"A little that the righteous have is better than the abundance of many wicked" (Psalm 37:16). The rabbis of Aggadat Bereshit loved this verse because it turned ordinary logic on its head. The wicked had multiplied. The nations were seventy — a myriad of peoples spreading across the post-flood world. And into all that multiplicity stepped three men and their wives from one ark.
Noah's sons — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — went forth from the ark (Genesis 9:18) into a world that needed repopulating. But the rabbis were more interested in lineage than in numbers. From Shem came Abraham. From Abraham came Isaac. From Isaac came Jacob. From Jacob came the twelve tribes. The entire promise to the patriarchs was already implicit in that first "went forth" — a small group, bearing something that no amount of Gentile abundance could dilute.
This is the paradox the midrash savors: Israel was chosen not because it was large. God Himself said so — "Not because you are the most numerous of peoples" (Deuteronomy 7:7). Israel was a little that the righteous had. And the nations, for all their armies and territories and civilizations, were the abundance of the wicked — a wealth that would not outlast its own emptiness. The ark had contained everything the world needed to begin again. And what it carried was not many. It was specific.
Chapter 10: Torah [1] "And the sons of Noah who went forth from the ark" (Genesis 9:18). This is as it is written, "A little that the righteous have is better" (Psalms 37:16). The children of Israel are better than the righteous of the world, as it is written, "Not because you are the most numerous of peoples" (Deuteronomy 7:7), and "from the multitude of the wicked" (Psalms 64:4), Of the seventy nations numbered they were called a multitude, as it is said, O multitude, many nations, etc. (Isaiah 17:12). Alternatively, "A little that the righteous have is better." Noah and his three sons were better than all those multitudes who were in the generation of the flood, among the many wicked people, for there were many multitudes in the generation of the flood, where each man and woman gave birth to four or five children in one acre of land each year, and they gave birth twice a year like sheep, and they would go out among their fathers, as it is said, "They send forth their little ones like a flock" (Job 21:11). See how many multitudes there were, and because of this they angered the Holy One, blessed be He. But what is written of Noah? "And Noah was five hundred years old" (Genesis 5:32). It is not written about him like it is written about all the others, "And he begot sons and daughters," but rather: "these are the records of Noah, three. These are Noah's sons, good were Noah's three sons from all those people, a little good for the righteous, these are the histories of Noah's sons. [2] Different interpretation: "And the sons of Noah" (Genesis 6:10). The righteous walk in their perfection, "fortunate are his children after him" (Proverbs 20:7). Fortunate are the children of Israel, for the merit of their fathers stands for them. By virtue of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Holy One, blessed be He, saved them when they were in Egypt. As it is written, "God heard their groaning" (Exodus 2:24), and when they left Egypt, they left by virtue of their fathers, as it is written, "For He remembered His holy word with Abraham His servant" (Psalm 105:42). When they made the Golden Calf, it is written, "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants" (Exodus 32:13). In the days of Elijah, it is written, "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel" (1 Kings 18:36). Thus, in every generation, the merit of the fathers stands for them. The merit of the fathers stood for them until Hazael, the king of Aram, as it is written, "And Hazael king of Aram oppressed them. But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them and turned to them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them or cast them from His presence until now" (2 Kings 13:22-23). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, "Until now, you had the merit of your fathers. From now on, each one will be dependent on his own actions." Therefore, it is said, "The righteous walks in his integrity" (Proverbs 20:7). By the merit of Noah, his sons merited to live with him through the Flood, and they merited to come out of the ark, as it is written, "And the sons of Noah" (Genesis 6:10). The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "From now on, I will not do as I did with Noah. The fathers do not save their children." As it is written, "Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it [the land] and they, by their righteousness, would save only themselves" (Ezekiel 14:14), and from where is it derived that even in sins, it is said, "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him" (Ezekiel 18:20). [3] Different interpretation: "And the sons of Noah." As it says, "For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land, etc." (Psalm 37:9) "For evildoers shall be cut off," these are the people of the generation of the Flood, "but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land," this refers to Noah and his sons who were saved from the Flood, and came out of the ark. They looked before them and behind them to see if they could find any human beings, but they did not find any, as it is said, "Yet a little while and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there." (Psalm 37:10) "But the meek shall inherit the earth..." (Psalm 37:11) this refers to Noah and his sons, as it says, "These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated." (Genesis 9:19) "...And delight yourself in abundance of peace," (Psalm 37:11) And how great was their peace, that they were with lions, bears, leopards, wolves, serpents, scorpions, and all kinds of creatures in the ark, and they did not harm one another. There is no greater peace than this, therefore it is said, "And delight yourself in abundance of peace." (Psalm 37:11)
