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Genesis 7:4 tells us that the rain fell for this specific duration, but why this particular number? Philo, in his Midrash, delves into this very question, and his answer is surpris...
Take, for instance, the verse in Genesis 7:4: "I will destroy every living substance that I have made from off the face of the earth." (Genesis 7:4) Doesn't that phrasing strike yo...
The words that seem almost... unnecessary? Like when we read, "Noah did everything which the Lord commanded him" (Genesis 7:5). Seems straightforward. Noah was a righteous guy, God...
This particular midrash, let's call it Midrash of Philo 5, offers what we might call a "noble panegyric" – high praise, really – for the just person. What makes someone truly just ...
Genesis 7:11 isn’t messing around. Why that precise moment for the deluge to begin? It’s a question that’s kept commentators busy for centuries. Specifically, the Midrash of Philo,...
Our tradition is rich with layers of meaning, isn't it? And sometimes, the smallest detail holds a hidden universe. Take the timing of the great flood. It wasn't just any time. The...
Take the flood narrative in Genesis, for example. We read that "the fountains of the deep were broken open and the floodgates of the sky were opened" (Genesis 7:11). Straightforwar...
Like when Noah is safely tucked away in the ark, the Torah tells us, "And the Lord shut him in, closing the doors of the ark" (Genesis 7:16). Okay, so God closed the door. Makes se...
The Torah tells us, in Genesis 7:19, about the flood: “And the water overflowed fifteen cubits above all the highest mountains.” Simple enough on the surface. But if we dig a littl...
