Noah Questions

Two questions about Noah today. Maybe the floods, hurricanes, and boat rescues is reminding the denizens of Quora (where I usually answer these first) of the Biblical deluge.


Q: Where did the idea of Noah preaching to the people about the flooding come from? I can't seem to find any account of it in the book of Genesis.


A: For Christians this idea may have come from the New Testament book of 2nd Peter 2.5 where Noah is depicted as “a preacher of righteousness… when He [God] brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.”

Peter and many 1st century Jews would have heard these stories from the midrashic commentaries of the rabbis that elaborated on the stories of the Hebrew scriptures.





Q: How did Noah transport the 87 species of human parasites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parasites_of_humans)


A: Inside the humans, I would suppose. Except for the parasites that also afflict animals; they might take a different route.

Of course that's presuming that the story of the Deluge is a strictly historical account, as we modern westerners tend to expect, rather than a story probably based on an actual event (Mesopotamia is known to have had some pretty bad floods) and intended to teach the lessons it teaches: monotheism (as opposed to the multitude of panicky gods who can’t even control their own flood in the old Mesopotamian stories), the incorrigible evil in the heart of man, that evil will be judged, that God requires obedience, that, in the end, God forgives and shows mercy, etc., etc.

Oh yeah, and the origin of wine and need to drink responsibly. Very important. ;)