Why the Animals Left Noah's Ark by Their Families

Midrash Aggadah, Genesis 8:19

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"By their families." And not they themselves; for all the men and the women went out, but as for the cattle and the wild beast, their offspring went out and not they themselves. And this is what is written, "by their families." "They went out of the ark." Upon this condition they went out: that they should not mix their seed with a species that is not their own.

Themes

NoahAnimalsDeceptionFloodWisdom

Biblical References

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Midrash AggadahThe Beasts That Guarded Noah's Ark From the Flood GenerationWhen the rains finally broke open the sky, the men of that doomed generation did not repent. They ran instead toward the ark of Noah, fists and tools in hand, mBook of JubileesEber and Noah of ShelahThe Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text that expands on the stories in Genesis, tells us that Eber had something important to write down. But, as it says, Legends of the JewsThe Giant Beast That Could Not Fit on the ArkThe familiar story is this: the flood, the animals two-by-two, a new beginning. But what about the creatures that almost didn't make it? Or the ones that hitcheMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelWhy the Rabbis Warned About Where the Eyes WanderThe generation of the Flood was destroyed by the very thing they worshipped. The Mekhilta draws a chilling connection between their sin and their punishment thrMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelThe men of the generation of the flood, who were "ugly" inThe book of Job presents one of the most profound tests of faith in all of Scripture. Job loses everything, his wealth, his children, his health. And his wife uTargum OnkelosThe Flood Through Onkelos's Aramaic LensThe Hebrew Bible says God "shut him in" the ark (Genesis 7:16), a strangely intimate image of the Creator personally closing Noah's door. Targum Onkelos renders