, ולוקח נפשות חכם, usually translated as “the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, a wise man captivates people.” According to Tanchuma, the meaning of Solomon there was to tell us that if someone dies without leaving behind children to posterity this is a disgrace and he bewails his fate. G–d in this case, when the departed person had been a righteous person, consoles him by telling him that the Torah he had studied while on earth will be considered by Him as his fruit. This is why the verse speaks of עץ חיים, “a tree of life,” instead of referring to the righteous person’s sons that he left behind. The Torah has been referred to as עץ חיים in Proverbs 3,18. Our sages relate that Noach did not die until he saw the earth having become settled by man and until all the seventy nations resulting from his loins be it directly or indirectly had become earth’s civilisation (after the destruction of the Tower) Of all the righteous people mentioned in the Bible the only one who was ever referred to as a צדיק תמים, “a perfectly righteous human being” Noach is the only one complimented in such a fashion. According to a statement in B’reshit Rabbah 30,8 anyone of whom the Torah ever used the adjective תמים, perfect, concluded his life after a multiple of seven years. [Just as a sh’mittah cycle is unit of seven years. Ed.] Rabbi Yitzchok son of Avraham, points out that this cannot be true as both Avraham and Noach to whom these attributes were applied died at 175 years and 950 years, both not multiples of seven. The Rabbi’s words therefore must be understood as multiples commencing with when the attribute תמים was applied to the persons concerned; in the case of Noach he had acquired that title when he was commanded to build the ark, 120 years before the deluge commenced. Since he survived after that for the 350 years we get a total of 470 years, from which we need to deduct the year he spent in the ark, -not really a year of life- and we have a multiple of seven year cycles, i.e. 67 times 7 equals 469. Avraham had been 99 years of age when he had another 77 years to live.

תולדות נח, the word תולדות, refers to happenings and their causes. For instance: Proverbs 27,1 כי לא תדע מה ילד היום, “for you do not know what the day will bring.” Rashi offers the same interpretation concerning the line: אלה תולדות יעקב, יוסף, “these are the descendants of Yaakov, Joseph.” (Genesis 37,2). The Torah now readies itself to record the history of mankind as if it had commenced with Noach, and it attributes events that will be described as the direct or indirect result of Noach’s influence on them. It sums up the difference by describing Noach as a righteous man, when compared with his ancestors. It attributes the demise of his ancestors as basically due to their wickedness, [even though a few individuals in each generation had not been wicked. Ed.]

את האלהים התהלך נח NOAH WALKED WITH GOD — In the case of Abraham Scripture says, (Genesis 24:40) ‘‘[God] before whom I walked”; Noah needed God’s support to uphold him in righteousness, Abraham drew his moral strength from himself and walked in his righteousness by his own effort (Genesis Rabbah 30:10).

תמים, in his attitudes,

צדיק, his deeds all reflected fairness, charitable considerations, in contrast to those of his contemporaries who were men of violence.

בדורותיו, “in his generations.” According to Rashi some commentators consider this word a compliment to Noach, whereas others see in it a veiled criticism. [relative righteousness compared to his contemporaries. Ed.] Nachmanides explains the word as meaning what any reader would assume, i.e. that during the generations Noach lived he was the only one who was righteous and wholehearted in his relations with his Creator. He explains the line (Genesis 7,1) “כי אותך ראיתי צדיק בדור הזה, “for you I have seen righteous in this generation” in he same vein, i.e. no one else is worth saving from the oncoming deluge. The reason the Torah uses the plural mode for the word בדורותיו is the fact that Noach’s life time spanned several generations during all of which mankind had become successively more corrupt. Do not raise the question that Methuselah who died only few days before the onset of the deluge (according to our sages) was also a righteous man. The Torah did not deny that he was righteous, but only states that there was no other righteous man whom G’d deemed worth saving at the time in question. According to yet other commentators the word בדורותיו refers to the generation preceding the deluge as well as to those following it.

