Reading Notes: Noah, Part B

Unlike yesterday's reading, today's reading on Noah was taken entirely from Louis Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews. As such, it was all new material for me. While I was familiar with some of the stories from my personal reading of the Pentateuch, the Jewish legends offered interpretations to which I had never been exposed. I recommend reading portions 1-9 of section B to learn more.

This set of legends was more episodic in nature. While telling a chronological story, the progression of legends could skip only days or many years in between. Some legends recounted concise stories and portions of dialogue, while others were dry and historic in nature. Overall, two accounts stood out to me. The first, The Flood, offers a description of what it was like to care for the multitude of animals on the ark. Next, Nimrod describes the effects of Nimrod's favorite outfit, and how he came to possess it.

The Animals Entering Noah's Ark by Jacopo Bassano

The Flood
As I wrote yesterday, I am interested in learning more (or writing about) how Noah managed a large and diverse group of animals in an enclosed space for so long. This story gave some clarity to that idea, while also instilling in me further inspiration. It is said that Noah went to great efforts to make sure that the animals were well-fed, "feeding the day animals by day, and the night animals by night." He innovated in order to provide for them. He also asked a blessing up the urshana, an animal that was especially peaceful and patient. This supports my idea that Noah is, and must continue to be, characterized as kind and thoughtful.

Nimrod
Deviating from the common theme of this week's reading notes, the final story did not feature Noah, but one of his descendants. Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah; Cush, the son of Ham, was Nimrod's father. In his resentment after being cursed, Ham stole from Noah the garments of skins that  had been given to Adam and Eve by God after they had eaten of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Ham passed down the garments, which eventually ended up in Nimrod's possession. The power of these garments resulted in Nimrod's being popular, so much that he led his people astray from God. I would love to flesh out the story of the garments - Did Nimrod struggle with their power, or did he always relish it? If the garments were so valuable, did anyone ever try to steal them?