Lamech Foresees the Comforter and the Righteous Bring Good

Another interpretation: "And he begot a son" — for from him the world would be rebuilt: "this one shall comfort us." Was Lamech then a prophet? Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak said: there was a tradition in Adam's hands. When it was said to him (Genesis 3:17), "Cursed is the ground because of you," he said before Him: Master of the world, how long? He said to him: Until a man is born already circumcised from his mother's womb. And when [Noah] was born circumcised, [Lamech] said, "This one shall comfort us." Our Rabbis taught: when a wicked man comes into the world, evil comes into the world, as it is said, "When the wicked comes, contempt also comes" (Proverbs 18:3). When a wicked man perishes from the world, good comes into the world, as it is said (Proverbs 11:10), "And when the wicked perish, there is glad song." When a righteous man departs from the world, evil comes into the world, as it is said, "The righteous one perishes, and no man takes it to heart," and so forth. When a righteous man comes into the world, good comes into the world, as it is said, "This one shall comfort us from our deeds."