There are others who infer from it to his discredit. Question: How can they infer his discredit, if he was righteous? The answer is: They derive it from, “Noach walked with Elokim,” which Rashi explains [to mean, “Noach required support to uphold him”]. But those who infer his praise interpret “with Elokim” differently, as follows. It is written about Avraham, “Elokim, before whom I walked,” implying that Avraham was not with Hashem all the time. He was busy with people, drawing them to Hashem. But Noach was not busy with the people of his generation since they were completely wicked. Thus it is written, “Noach walked with Elokim.” I.e., he was busy with nothing else but with Hashem. (Maharshal) Alternatively, those who infer “praise” are answering the question: Why did it not say בדורו [singular]? It is because בדורותיו [plural] implies that in all the ten generations from Adam until Noach, Noach was the righteous and flawless man. But those who infer “discredit” explain it as follows: Relative to the deeds of these generations, [he was righteous]. But had he lived in the generation of Avraham... Alternatively, those who infer “praise” explain “in his generations” to refer to the ten generations from Adam until Noach. And those who infer “discredit” explain it to refer to the ten generations from Noach until Avraham — but had he lived in the generation of Avraham... (Nachalas Yaakov) Both views agree that Noach was righteous only as compared to his generation, not completely righteous. For had he lived in a righteous generation, [all agree that] he surely would have been more righteous. These views differ only over the interpretation of “In his generations.” One holds that it comes to praise him: even in those wicked generations, where he could have learned from their wickedness, he remained righteous — and surely had he lived in a righteous generation. And the other view holds as explained earlier. All agree that in a righteous generation, his present level of righteousness would have been considered insignificant. And all agree that had he been in a righteous generation, he in fact would have been more righteous. For growing up among the righteous is not like growing up among the wicked. [You might ask:] Why does one infer “praise” and the other infer “discredit,” if there is no clear proof either way? [The answer is:] The one who infers “praise” holds that בדורותיו refers to היה, which immediately precedes it. Thus the verse is telling us that in his wicked generations, he remained righteous — certainly had he lived in a righteous generation. And the one who infers “discredit” holds that בדורותיו refers back to צדיק. Thus the verse is saying, “He was righteous in his generations” — relative to his generations. This is undoubtedly to his discredit. (Re’m) One might ask: If the Torah (7:8) does not even mention an impure animal’s discredit [see Bava Basra 123a], why does one view infer a tzaddik’s discredit from our verse? The answer is: The verse implies the [wicked] generation’s discredit, not Noach’s. It is saying that in this generation, even a tzaddik like Noach required Hashem’s support, unlike Avraham [in his generation]. Clearly, it was an inferior generation. (Divrei Dovid)

