Берешит 5:32 Комментарий: Rashi, Chizkuni, Radak & The Midrash

בן חמש מאות שנה FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OLD — R. Judan said: “How is it that all the previous generations had children at the age of hundred years and this one (Noah) at the age of 500 years? The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “If they (Noah’s children) be wicked, they will perish by the water of the Flood and it will grieve this righteous man; if they be righteous, I shall have to trouble him to construct several arks.” He therefore restrained him from having children until he was 500 years old, in order that Japhet, the oldest of his sons (cf. Rashi on Genesis 10:21) should not reach the punishable age before the Flood. For it is written (Isaiah 65:20), “For as a lad shall one die when he is one hundred years old”, meaning, that in the future time, he will only then be of punishable age, and this was so, too, before the giving of the Torah (Genesis Rabbah 26:2) .

ויהי נח בן חמש מאות שנה ויולד, “When Noach was five hundred years old, he begat;” people knew that the deluge was about to occur, as explained by Rashi already in connection with the attitudes displayed by the wives of Lemech (the descendant of Kayin); he therefore delayed becoming a father until G-d had promised him that he and his children would survive. [Up until then, the Torah had reported of people beginning to father children around the age of 100. Ed.] (based on an ancient version of Tanchuma)

ויהי נח בן חמש מאות שנה, we do not know why Noach waited for such a long time to sire children, seeing that all the generations who had preceded him generally sired children at about the age of 100. It appears that the early generations did not chase after women during their youth and did not feel the need to mate and settle down until they had become close to 100 years old. When they did marry, their main concern was to leave offspring behind them, not to indulge their libido. They were aware according to what they had observed that they had a long lifespan at their disposal. This belief was reinforced by their confidence that their lifestyle was pleasing in the eyes of G’d. Noach, who had observed the corrupt ways of his contemporaries wanted to hold off siring children, because he was afraid that any children of his might also be displeasing in the eyes of G’d. He waited until he was 500 years old when he felt the urgent need to mate with a woman. It is also possible, that he had prophetic insight, i.e. that G’d told him to get married and to sire children. These children were good, but Cham was not as good as his brothers. Noach did not produce daughters. According to Bereshit Rabbah 26,2 G’d had reasoned that in the event that Noach’s children turned out to be wicked, He did not want them to die in the deluge. In the event they should turn out to be good people, G’d’ did not want Noach to have to construct separate cabins for all of them in the ark so that they could enjoy their privacy. G’d therefore made Noach sterile until he reached the age of 500. According to the view of Rabbi Eleazar, son of Rabbi Yossi Haglili, even Yaphet, Noach’s eldest, was not quite 100 years old when the deluge began and people under 100 years of age were not considered culpable for their deeds in those times.

את שם ואת חם ואת יפת SHEM, HAM AND JAPHETH — But was not Japheth the eldest? But you naturally first interest yourself in Shem who was a righteous man, who was born circumcised (a sign of righteousness) and from whom Abraham was to descend (Genesis Rabbah 26:3).