"I don't like this man. He makes me nervous."
—Amy-Jill Levine, Ph.D.

I'm using Levine's Old Testament course for the Teaching Company as one of my "guides" for this project.

"Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God" (NIV). I've looked up Genesis 6:9 in several translations, and the passage seems somewhat ambiguous, perhaps reflecting ambiguity in the original. Levine thinks that Noah was righteous in comparison with the people of his time, which isn't a particularly flattering comparison. Going beyond that, however, it is Noah's reaction to the news of the impending Flood that is most disconcerting.

In Genesis 18, Abraham, God's chosen among his generation, argues with God on behalf of the Sodomites, asking Him to spare the city if He can find at least five upright people in the city (Unfortunately, there's just Lot and his immediate family). Moses later also argues with God, who has threatened to destroy the Israelites for their Noah, receiving the news that the entire world will be destroyed, apparently feels nothing. Putting aside Bill Cosby's eisegesis, he asks God no questions and does not object in any way to the plan to wipe out all of humanity. He's told about the coming destruction of humanity and quietly starts working on his ark.


Fun Religious Ignorance Fact: According to Stephen Prothero's Religious Literacy, ten percent of Americans believe that Joan of Arc is Noah's wife.