There is another message contained in this verse which is commented upon in Bereshit Rabbah 25,2. The Midrash discusses whether Noach's name was in itself blissful, or whether in view of Noach's righteous way of life the blessings he conferred on earth were subsequently reflected in his name. Here is some of the discussion: "When G'd created Adam He invested him with a full range of authority. The cow obeyed the ploughman, the furrow co-operated with the plough. As soon as Adam sinned, the cow no longer responded to its owner, nor did the earth respond to the plough. This situation continued until the time of Noach. Once Noach appeared on earth the situation changed in man's favour. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish added that until Noach the waters would flood the earth, something that stopped during Noach's time. At any rate, the name Noach is repeated in our verse to indicate the beneficial effect his existence had on the well being of his peers. The repetition of the word תולדת and the use of the word איש are an allusion to the fact that Noach was איש האדמה, an outstanding farmer (as is stated explicitly after the deluge (9,20). Our sages (Tanchuma Bereshit 11) find Noach's successful impact on farming alluded to in 5,29 where his father Lemech predicts that his son Noach will provide relief for עצבון ידינו, "the painful labour of our hands." The fact that Noach was born without a foreskin gave rise to these hopes. Apparently Noach invented a usable plough. The word צדיק hints that the righteous is the foundation of the universe, that without a righteous person the universe would forfeit its reason for existence. But for Noach the earth would have perished at the time of the deluge. The word חמים should be understood in the same vein as the Talmud Avodah Zarah 10 explains it. The Talmud understands the word צדיק as a reference to Noach's deeds, whereas the word תמים is a reference to Noach's lifestyle, his attitudes [as opposed to understanding the word as an adjective describing his righteousness. Ed.] All of this is additional praise for Noach who was able to perfect his personality in the face of such wicked contemporaries. Noach did far more than could have been expected of him. Our sages call such conduct לפנים משורת הדין. According to Samuel II, 22,27 G'd acts loyally with the loyal, whereas He uses wile in dealing with the perverse. According to this yardstick Noach would have been free to do likewise, but he chose to be more considerate than required by law. When the Torah describes Noach's perfection as בדורותיו this means that his goodness was recognised even by the people of his time. The plural in the expression בדורותיו reminds us that the average person's lifespan involves three generations. He lives during part of his father's generation, his contemporaries, and during part of his children's generation. Noach was unique during all these three generations; the only righteous member of a former generation that he shared time on earth with was his grandfather Methuselah. When the Torah tells us את האלוקים התהלך נח, that Noach walked with G'd, this means that even vis a vis G'd Noach's conduct was very constructive. Our sages tell us in connection with Noach's offering after the deluge (8,21) וירח השם את ריח הניחוח, that Noach's name is alluded to in the word ניחוח. The reason the Torah repeats the name Noach at the beginning is to refer to this second dimension of Noach's beneficial effect on mankind, when G'd decided not to bring another deluge ever, due to Noach's gratitude. The reason the Torah uses the verb הלך when describing Noach's conduct vis-a-vis G'd is because G'd describes a desirable conduct by man in those terms in Deut. 28,9. When the Torah here employs the reflexive התהלך, this merely emphasises that Noach kept walking with G'd. He provided pleasure to His Creator all the time, something which found its ultimate expression in his sacrifice after the deluge.

IN HIS GENERATIONS. Some of our Rabbis explained it to his credit, [i.e., he was righteous despite his generation]; it follows all the more had he lived in a generation of righteous people. Others explain it to his discredit. [In comparison with his own generation he was considered righteous, but had he lived in the generation of Abraham he would not have been considered of any consequence.] Thus the language of Rashi.
The correct interpretation according to the plain meaning of Scripture appears to be that he alone was a righteous man in those generations, there being no righteous or whole-hearted men except him in those generations. In a similar sense is the verse, For thee I have seen righteous before Me in this generation,¹⁸Genesis 7:1. meaning that there is no other in the generation worthy of being saved. Scripture says, in his generations —[using the plural form]— because many generations passed since the time men had become corrupted, and there was no righteous man besides him. Let not the word of our Rabbis concerning Methuselah,¹⁹Bereshith Rabbah 32:10. [which said that he was a righteous man], cause you difficulty for Scripture tells only that there was no righteous man worthy of being saved from the flood in all those generations except Noah.

