Rashi on TanakhGenesis 6

The sons of rulers. [Meaning:] the sons of princes and rulers. Another explanation of בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים: They are the angels who go as messengers of Hashem; they, too, intermingled with them. Whenever אֱלֹהִים appears in Tanach it has the meaning of authority. The following is indicative: “You will be his master.” “See that I have made you a master.”

That [they] were fair. R. Yudan said: It is spelled טבת, [meaning:] when they improved her appearance beautifying her to enter the marriage canopy, the head ruler would then enter and have relations with her first.

From whomever they chose. Even a married woman, even a man or an animal.

My spirit will not continue to judge man. [Meaning:] “My spirit will not be in anger and conflict due to man.”

Forever. [Meaning:] for a long time. “Behold, My spirit is contending within Me whether to destroy or whether to show mercy. This conflict will not be with Me ‘forever,’ i.e., for a long time.”

Since he is nothing but flesh. This is the same as בְּשֶׁגַּם, (with a segol). that is to say, “because”: “there is also this about him: that he is [only] flesh and, nevertheless, he does not humble himself before Me. What if he were of fire or of some hard substance?” Similarly: עַד שַׁקַּמְתִּי דְּבוֹרָה [should be interpreted] as שֶׁקַּמְתִּי Similarly: שָׁאַתָּה מְדַבֵּר עִמִּי [should be interpreted] as שֶׁאַתָּה. So, too, בְּשַׁגָּם is as בְּשֶׁגַּם.

His days shall be, etc. I will delay my anger towards them up to 120 years. If they will not repent I will bring a flood upon them. Should you ask: From the birth of Yafes until the Flood there were only one hundred years; [note] there is no “earlier” or “later” in the Torah The decree had already been decreed twenty years before Noach had children. So we find in Seder Olam. There are many Aggadaic expositions regarding [the words,] לֹא יָדוֹן, but, this is the smooth, plain, explanation.

Giants. They were so called because they “fell” [נָפְלוּ] and caused the downfall [וְהִפִּילוּ] of the world. In Hebrew it means giants.

In those days. I.e., in the days of Enosh and sons of Kayin.

And also later. Though they saw the destruction of the generation of Enosh when the ocean rose and flooded a third of the world, [yet,] the generation of the Flood was not humbled to learn from them.

When [they] came. I.e., they [the mothers] gave birth to children like them [the fathers].

The mightiest ones. [They were mighty in] their rebellion against Hashem.

Men of renown. Those who had distinctive names: Irad, Mechuyael, Mesushael, who were so called on account of their destruction for they were wiped out and torn out. An alternate explanation: “Men of devastation” — who devastated the world.

Adonoy was comforted that He had made. It was a comfort to Him that He created him [man] on earth, for had he been one of the heavenly beings he would have caused them to rebel.

And He grieved. The man. In His heart. Of Hashem. [Meaning:] it entered the thought of Hashem to make him grieve. This is according to the translation of Onkelos. An alternate explanation of וַיִּנָּחֶם: Hashem’s thought turned from [applying] Divine Mercy to [applying] Divine Justice. He considered what to do with man that He made upon the earth. Similarly wherever the term נִיחוּם appears in Tanach it means he considered as to what to do. [For example:] “No man that He should reconsider.” “And concerning His servants, may He reconsider.” “Hashem reconsidered doing the terrible things.” “I regret that I have made him King.” All these refer to second thoughts.

And He grieved in His heart. [Means:] He mourned the destruction of His handiwork as [in the verse:] “The King mourned his son.” I wrote this in response to heretics. A gentile asked R. Yehoshua b. Korcho and said to him: “Do you not agree that Hashem knows the future?” He [the Rabbi] answered: “Yes.” He said to him: “But, it is written, ‘And it grieved His [Hashem’s] Heart!’” He [the Rabbi] responded to him, “Was a son ever born to you?” “Yes,” he said. “How did you react?” he asked him. He said, “I rejoiced and made everyone joyful.” So he asked him, “But, did you not realize that he would eventually die?” He [the gentile] responded, “At the time of joy let there by joy, at the time of mourning, mourning.” He [the Rabbi] said to him, “So it is with acts of Hashem. Though it is revealed to Him that they will eventually sin and be destroyed, [nevertheless,] He did not refrain from creating them for the sake of the righteous that were destined to descend from them.”

Adonoy said, I will obliterate mankind. “He is of dirt. I will bring water upon him and I will obliterate him. Therefore the term מִחוּי is used.

From man to beast. They, too, perverted their way. An alternate explanation: Everything was created for the sake of man, and if he ceases to exist, what need is there for these [animals]?

