NOAH'S GUILT

Abraham’s Walk of Faith…Learned from Whom?

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Let’s take a deep dive into the lives of Abraham vs Noah. In case you did not see the first article about Noah, check it out (here).

To quote from that article...“The Bible does not say that Abraham walked with the Eternal, but rather that he was told to walk…”

“And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, YHVH appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be perfect.” Genesis 17:1

The Bible mentions that Adam, Noah and Enoch walked with God, but note that in the description of the beginning of Abraham’s life God told him to walk before Him. Is there a difference? There is no record of God instructing Noah or Enoch to walk with Him. Some Jewish sages elevate Abraham as more righteous than Noah. But how so, if Abraham was commanded to walk but of Noah it is stated that he “walked with God?”  Maybe this is a very small point but as mankind descended from the original created “Image of God man.” 

How would Abraham know what it means to walk with God? Was anyone alive to instruct him? Adam died before the flood-actually from the Biblical timeline, 126 years before Noah was born!

All the righteous lineage of the family of Adam, from Seth down, died before the flood, EXCEPT Noah and his three sons and their wives. And  Noah died in the year 2006 from Creation– which was 350 years after the flood (1656) which is 58 years after Abram is born. 

 Genealogy of Abram/Abraham

How many of the descendants of Adam knew Noah? According to the biblical timeline of the years counted to the birth and death of Methuselah, Adam was still alive during Methusaleh’s life. Methuselah was born 687 years after creation and died the year of the flood (1656) Though Noah did not know Adam, Methuselah did– for Adam was alive for 247 years of Methuselah’s life. Adam’s influence must have affected him. Methuselah also knew Enoch, though Enoch was “taken” some 69 years before Noah was born, so Methuselah served as a bridge between Adam, Enoch and Noah, who all are reported in the Torah as having walked with YHVH. Adam and Noah both were coexistent with Methuselah. And then Noah lived until Abram was 58 years old. But Shem was alive during the entire life of Abram/Abraham. So we see Adam, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abram– A short father to son line to pass on the word of mouth story of the creation, the temptation in the garden, Adam’s, Methuselah’s, and Noah’s walk with God–all this before God commanded Abram to walk with Him. So maybe Abram knew a little already of the walk that his ancestors had lived out?! Now Shem, born 98 years before the flood (see Genesis 11:10 where it states that Shem was 100 years old two years after the flood) and lived another 500 years after the birth of Arphaxad places his death from the year of creation (hereafter referred to as anno mundo, a.m.) at 2158 a.m. 

For calculating the birth of Abraham (70 years into Terah’s life—Genesis 11:26, Terah being born 1878 a.m.) would make the birth of Abram to be in the year 1948 if, indeed he was the son born in Terah’s 70th year; This is based on:

1). Abram is mentioned first in the verse recording the births of the three sons of Terah 

2). Abram was the only notable spiritual character in the story. See Gen 12:4. From a clear stating of Terah’s birth in 1878 plus 70 years for the birth of Abram would give us the year 1948. Check out this chart:

There is a common teaching that Abram stayed in Haran until his father’s death, but the timing does not line up with future events. Terah died at 205 years of age. Abram was born in Terah’s 70th year but left Haran when he was 75. Let’s see more on this:

In Genesis 12:1 Abraham is told by YHVH:

“Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee;”

Did Abram tarry long after the call for his father to die?  He obviously would not have waited many years to leave. Why does the text mention his father’s house if his father had passed away? If his father was dead, then it would not have been a test for Abram to leave–his father would no longer have been there to detain him. And why, later, in sending his servant to seek a wife for Isaac, did Abraham mention that he had left his father’s house and his kindred as God had instructed him? Since he left both his father’s house and kindred, neither his father nor his kindred were dead at that time. Later, when Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac he tells him:

Gen 24:7 “The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.”

And when we think of why Abraham did not go back himself to find a wife for Isaac, we remember that he had been told to leave that land, his father’s house AND his kindred. So he did not return there in obedience to YHVH’s original command, and now, he could only send his servant there, and under strict orders to not take Isaac to Haran. His descendants were not to return to the place where he had been told to leave.

Gen 24:6 “And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.”