איש. Nach der Bemerkung unserer Weisen wird in תנ"ך mit dem Namen איש nicht gespielt. Wen das Gotteswort einen Mann nennt, war ein Mann, ein erprobter Charakter, צדיק מומחה, und wer hätte mehr Proben fester Männlichkeit zu bestehen gehabt als Noa in seinem bisherigen 600jährigen Wandel in Mitte der wechselnden Geschlechter! — השחתת דרך und חמס, Sittenverderbnis und Unredlichkeit, sittliches und soziales Verderbnis wird uns sofort als Gepräge seiner Zeit geschildert; dem gegenüber war Noa צדיק und צדיק ,תמים im Gegensatz zu חמס, und תמים im Gegensatz zu צדק .השחתת דרך heißt: den Personen und Verhältnissen um uns das ihnen Ge- bührende leisten. (Es ist insofern laut- und begriffe-verwandt mit dem chald. שדך: befriedigen, genügeleisten). Der צדיק fasst alles objektiv, nichts vom Standpunkte seines Interesses, alles vom Standpunkte seiner Pflicht auf. Es ist zunächst die soziale Gerechtigkeit, und steht daher vorzugsweise mit פעל und עשה, mit Ausdrücken der Handlung, der Tat in Verbindung, עשה צדקה ,פעולת צדיק, עשה צדקה usw. — תמים dagegen ist vorzugsweise mit הלך und דרך verbunden. דרך ist zunächst diejenige Entwicklung, die der Mensch zur Vollendung seiner eigenen Persönlichkeit durchmacht, in der man von Stufe zu Stufe fortschreitet (verwandt mit מדרגה ,דרג). Während in der Handlung die Rücksicht auf die eigene Persönlichkeit zurücktritt, ist in דרך die Befriedigung und Vollendung der eigenen Persönlichkeit das Ziel, das somit ebenfalls die ganze sinnliche Entfaltung mit umfasst. תמים דרך ist derjenige, der selbst auf dem Wege dieser sinnlichen Entfaltung rein bleibt. Die Verwandtschaft mit דמם: sich jeder Äußerung, jeder Bewegung enthalten, und mit dem chald. טמם, verschlossen sein, dürfte für תמם den Grundbegriff der Selbstbeherrschung geben, die alles Streben von innen heraus unter der Herrschaft des einen sittlichen Wollens zusammenhält, und sich durch keinen äußeren Reiz etwas entreißen, somit sich nicht sittlich mangelhaft machen lässt.

היה, “he was;” whenever this expression is used in connection with a person, it implies that he saw a new world, i.e. he became privy to entirely new perspectives in his life. Noach certainly experienced a new world, and Joseph of whom the same word is used became the person responsible for saving the whole nation of Egypt from perishing by hunger. Moses had a similar experience, (Exodus 3,1 at the burning bush) so did Job (Job 1,1) when becoming subjected to sudden and terrible trials to test his faith in the Lord.

איש צדיק, תמים היה, “a righteous man, basically perfect.” This is the reason why Noach had found favour in the eyes of his Creator.

התהלך HE WALKED — This word is in the past tense. The following is the usage of this verbal form: in the “heavy” (כבד) conjugation one grammatical form is used both as future (i. e. the imperative, since the imperative calls for on action to be done in the future relative to the time when the command is given) and as past tense e. g., (13:17) קום התהלך “arise walk” is future (i. e. imperative); התהלך נח “Noah walked” (in this passage) is past; (1 Samuel 12:19) התפלל בעד עבדיך “Pray for thy servants” is future (i. e. imperative) and (1 Kings 8:42) ובא והתפלל אל הבית הזה “When he shall come and shall pray toward this house” is past, only that the ו at the beginning of the word changes the tense into the future (it is Vav conversive).

בדורותיו, according to the generations during which he lived. They included part of the generation of Metushelach, of Lemech, and those during the 600 years preceding the deluge.

תמים, perfect, without flaw; according to Tanchuma 5, he was born circumcised.

Concerning Avraham it says: [“Elokim,] before whom I walked.” According to Rashi, “Noach walked with Elokim” implies that Noach walked with Hashem alone. Noach separated himself from people since they were all wicked and he feared he would learn from their wicked deeds. For Noach was not so righteous and he needed support, so he “walked with Elokim,” i.e., where there was only Hashem. But Avraham’s righteousness was strong on his own, as he was completely righteous. He went among the wicked to reprove them and convert them, and he did not fear that he might learn from their [wicked] deeds. Thus [Rashi says] he did not need support.

בדרתיו die doppelte Auffassung: in seiner Zeit war er ein Gerechter, oder: selbst in seiner Zeit blieb er gerecht, ist wahrscheinlich in beiden Beziehungen wahr. Sicherlich bleibt ein solcher Kampf, wie ihn Noa zu bestehen hatte, nicht ohne schwächenden Einfluß auf den Charakter. Sicherlich wiegt aber auch auf anderer Seite das in solcher Zeit bewährte kleinere Maß von Sittlichkeit und Rechtschaffenheit ungleich schwerer auf Gottes Wage, als das größere in irgend einer besseren Zeit. Bezeichnend ist es, dass das בדרתיו bei תמים und nicht bei צדיק hervorgehoben ist. Es ist ungleich schwerer, in einer unsittlichen Zeit sittlich, als in einer unredlichen redlich zu bleiben.

