Midrash sa Genesis 9:12: Aggadat Bereshit, Midrash Tanchuma, Bereshit Rabbah & Sifrei Devarim

Chapter 1 of the Torah [1] "And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth" (Genesis 6:5). Scriptures say: "For there is a time for every experience, including the doom; for a man’s calamity [ Still another term for death; cf. “the time of calamity” for “the hour of death,” 9.12. ] overwhelms him. "(Ecclesiastes 8:6). Because the wicked man angered the Lord, saying, "The Lord swore that He would not bring a flood upon the world again, so we can do whatever we want." And how do we know that the Lord swore not to bring a flood upon the world? It is said, "For this is like the waters of Noah to me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth" (Isaiah 54:9). And it is as if He sees the wicked who angers Him and wonders why He swore, saying, "What have I done to swear that I will not bring a flood upon the world?" And so Isaiah says, "And truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey" (Isaiah 59:15), and "And the Lord saw" (Isaiah 59:15), for there is no righteous man in the world who prays before Him to appease Him because of them. And it is evil in His eyes that there is no justice (Isaiah 59:15), to judge their deeds. The Lord said to the wicked, "You say that I swore not to bring a flood upon the world again. Punishments are in store for scoffers And blows for the backs of dullards." (Proverbs 19:29), blows that are tumultuous and tumultuous, for if I swore not to bring a flood of water, I will bring a flood of fire and brimstone and stones, as it is said, "And the Lord caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire" (Genesis 19:24). And when the Amorites came upon Joshua, He brought upon them a flood of stones, as it is said, "And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died" (Joshua 10:11). Pharaoh, the wicked one, consulted with his advisors and said, "We can find nothing that God has sworn to except a flood of water, in which we can sink them and they will die, as it says 'Every son that is born you shall cast into the river' (Exodus 1:22)." God replied, "You should know that I have the power to judge you in this way, as it is written, 'Then Pharaoh and his army were destroyed in the Red Sea' (Psalm 136:15)." When Sisera came to attack Israel, they judged him only with fire and water, as it says, "From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera" (Judges 5:20) and "The river Kishon swept them away" (Judges 5:21). Similarly, when Sennacherib came to Jerusalem, God judged him only with a fiery flood, as it says, "Then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand" (2 Kings 19:35). Moreover, all generations, if a person sins, they judge him in a manner similar to his sin. If he deserves stoning, he falls from a rooftop, a wall, a tree, an animal, or he is hit by a falling object. If he deserves burning, he falls into fire or boiling water. If he deserves killing, God sends someone to kill him, or he falls upon a knife or a sword, or the knife or sword falls upon him. If he deserves strangulation, he falls into a sea, a river, or a pit. Therefore, Solomon said, "To every purpose there is a time and a judgment" (Ecclesiastes 8:6), for what caused all these judgments is that the evil of man is great upon him.

When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying: “Show a wonder for you” (Exod. 7:9). He will be making a reasonable request to you. You find in the case of Noah, that though He said to him, after He saved him from the flood, Neither shall there be anymore a flood (Gen. 9:11), Noah demanded a sign, and God assured him: I have set my bow in the cloud (ibid., v. 13). Similarly, when Hezekiah was sick, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent Isaiah to him and he said: Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father: “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears; behold, I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord” (II Kings 20:5). But he replied: What shall be the sign? (ibid., v. 8), and He answered: This shall be the sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? (ibid., v. 9). Likewise, Joshua, the high priest, was told: Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, … for they are men that are a sign (Zech. 3:8). Since the righteous demanded signs, how much more did the wicked Pharaoh (have the right to do so). Hence, when Pharaoh says unto you: Show a wonder for you (he will be making a reasonable request).

“God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I place between Me and you, and every living soul that is with you, for eternal generations” (Genesis 9:12).
“God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I place between Me and you…for eternal generations [ledorot]” – ledorot is written [missing two vavs], to exclude two generations;⁴The abbreviated spelling intimates that not all generations required this sign. the generation of Hezekiah, and the generation of the members of the Great Assembly.⁵During these two generations a rainbow was never seen, as it was unnecessary. Rabbi Ḥizkiya omits the generation of the members of the Great Assembly and substitutes the generation of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai.
Elijah of blessed memory and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi were sitting and studying Mishna together. They came across a teaching of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai.⁶And they had a disagreement regarding some detail of the teaching. They said: ‘The author of the teaching is right here,⁷They referred to the grave of Rabbi Shimon, which was located in a cave nearby. let us go in and ask him.’ Elijah of blessed memory went in to him. He [Rabbi Shimon’s spirit] said to him: ‘Who is with you?’ He said: ‘It is the foremost figure of the generation, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi.’ He said to him: ‘Has a rainbow ever been sighted in his days?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘If a rainbow has been sighted in his days, he is not worthy to see my countenance.’
Rabbi Ḥizkiya said in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya: Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai once said as follows: ‘Valley, valley be filled with gold dinars.’ And it became filled. Rabbi Ḥizkiya said in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya: Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai once said as follows: ‘If Abraham would wish to do so, he could draw near everyone⁸If he would want to, he could draw all of them closer to God and grant them a share in the World to Come, on the basis of his own merit. from his contemporaries through to my contemporaries, and I would draw near everyone from my contemporaries until the advent of the messianic king. And if he does not wish to do so, Aḥiya the Shilonite could join me and together we could draw near everyone from Abraham to the advent of the messianic king.’ Rabbi Ḥizkiya said in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya: Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said the following: ‘The world cannot endure if there are fewer than thirty men living who are as righteous as Abraham our patriarch. If there are thirty [in the world at present], I and my son are two of them. If there are twenty,⁹Twenty righteous people of a higher caliber. I and my son are among them. If there are ten, I and my son are among them. If there are five, I and my son are among them. If there are two, I and my son are they. If there is only one, it is I.’