Lamech Names Noah for the Consolation He Will Bring

Midrash Aggadah Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 5:29 View source

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 20, 2025

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 5:29) preserves the folk etymology of Noah's name. Lamech calls his son "Noach," which the Targum glosses as "Consolation," saying: "This shall console us for our works that are not prosperous, and for the labour of our hands with the earth which the Lord hath cursed on account of the guilt of the sons of men."

Lamech feels the full weight of the curse put on the earth after Adam's sin. The soil is hard. The harvests are meager. Work is a punishment. And he names his son Consolation because he senses that this child will somehow ease the curse.

Jewish tradition (Bereshit Rabbah 25:2) reads this prophetically. Noah did not just console his generation; he changed agricultural history. He is credited as the first to invent the plow, which transformed the labor of working cursed soil. The Targumist lets Lamech's hope stand as prophecy. Sometimes a name given in desperation turns out to be the right name.

Themes

Noah & Flood Parenting Prophecy Righteousness

Biblical References

Genesis 5:29

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