So, to restate what we have found so far:  Abram was born when Terah was 70 and he was 75 when he left Haran; we find that Noah and Shem were both still alive. Abram being born in 1948 a.m. indicates that Noah died 58 years later in 2006 a.m. while Abram is still in Haran and before the call of YHVH to leave. Abraham dies in 2123. Shem dies in 2158 outliving Abraham by 34 years! So he had a lot of time to teach him about the Creator, 175 years of his life and 105 years after he left his father’s house and kindred. Does the Bible refer to Shem anywhere in relation to Abraham? Whether Noah and Shem lived near Abram in his journeyings we have little to go on, but later we see Shem appear in Abram’s life.

Shem was Melchizedek. How so?

1) Shem was the only one left of the royal line from Adam and then Seth, 2) Noah placed a special spiritual blessing on Shem at the time he and Japheth walked backwards to cover Noah’s nakedness (Genesis 9:26:27). He was exalted above both Japheth and Ham at this time.

3). Melchizedek was king of Salem, which seems to be Jerusalem–Salem being the place God chose to place His name. 

4). Melchizedek was a righteous king according to the Hebrew meaning of his name, and 4) is declared “priest of the Most High God”.

5). Abram paid tithes to him after the battle of the kings. (When the Bible uses, El Elyon (Most High God), it is not talking of just any god that is worshiped. Elyon is used here for the One and only God. Check out my other article on Abraham and Melchizedek here.

So as I stated at the beginning, Abram, later called Abraham, had to learn to walk with YHVH: (We remember that Noah is mentioned as having walked with God and likely taught Abram a thing or two, which would mean that Abram had an idea of what YHVH meant when he was commanded to walk before God and be perfect.)

“And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, YHVH appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be perfect.” Genesis 17:1

And this is fitting for the father of all those who are sons of Abraham–The walk has to be learned! Since Noah and Shem were still alive during the life of Abram, he would have learned from them even before God spoke to him and guided him directly.

As I said in my first article: (see here):, the obedience levels of Noah and Abraham were different. By no means did Noah cause the flood as some commentators suggest, (because he did not wrestle with God for the salvation of the wicked preflood world.) On the other hand, Abraham clearly had trouble believing the Eternal’s promises several times in his walk with YHVH. He gave his wife away twice out of fear, he took Hagar at Sarah’s suggestion to create a son. Which even today haunts the People of the Book! Even so, his walk in Emunah was growing, as the Torah records:

“And he believed in YHVH; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Gen 15:6

Still later, he argued with God about the destruction of Sodom. Yes it was noble that Abraham tried to intercede for Sodom, but perhaps he still lacked trust that God knew what He was doing. Perhaps he had heard the horror stories of the flood and didn’t want this to happen to anyone ever! But ultimately the Almighty taught Abraham to trust, and the rest is history!

For the sake of Torah,

Ariella

The Flood—Noah’s Fault?

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Condemning Noah? Part 1

There are only two people mentioned before the flood that walked with God. Enoch and Noah. Adam and Eve also did a bit of a walk but their walk was not very long for they hid themselves from their Creator after they ate of the famous tree in the Garden.

Genesis says that Noah was just and perfect and that he “walked” with God.

“These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” Genesis 6:9

“And the Lord said to Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation.” Genesis 7:1

Noah was the only righteous man in his generation, the only one worth saving. It is interesting that of the royal lineage from Seth onward, all had died by the time of the flood, even Methuselah died within a few months of the flood. But Noah and his immediate family was saved from the waters of the flood and was later commanded to be fruitful and multiply and reestablish the earth’s population. Genesis 9:1

Modern and even some Rabbinic commentaries condemn Noah for not pleading with God for the wicked, for obeying submissively, for being a yes-man. But on the other hand, they hold up Abraham as an example for he argued with God about the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

But the question is this…The Bible does not say that Abraham walked with the Eternal, but rather that he was told to walk…

“And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, YHVH appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be perfect.” Genesis 17:1

So I would argue that Noah had perfect obedience, trusted that the Eternal knew what He was doing, was tired of the rebellion and sin that abounded in the immoral acts of the people around him and thus, obeyed the voice of his Creator. Should we condemn him for trusting that God knew what He was doing, and say that Abraham was better and more righteous?

Does the Bible ever say anything disparaging of Noah, other than the episode when he planted a vineyard and got drunk?