תמים, according to bar Chataya in B’reshit 30,8, the meaning of this word is that the people named all lived a number of years which divide into the number 7. Noach lived 350 years after being called תמים, i.e. 50 times seven, Avraham 175, i.e. 25 times seven, etc. [The commentators on Midrash Rabbah elaborate on that strange sounding definition of תמים. Ed.]

בדורותיו, both in the time of his generation, and the generation following him after the deluge. [this is the reason for the plural ending יו in the word בדורותיו. Ed.] Noach lived for 350 years after the deluge, so that he was a reminder of the deluge to at least 8-9 generations after him. In fact, Avraham was already 58 years old when Noach died, and he was the 10th generation counting from Noach. An easy way to remember this is the line that אברהם בן נח, “Avraham was a son of Noach“ (family member, as all people before the Torah was given) the numerical value of the letters in the name נח have a combined value of 58. According to Bereshit Rabbah 30,9 the word בדורותיו refers to three specific generations, that of Enosh, that of the deluge, and the generation of the Tower of Babel, and the scattering of mankind and the division into many languages.

Past tense. It is in the התפעל conjugation.

Dass Noa איש צדיק war, wurzelte in seiner Sittenreinheit, und diese Sittenreinheit wurzelte in dem Grunde des Ganzen, in dem את האלקי׳ התהלך, in dem sich an Gottes Hand führen lassen. Während es von den späteren Größen heißt, dass sie vor Gott, als seine Boten, gewandelt, heißt es von ihm, dass er mit Gott gewandelt, dass er, auf den Umgang mit den ihn verlachenden Zeitgenossen Verzicht leistend, nur Gott sich anschloß und eben dadurch "נח" derjenige ward, in welchem die zukunftlose Menschheit eine Zukunft gewann.

את האלוקים התהלך נח, he walked in G’d’s way trying to be helpful to others, and to instruct and if necessary to rebuke them, as our sages pointed out. This is also in accordance with what the historian Berussi Hacaldaii (3rd century B.C.) wrote about him.

היה, anyone in the Holy Scriptures of whom it is said: היה, experienced a new world, i.e. radical changes in the world. In the case of Noach, he was a witness to the destruction of earth and its inhabitants during the year he spent in the ark, only to become a witness to its renewal after he emerged from the ark. Joseph at one time was a lowly second rate shepherd with his brothers, יוסף היה רועה את אחיו, and became the second most powerful man in Egypt, whose population he saved from starvation. Moses was a shepherd for his fatherinlaw, ומשה היה רועה, yesterday he had had to flee for his life, and subsequently he rose to lead his people into freedom and greatness. Job started out as a wealthy man, איש היה בארץ עוץ איוב שמו, was reduced to absolute misery and destitution, only to rise again to be even greater than originally. (Job 42,10)

את האלוקים התהלך נח, a description of how Noach cleaved to his Creator. All his actions were designed to please his Creator. The reason why this is so remarkable is that it demonstrated the preponderance of his intellect over his baser urges, especially so as it would have been both more convenient for him and more socially advantageous for him to conform to the cultural mores of his time.

In the כבד form. I.e., since the ל of התהלך has a dagesh, it is a כבד form.

The vav at the beginning changes it to the future. I.e., without the vav in והתפלל, it also would be past tense. But I was taught that Rashi is referring to the vav of ובא. For if it would say בא והתפלל then perforce it would be past tense [in spite of the vav, and would mean, “He came and prayed”], similar to פעל ועשה and יצר וברא. But since it says ובא, this changes it to the future. (Kitzur Mizrachi)