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Noah: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Noah
Noah was the tenth and final antediluvian patriarch, born when his father Lamech was 182 years old, and he lived to be 950 years old, dying 350 years after the great flood. He was the son of Lamech and a mother whose name remains unmentioned in the biblical text, yet his life marked a pivotal turning point in human history. According to the genealogical account in Genesis 5, Noah was the last of the extremely long-lived antediluvian patriarchs, and his birth was anticipated by his father as a bringer of relief from the painful toil of human hands. The maximum human lifespan, as depicted by the Bible, gradually diminished after Noah's death, falling from almost 1,000 years to the 120 years of Moses. This dramatic shift in human longevity underscores the significance of his life as a bridge between the ancient, long-lived world and the new era that followed the deluge. His story is not merely a myth but a foundational narrative that shaped the religious consciousness of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, serving as a prototype for subsequent prophetic stories.
The Ark and The Covenant
God commanded Noah to build an ark to save his family and pairs of all land animals from a flood intended to return the Earth to its pre-Creation state of watery chaos. The flood was no ordinary overflow but a reversal of Creation, designed to destroy the evil of mankind and then remake the world using the microcosm of Noah's Ark. The narrative discusses the evil of mankind that moved God to destroy the world by way of the flood, the preparation of the ark for certain animals, Noah, and his family, and God's guarantee for the continued existence of life under the promise that he would never send another flood. After the flood, Noah offered burnt offerings to God, and God accepted the sacrifice, making a covenant with Noah and through him with all mankind. As a pledge of this gracious covenant with man and beast, the rainbow was set in the clouds. Injunctions were laid upon Noah, permitting the eating of animal food but forbidding the eating of living animals and making the shedding of the blood of man by man a crime punishable by death at the hands of man. This covenant established a new order, ensuring the survival of life and setting the stage for the future of humanity.
The Drunken Vineyard
After the flood, Noah became a farmer and planted a vineyard, becoming the first person to cultivate the vine and drink wine. He drank wine made from this vineyard, got drunk, and lay uncovered within his tent. Noah's son Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his brothers, which led to Ham's son Canaan being cursed by Noah. As early as the Classical era, commentators on Genesis 9:20, 21 have excused Noah's excessive drinking because he was considered to be the first wine drinker, the first person to discover the effects of wine. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, and a Church Father, wrote in the 4th century that Noah's behavior is defensible: as the first human to taste wine, he would not know its effects. Philo, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, also excused Noah by noting that one can drink in two different manners: to drink wine in excess, a peculiar sin to the vicious evil man, or to partake of wine as the wise man, Noah being the latter. In Jewish tradition and rabbinic literature on Noah, rabbis blame Satan for the intoxicating properties of the wine. The narrative's brevity and textual inconsistencies have led scholars to suggest that this story is a splinter from a more substantial tale, with speculation that Ham was guilty of engaging in incest and raping Noah or his own mother, which would clarify why Canaan, as the product of this illicit union, was cursed by Noah.
Common questions
How old was Noah when he died and how long did he live after the flood?
Noah lived to be 950 years old and died 350 years after the great flood. He was born when his father Lamech was 182 years old and his life marked a pivotal turning point in human history.
What did God command Noah to build to save his family and animals from the flood?
God commanded Noah to build an ark to save his family and pairs of all land animals from a flood intended to return the Earth to its pre-Creation state of watery chaos. The ark served as a microcosm to destroy the evil of mankind and then remake the world.
Why was Noah's son Ham's son Canaan cursed by Noah?
Noah's son Ham saw his father naked and told his brothers, which led to Ham's son Canaan being cursed by Noah. Scholars speculate that Ham was guilty of engaging in incest and raping Noah or his own mother, which would clarify why Canaan was cursed.
How many references to Noah appear in the Quran and which chapter is named after him?
The Quran contains 43 references to Noah, or Nu, in 28 chapters, and the seventy-first chapter, Srah Nuh, is named after him. Noah is seen as one of the most significant prophets in Islam and received a revelation to build an Ark after his people refused to believe in his message.
Which ancient Mesopotamian epic is the Noah story similar to and when was it composed?
The Noah story of the Pentateuch is quite similar to a flood story contained in the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, composed around 1800 BC. The flood story in Genesis 6 and 8 matches the Gilgamesh flood myth so closely that few doubt that it derives from a Mesopotamian account.
Genesis 10 sets forth the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, from whom the nations branched out over the Earth after the flood. Among Japheth's descendants were the maritime nations, while Ham's son Cush had a son named Nimrod, who became the first man of might on earth, a hunter, king in Babylon and the land of Shinar. From there Ashur went and built Nineveh. Canaan's descendants, including Sidon, Heth, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites, spread out from Sidon as far as Gerar, near Gaza, and as far as Sodom and Gomorrah. Among Shem's descendants was Eber. These genealogies differ structurally from those set out in Genesis 5 and 11, having a segmented or treelike structure, going from one father to many offspring. It is strange that the table, which assumes that the population is distributed about the Earth, precedes the account of the Tower of Babel, which says that all the population is in one place before it is dispersed. The narrative of the Table of Nations provides a framework for understanding the origins of various peoples and their relationships, serving as a historical and theological foundation for the post-flood world.
