God Announces the Flood That Will Swallow All Flesh

Midrash Aggadah Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 6:17 View source

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 3, 2025

The Flood is named. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 6:17) renders it: "I, behold, I bring a flood of waters upon the earth to swallow up all flesh which hath in it the spirit of life from under the heavens: whatever is upon the earth shall be swept away."

The verb "swallow" is deliberate. The earth swallowed Abel's blood and did not answer for it. Now the waters will swallow everything the earth was supposed to protect. The Flood is cosmic reversal. Water returns to its pre-creation abundance, undoing day two and day three in a single stroke. The Targumist wants us to feel the scale: this is not a weather event. It is un-creation.

Themes

Flood Noah & Flood Divine justice Creation Death

Biblical References

Genesis 6:17

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