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2 Peter refers to Noah as a preacher of righteousness, following a Jewish tradition not found in the Hebrew Bible, but found in other Jewish texts and traditions such as the Rabbinic midrash in Genesis Rabbah.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Peter 2:5
New Testament
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into Tartarus16 and locked them up in chains in utter darkness, to be kept until the judgment, 5 and if he did not spare the ancient world, but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others, when God brought a flood on an ungodly world, 6 and if he turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when he condemned them to destruction, having appointed them to serve as an example to future generations of the ungodly, 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless men, 8 (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) 9 —if so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and to reserve the unrighteous for punishment at the day of judgment, 10 especially those who indulge their fleshly desires and who despise authority. Brazen and insolent, they are not afraid to insult the glorious ones,
Genesis Rabbah 30:7
Aggadah
Rabbinic
“[Noah was a righteous] man [ish]” – everywhere that ish is stated, it is a righteous man who rebukes. As all one hundred and twenty years, Noah would plant cedars and chop them down [for timber]. They said to him: ‘Why are you doing this?’ He said to them: ‘So said the Master of the world, that He is bringing a flood upon the world.’ They said to him: ‘If He brings a flood, it will come only upon the house of that man!’ When Methuselah died they said to him: ‘Indeed, it [tragedy] came only upon the house of that man.’ That is what is written: “A flame [lapid] of contempt for those of complacent thoughts [ashtut], destined to cause slippings of the foot” (Job 12:5). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: [God declared:] I had a single herald who arose for me in the generation of the Flood – this is Noah; there, when they [mean to] say: ‘He has an announcement,’ [they say] he has a lapid. Of contempt – as they would disparage him, calling him ‘contemptible old man.’ “For those of complacent thoughts [ashtut]” – as they were as hard as blocks of metal [ashatot]. “Destined to cause slippings of the foot” – as they were destined for two disasters – a disaster from above and a disaster from below.
Date: 500 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Finally, in Genesis Rabbah 30:7, God says, “‘One herald arose for me in the generation of the Flood, Noah,’” while those around him, “despised him and called him, ‘Contemptible old man!’” The portion of Sibylline Oracles that narrates the tradition of Noah preaching repentance at God’s command was written and available before 2 Peter was composed. Sources such as Antiquities, b. Sanhedrin, and Genesis Rabbah were either composed after 2 Peter or were unavailable to the author; however, the fact that this tradition was so pervasive and appears in various literary works from c. 300 BCE through Talmudic works dating to c. 500 CE, attests to its popularity ..."
Devivo, Jenny
2 Peter 2:4-16: The Redaction of the Biblical and Intertestamental References Dependent on Jude 5-11 and Their Overall Significance
(p. 70) Loyola University Chicago, 2014
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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