Noach: Why Was Noach’s Family Saved?

I've always assumed they were saved because of Noach's righteousness, or for the sake of repopulating the world. According to Sforno, neither is true.

Nov 01, 2024

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Artwork: Adobe Firefly 3.0’s response to the prompt, “impressionist painting of Noah standing on the deck of the Ark looking at his wife, three adult sons, and daughters-in-law”

Noach: Why Was Noach’s Family Saved?

Noach wasn’t the only one saved from the Flood. Rather, “Noach, and Shem, Cham, and Yefes, the sons of Noach, along with Noach’s wife and the three wives of his sons, came to the ark” (Bereishis 7:13). Hashem saved Noach because “Noach found chein (favor) in Hashem’s eyes” (ibid. 6:8). The next verse explains the reason for this chein: “Noach was a tzadik (righteous man), blemish-free in his generation; Noach walked with God” (ibid. 6:9). But if Noach was saved because of his righteousness, why were the other seven members of his family saved?

Lest one think that Noach’s wife, sons, and daughters-in-law were also righteous, the Torah clarifies that this was not the case. Hashem instructed Noach, “Come into the ark, you and your entire household, for it is you whom I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation” (ibid. 7:1). The implication is clear: Noach was the only righteous person; his household were not.

Sforno (ibid.) affirms this reading, explaining: “for it is you whom I have seen to be righteous – not your household; therefore, you and your entire household etc. – because it is for your sake that I will save them.” Hashem saved Noach’s household not due to their merit but because of his.

This phenomenon, in which Hashem protects an undeserving person in the merit of a deserving one, is referred to as “collateral hashgachah (providence)”—at least, among my peers in yeshiva. A well-known example is the salvation of Lote due to Avraham’s merit: “And so it was when God destroyed the cities of the plain that God remembered Avraham; so He sent Lote from amidst the upheaval when He overturned the cities in which Lote had lived” (ibid. 19:29). Ralbag (Toeles #21) writes:

The 21^st lesson [we learn from this parashah is a lesson in] ideas, namely, that Hashem’s hashgachah over good people extends to their loved ones and relatives, so that they (the good people) do not suffer from the harm that [would] befall [those close to them]. It is for this reason that Hashem endeavored to save Lote for the sake of Avraham, whom He had remembered.

Lote himself was unworthy of Hashem’s hashgachah, yet Hashem intervened to save him so that Avraham would not suffer. At first glance, it would seem that Hashem saved Noach’s household in a similar manner, sparing them in Noach’s merit to spare him from suffering. However, Sforno explains that this was not the case.

Sforno infers from the verse, “Noach found chein in Hashem’s eyes,” that Noach’s salvation was due to Hashem’s graciousness rather than Noach’s inherent worthiness. Unlike Ramban (ibid.), who interprets “chein” to mean “that all his deeds were beautiful and pleasant before Him,” Sforno (ibid.) argues that this phrase points to Noach’s limitations as a tzadik. He explains:

“Noach found chein in Hashem’s eyes” to also save his children and household—not because he was worthy of this, but by way of chaninah (graciousness) did God, blessed is He, grant him this merit, as it is stated: “[When a country sins against Me, acting with treachery, and I stretch out My hand against it … and eliminate man and beast from it, then even if] these three men would be in its midst—Noach, Daniel, and Iyov—they, by their righteousness, would save [only] their own souls … even if Noach, Daniel, and Iyov would be in its midst … [I swear] that they would save neither sons nor daughters; they, in their righteousness, would save [only] their own souls” (Yechezkel 14:13-14, 20).

Sforno’s student, R’ Elia di Nola (ibid.), expands upon his rebbi’s teachings:

“Noach found favor in Hashem’s eyes.” The Gaon (Sforno) said that even though Noach was a tzadik, he was not among those tzadikim who shield their generation, about whom it is said: “he will save those who are not innocent” (Iyov 22:30). Although he was worthy to save himself, he was not worthy to save the members of his household from the floodwaters. Thus, He said [that Noach] “found chein” and “chein” means “a gratuitous gift,” namely, that in His abundant kindnesses and mercies, He also saved [Noach’s] household with him to establish offspring, even though [Noach,] in his righteousness, was not worthy.

Sforno’s evidence is compelling: Yechezkel ha’navi explicitly states that Noach’s righteousness would not suffice to save his family. This is why the Torah specifies that “Noach found chein in Hashem’s eyes”—indicating that his family’s salvation was a special act of chaninah (graciousness).

A further indication of this is found in the verse: “God remembered Noach and all the wild animals and all the livestock that were with him in the ark, and God made a wind pass over the earth, and the waters subsided” (Bereishis 8:1). The anthropomorphic phrase “God remembered” signifies hashgachah. God “remembered” Noach and the animals, but notably omitted were Noach’s wife, sons, and daughters-in-law. Sforno doesn’t address this omission, but R' Elia di Nola’s comments (ibid.) on his rebbi’s explanation provide an indirect insight:

The Gaon said: Do not be astonished that He showed compassion for livestock and wild animals, for God’s hashgachah extends to them to preserve their species—not in the manner of individual hashgachah, as is the case with humanity. The hashgachah on them is for the sake of mankind, as it is written: “He makes herbage sprout for the animals, and grass for the labor of man” (Tehilim 104:14) – for the seeds exist for the sake of the animals, and the animals for the sake of man. Consequently, the hashgachah on them is for the sustenance of the species. That is why He commanded [Noach] to gather with him every living creature and seed. This is the meaning of, “God remembered Noach” as an individual, which is hashgachah pratis (individual providence), “and every wild animal etc.” as a klal (general category).

This makes sense: God saved Noach as an act of hashgachah pratis, and the animals as an act of hashgachah klalis for their species and for humanity’s benefit. But Noach’s wife, sons, and daughters-in-law received neither hashgachah pratis nor hashgachah klalis. This supports Sforno’s view that their salvation was purely an act of chaninah—a gratuitous gift.

This also implies that Hashem didn’t save Noach’s family for the sake of repopulating the world, which would certainly have been an act of hashgachah klalis. If Hashem had granted chein only to Noach, saving him alone, how would the world have been repopulated? Who knows? But if Hashem could fashion a woman from Adam ha’Rishon, He could surely have found a way to provide Noach with a wife as well.

A final question remains: Why did Noach lack the merit to save his family? Avraham’s merit extended hashgachah to Lote, but Noach’s did not. What quality was Noach missing? Sforno (ibid. 6:8) explains:

The reason for this is because [Noach] didn’t teach his generation to know Hashem, like Avraham, Moshe, Shmuel, and others did – as Chazal (Pesachim 87a) said, “R’ Yochanan said: This is [an allusion to the Jewish community of] Eilam” – namely, Daniel and his friends – “which merited to study [Torah, but] did not merit to teach.” The same was true of Noach: even though he rebuked his society for their corrupt actions, he did not instruct them to know God, blessed is He, and to walk in His ways, even though he was “a blemish-free tzadik” in his knowledge and his deeds. For indeed, a tzadik who perfects himself alone – he, alone, is worthy to be saved. But one who also perfects others – he is worthy to save others, for through this, there is hope that he will return them in teshuvah (repentance).

All the Rishonim who write about hashgachah explain that humans are the only creatures who receive hashgachah pratis because of their tzelem Elokim (truth-seeking intellect). Noach was righteous enough to be saved, and his rebuke of his generation was part of that righteousness. Yet because he did not spread his knowledge of God to others, his righteousness was insufficient to save anyone else—even his own family.

What do you think of Sforno’s analysis, or my analysis of Sforno? Do you see other possibilities or implications here that I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments!

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