Actually, later in the Tanakh, Noah is mentioned with Daniel and Job as stellar examples…

“Even if these three men–Noah, Daniel and Job–were in it (the Land of Israel), they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares YHVH.” Eze 14:14

If Abraham was more righteous, then why is he not mentioned here? The life of Abraham is a series of tests and growth. He became righteous through these tests and was promised inheritance and that all who blessed him would be blessed, but he is not singled out as one of the most righteous. Abraham is an example and father of Israel, yet he became righteous through his experience with YHVH and this is the way we, his descendants, become righteous—as our father Abraham did.

Yet why put Noah, and even Job (who is also criticized in modern commentaries) in a bad light? This makes little sense, if we take the Bible as upholding the character of God and that man is fallible and not one to instruct the Creator on what he should do.

Let’s talk about Abraham’s attempted intervention for Sodom. Was it a sign of faith in God’s wisdom and justice that inspired him to argue with Him? Or was it somehow a lack of trust?

“Now YHVH had said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham is to become a great and populous nation and all the nations of the earth are to bless themselves by him? For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of YHVH by doing what is just and right, in order that YHVH may bring about for Abraham what has been promised him.”

“Then YHVH said, “The outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave! I will go down to see whether they have acted altogether according to the outcry that has reached Me; if not, I will take note.” The agents went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before YHVH.

“Abraham came forward and said, “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” Genesis 18:17-25 Sefaria

What is the backdrop for Abraham’s questioning? Why would he doubt God’s wisdom at this time? Did Abraham not realize the extent of Sodom’s guilt? Did he not know about the immorality that surrounded his nephew, Lot? Perhaps. Or is it possible that the memory of the deluge still impacted people’s minds to a great extent? Obviously he had spoken to Noah, for their lives overlapped by 58 years. Was it a fear that YHVH would again destroy the world as had happened during the life of Noah?

There are a lot of things to consider. Not being there in person makes it difficult to judge the situation. From the story of the conversation with Abraham, it seems that his argument was neither condemned nor approved. The Eternal was willing to engage in debate with him which is something we can learn from– something that should give us confidence when we do not understand the ways of the Almighty. It should fill us with amazement that YHVH should stoop to consider the reasoning of humans and show us that His ways are right. It in no way shows that man can “educate” God. And this conversation with Abraham is relative nor comparable to the story of the flood.

Here are some quotes from some who present the argument that Noah was somehow insensitive to the world’s plight…

“Unlike Abraham in similar circumstances, Noah did not plead for his contemporaries when he was told God’s plan to destroy the world. When God informed Abraham that he was about to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the evil of their inhabitants, Abraham would beg God to spare them, insisting that if as few as 10 good men could be found in Sodom, it was God’s duty to spare the city. “But as far as we can tell from the text, Noah ‘did not even consider smuggling a few of the doomed men and women in the Ark.’ This shows that humanity’s ethical ideal was undeveloped.” The Baltimore Sun

“Rashi, the great 11th century Jewish Torah commentator, offers two opinions. He writes: ‘There are among the sages who view Noah positively. Certainly, had he been living in a generation of just individuals, he would have been more just. While some view him negatively. Had he been living in the generation of Abraham, he would have been considered worthless.’” Aish

“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).”

From the Zohar:

“What did God answer Noah when he left the Ark and saw the world destroyed? He [Noah] began to cry before God and he said, “Master of the universe, You are called compassionate. You should have been compassionate for Your creation.” God responded and said, “You are a foolish shepherd. Now you say this?! Why did you not say this at the time I told you that I saw that you were righteous among your generation, or afterward when I said that I will bring a flood upon the people, or afterward when I said to build an ark? I constantly delayed and I said, ‘When is he [Noah] going to ask for compassion for the world?’ … And now that the world is destroyed, you open your mouth, to cry in front of me, and to ask for supplication?” [Zohar Hashmatot, Bereishit 254b]…Aish

So, as I said earlier, if the story of Noah and the flood remains with Noah later mentioned in Ezekiel 14 as one of the three representatives of righteousness, whom even considering their righteous merits could not save the nation, and if Abraham is not mentioned among them, then why try to guilt Noah of not having enough mercy to debate with YHVH about His decision to destroy the world? I believe we do not know enough of the evil that had overtaken the world at that time to make a character assassination of the just and perfect man who received the Almighty’s recommendation, and who was chosen to repopulate the earth!

Ariella

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