The Documentary Hypothesis
According to the documentary hypothesis, the first five books of the Bible, including Genesis, were collated during the 5th century BC from four main sources, which themselves date from no earlier than the 10th century BC. Two of these, the Jahwist, composed in the 10th century BC, and the Priestly source, from the late 7th century BC, make up the chapters of Genesis which concern Noah. The attempt by the 5th-century editor to accommodate two independent and sometimes conflicting sources accounts for the confusion over such matters as how many of each animal Noah took, and how long the flood lasted. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible notes that this story echoes parts of the Garden of Eden story: Noah is the first vintner, while Adam is the first farmer; both have problems with their produce; both stories involve nakedness; and both involve a division between brothers leading to a curse. However, after the flood, the stories differ. It is Noah, not God, who plants the vineyard and utters the curse, so God is less involved. This scholarly analysis reveals the complex layers of tradition and editing that shaped the Noah narrative, highlighting the interplay between different theological perspectives and historical contexts.
The Dead Sea Scrolls
There are 20 or so fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls that appear to refer to Noah, with Lawrence Schiffman writing that among the Dead Sea Scrolls at least three different versions of this legend are preserved. In particular, The Genesis Apocryphon devotes considerable space to Noah, yet the material seems to have little in common with Genesis 5 which reports the birth of Noah. Noah's father is reported as worrying that his son was actually fathered by one of the Watchers, the offspring of the Watchers. The Dead Sea Scrolls provide a unique window into the diverse interpretations and traditions surrounding Noah, offering insights that differ significantly from the canonical texts. These fragments reveal a rich tapestry of beliefs and stories that were circulating in the ancient world, highlighting the complexity and depth of the Noah tradition beyond the standard biblical narrative.
The Islamic Prophet
Noah is a highly important figure in Islam and he is seen as one of the most significant of all prophets. The Quran contains 43 references to Noah, or Nu, in 28 chapters, and the seventy-first chapter, Srah Nuh, is named after him. His life is also spoken of in the commentaries and in Islamic legends. Noah's narratives largely cover his preaching as well the story of the Deluge. Noah has several titles in Islam, based primarily on praise for him in the Quran, including Trustworthy Messenger of God and Grateful Servant of God. The Quran focuses on several instances from Noah's life more than others, and one of the most significant events is the Flood. God makes a covenant with Noah just as he did with Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad later on. Noah is later reviled by his people and reproached by them for being a mere human messenger and not an angel. Moreover, the people mock Noah's words and call him a liar, and they even suggest that Noah is possessed by a devil when the prophet ceases to preach. Only the lowest of classes in the community join Noah in believing in God's message, and Noah's narrative further describes him preaching both in private and public. The Quran narrates that Noah received a revelation to build an Ark, after his people refused to believe in his message and hear the warning. The narrative goes on to describe that waters poured forth from both the earth and the Heavens, destroying all the sinners. Even one of his sons disbelieved him, stayed behind, and was drowned. After the Flood ended, the Ark rested atop Mount Judi. Quran 29:14 states that Noah had been living among the people who he was sent to for 950 years when the flood started. Islamic beliefs deny the idea of Noah being the first person to drink wine and experience the aftereffects of doing so.
The Comparative Myths
The Noah story of the Pentateuch is quite similar to a flood story contained in the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, composed around 1800 BC. In the Gilgamesh version, the Mesopotamian gods decide to send a great flood to destroy mankind. Various correlations between the stories of Noah and Gilgamesh, including the flood, the construction of the ark, the salvation of animals, and the release of birds following the flood, have led to this story being seen as the source for the story of Noah. The flood story in Genesis 6, 8 matches the Gilgamesh flood myth so closely that few doubt that it derives from a Mesopotamian account. What is particularly noticeable is the way the Genesis flood story follows the Gilgamesh flood tale point by point and in the same order, even when the story permits other alternatives. The earliest written flood myth is found in the Mesopotamian epic of Atra-Hasis and Epic of Gilgamesh texts. The Encyclopædia Britannica says these mythologies are the source of such features of the biblical Flood story as the building and provisioning of the ark, its flotation, and the subsidence of the waters, as well as the part played by the human protagonist. The name of the hero differs between the traditions: the earliest Mesopotamian flood account, written in the Sumerian language, calls the deluge hero Ziusudra. Noah has often been compared to Deucalion, the son of Prometheus and Hesinoe in Greek mythology. Like Noah, Deucalion is warned of the flood, builds an ark and staffs it with creatures, and when he completes his voyage, gives thanks and takes advice from the gods on how to repopulate the Earth. Deucalion also sends a pigeon to find out about the situation of the world and the bird returns with an olive branch. The motif of a weather deity who headed the pantheon causing the great flood and then the trickster who created men from clay saving man is also present in Sumerian mythology, as Enlil, instead of Zeus, causes the flood, and Enki, rather than Prometheus, saves man.