The Flood and the Destruction of Nineveh/0
The Flood and the Destruction of Nineveh
Introduction
Both the story of the Flood in Bereshit 6-8 and the Book of Yonah revolve around Hashem's decision to destroy a group of degenerate people, guilty of violence (חמס). In one, the world is actually obliterated, while in the other repentance averts the decree. The stories contain several points of contact, inviting the reader to compare the two episodes. What message are we meant to take from the comparison?
Content Parallels
- Decree of destruction – As mentioned, each story revolves around a decree of destruction.
- Violence – In both books, it is the crime of violence which leads to the decree. In Bereshit we read, "כִּי מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ חָמָס", and in Yonah, it states, " וּמִן הֶחָמָס אֲשֶׁר בְּכַפֵּיהֶם".
- Forty days – In the story of the Flood, forty days worth of rain lead to the world's devastation. In the Book of Yonah, the Ninevites are told that in forty days their city is to be overturned.
- Storm and boat – Both stories speak of a boat which sails through a storm and raging waters. In Bereshit, the ark provides a haven for those aboard, saving them from the tempest outside. In Yonah, the boat itself is in danger of destruction, the main target of the storm.
- Sacrifices - After salvation, those aboard each boat offer sacrifices to Hashem.
- Inclusion of animals – Both stories note the role of the animals and suggest that the might have shared in both the sin and the fate of the humans around them.
- According to some commentators, Bereshit 6:, "כִּי הִשְׁחִית כׇּל בָּשָׂר אֶת דַּרְכּוֹ" implies that the animals, too, had sinned. The Ninevites' decision to have their animals join in the repentance process might imply the same.
- In Bereshit, only a few representative of each animal species is saved while the rest are destroyed together with the people. In Yonah, when Hashem decides to have mercy, it is because of both the myriads of humans and the "וּבְהֵמָה רַבָּה".
- Yonah – A "Yonah" is a key figure in each story, with both the bird and prophet each playing the role of messenger.
Points of Contrast
- Storm and Boat – In Bereshit, the ark provides a haven for those aboard, saving them from the tempest outside. In Yonah, the boat itself is in danger of destruction, and is in fact, the main target of the storm.
- Outcome – The main difference between the two stories is, of course, the differing outcome. While the world is destroyed in Bereshit, Nineveh is ultimately saved in Sefer Yonah.
- Regret – In both stories we are told that Hashem regretted an original decision, but in opposite directions. In Bereshit, Hashem regrets having created man (וַיִּנָּחֶם ה' כִּי עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם), and decides to wipe out humanity. In Yonah, Hashem regrets the decision to destroy Nineveh (וַיִּנָּחֶם הָאֱלֹהִים עַל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לַעֲשׂוֹת) leading to its salvation.
- Yonah – While Noach's "Yonah" is a harbinger of peace, bringing a message that the destruction has ended, Yonah the prophet is harbinger of doom, bringing a message of impending destruction. That said, the original Yonah is not able to avert catastrophe, being sent on his mission only once it ended, while the prophet Yonah does manage to save the city.
Literary Allusions
There is very little linguistic overlap between the stories, with only individual words such as "חמס", " וַיִּנָּחֶם הָאֱלֹהִים" and "ארבעים יום" standing out. These words, too, though are not unique to our stories and appear in many other places in Tanakh as well. This would suggest that the Book of Yonah is not intentionally alluding back to the story of the flood.