For I regret that I made them. [Meaning:] “I thought about what to do about the fact that I made them.”

These are the progeny of Noach. Since [the text] mentions him, it tells of his praiseworthiness. As it is said: “The mention of a righteous person is a blessing.” An alternate explanation: This teaches that the main progeny of the righteous are their good deeds.

In his generations. There are those among our Sages who infer from it to his praise. Certainly, had he lived in a righteous generation he would have been [even] more righteous. There are others who infer from it to his discredit. Relative to his generation he was righteous, but had he lived in the generation of Avraham he would not have been considered significant.

Noach walked with Elohim. Whereas, concerning Avraham [Scripture] says: [“God,] before whom I walked.” [This is because] Noach required [God’s] support to uphold him [in his righteousness] whereas, Avraham drew strength from within himself and walked in his righteousness by himself.

Walked. [הִתְהַלֶּךְ, here is] in the past tense. That is the usage of the למ"ד in the כָּבֵד form. One form can be used for future and for past. [For example,] “Arise, walk!” is future, “Noach walked” is past. “Pray for your servants,” is future. “Come and pray in this house” is past, but the vav at the beginning [of &וְ"הִתְפַּלֵּל] changes [the tense] to the future.

The earth was corrupt. Meaning lewdness and idolatry, as in the verse: “Lest you become corrupt.” “All flesh had become corrupted.”

And the earth was filled with violent crime. [Meaning] robbery.

For all flesh had corrupted. Even cattle, beasts and fowl consorted with dissimilar species.

The end of all flesh. Wherever you find lewdness and idolatry upheaval comes upon the world killing the good and the bad [alike].

The earth was filled with violent crime. Their fate was sealed only because of robbery.

From the earth. Similar to מִן הָאָרֶץ —“from the earth.” Similar to this [use of אֶת] is: “When I go the city,” [meaning:] “from the city.” “He suffered his feet” [meaning:] “from his feet.” An alternate explanation of אֶת הָאָרֶץ: “together with the earth” i.e., that also the depth of three handbreadths of the furrow were blotted out and eroded away.

Make yourself an ark. There are many ways to bring relief and deliverance available to Him. Why, then, did He burden him [Noach] with this construction [of the ark]? So that the people of the Flood generation see that he is occupied by it for one hundred twenty years and ask him “For what do you need this?” And he would respond to them: “God is destined to bring a flood upon the world. Perhaps they will repent.”

Of cedar wood. That is its name. Why from this specie [גֹפֶר]? because of its name relating to גָּפְרִית [sulfur] with which it was decreed that they be destroyed.

Compartments. Separate compartments for every animal and beast.

With tar. This is the Aramaic word for tar. We find in the Talmud כּוּפְרָא [for tar]. Where the ark [cradle] of Moshe was concerned, because the waters were calm, it was sufficient to have clay on the inside and tar on the outside. Another reason: so that that righteous man [Moshe] not be subjected to the foul odor of tar, But, here [at the Flood], because of the force of the water, he tarred it on the inside and the outside.

A skylight. Some say this was a window. Others say it was a precious stone that supplied them with light.

And finish it to one amoh at the top. Its covering slanted upwards until it narrowed at the top to one amoh, so that the water would flow down from both sides.

Place in its side. So that the rain may not seep through.

A lower deck, a second and a third. Three stories, one above the other, the topmost for human beings, the middle one as a habitat for animals, the lowest one for refuse.

Behold I am bringing. [Meaning:] “I am now prepared to agree with those who urged me long ago ‘What is man that You should consider him.’”

Flood waters. 1) It ruined everything, [בלה], 2) It confused everything, [בלל], 3) It brought everything from higher levels to lower levels [יבל]. This is the basis for Onkelos translation. טוֹפָנָא [Aramaic for “float”] because it caused everything to float and brought it to Babylon which is a low-lying land. It is for this reason that it is called שִׁנְעָר because there were “shaken out” all those who died in the flood.

And I established My covenant. A covenant was necessary for the fruits, so that they not rot and become putrid and so that the evil people of that generation not kill him.

You, your sons, your wife. The men separate and the women separate. [we derive] from this that marital relations were prohibited to them.

From all living things. [This includes] even the demons.

Two of each. [Meaning that even] from the least of them there were no less than two, one male and one female.

From the birds of their kind. [לְמִינֵהוּ tells us that] those who consorted with their own species and did not corrupt their way and came of their own accord. and all those that the ark took in [Noach] permitted to enter.

Noach did so. This refers to his constructing the ark.