**In the year** 600 of Noah's life, which was year 1656 of creation, he completed the ark. And he made the ark in five years [(see year 1536, 120 years—perhaps the preparation of the wood and similar tasks took 120 years, and the building took five years)]. Then Noah took three daughters of Eliakum son of Methuselah as wives for his sons [(Sefer HaYashar)]:

**Methuselah** died in year 1656, 98 years of Shem's life [(and in Seder HaDorot it says 7, meaning 48 of Shem, and in the Yalkut section 42 it says 58, a typographical error)], 600 years of Noah's life, seven days before the Flood. [And in Seder HaDorot 62 it says he died 14 years after the Flood and stood in the Garden of Eden with his fathers during the time of the Flood, and afterward returned to the world. But according to the count of his years, they ended during the time of the Flood, as is stated in the Yalkut there.] And when Methuselah died, the Lord said to Noah: "Come now, you and your household, into the ark," etc.

"And you shall sit at the entrance of the ark, and all beasts and cattle and birds that come from there and crouch before you—you shall take them and give them into the hands of your sons and bring them into the ark. And all that stand against you, you shall leave," etc. And so he did. And one lioness and its mate—male and female—came, and they crouched, and three sons of the lioness arose and struck it and drove it from its place.

And they returned to their place and crouched on the ground before Noah. And Noah was astonished and brought them into the ark, etc. And all the cattle, beasts, and birds surrounded the ark, and the rain had not yet fallen for seven days. And the Lord shook the entire earth, and the sun darkened, and the foundations of the earth trembled, and lightning flashed and thunder roared, in order to terrify the sons of men to return to the Lord. (The Flood came through thunder, lightning, and sounds, and afterward the fountains burst forth and the waters fell later [(Pirkei d'Rabbi according to his father's name, Rabbi Yitzchak Chaim)].) Yet despite all this, they did not repent, etc.

And it was after seven days, and the Flood, etc. And all the cattle, beasts, and birds surrounded the ark. And about 700,000 men and women gathered and came to Noah and said in a loud voice: "Open for us! Why should we die?" And he answered in a loud voice: "Did you not hear for 120 years the voice of the Lord?" etc.

And they said: "Behold, we repent to the Lord, but open for us and we shall live." And Noah answered, etc. And they sought to break the ark to enter it because of the rain. And the Lord sent all the beasts, cattle, and birds that stood around the ark, and they struck them and drove them away and killed many of them, etc. And the ark went upon the waters and turned here and there, and all the living things in it turned as one turns the pot with a ladle.

And there was great distress among all the creatures, and the ark nearly broke apart. And the lions roared, and the oxen bellowed, and the wolves howled, and all the creatures—their voices were heard from afar. Even Noah and his sons cried out and wept and were very afraid. And Noah prayed to the Lord [(see the prayer)].

And the Lord heard Noah's voice and remembered him, and the spirit of the Lord passed over the earth and the waters subsided, and the ark rested. And the fountains of the great deep were stopped, etc. And he opened the window of the ark, and Noah called again to the Lord and said, etc. And the Lord heard Noah's voice and said to him: "When you complete a full year, then you shall go out" [(Sefer HaYashar)].

That year the constellation of Pisces was in the west—an evil omen—and signs were seen in the heavens, and one star appeared and circled the entire sphere of the constellations within a month of days, and this indicates the destruction and loss of the world [(Tzemach David, part 2)]. One calculation says year 1487 by the Ishmaelite count: in Noah's time all seven stars were in the constellation of Pisces, and in year 1487 mentioned above, there were only six of them missing, and there was a torrential rain and many drowned [(Yuchsin, Second Discourse, Ninth Period)]:

**Cain** died in the year of the Flood. [It is stated in the Sifrei, Parshat Mishpatim, chapter 31: Cain added 726 years to his father's days (meaning Adam HaRishon lived 930; add 726, which equals 1656, when the Flood occurred). And so wrote the Ramban in Parshat Bereishit, so that he would see the destruction of his descendants. And it is puzzling that none of the books of chronicles mentioned this opinion.

See Rabbah on Kohelet and Bereishit Rabbah chapter 22 and Parshat Noah and Sifrei chapter 31]:

"On this day, Noach came, and he did not say 'on this day' as mentioned above, to teach you that the day of entry was on the fourth day. From this, it is evident that the Sages have ruled that one does not set sail on a ship less than three days before Shabbat.

Therefore, it is stated 'on this very day,' at the height of the day, which day the sun is strongest, that is the fourth day, on which the luminaries were hung, and then the sun is in its strength like a groom coming out of his chamber (Tz'va).”

It is written [in the commentary of the Bachyai on Parashat Chukat, that Shemchazai, one of the sons of the gods, served close to their entry into the Ark with the wife of Cham, and Sihon was born. In order to cover for his wife, Cham served in the Ark.

Thus far the text. And it appears that Shemchazai served in the Ark, for if he had served before they entered the Ark, Cham would not have needed to serve in the Ark to cover for his wife, as it is said that her husband served with her before his entry into the Ark. And I ask, who brought Shemchazai into the Ark? It can be said that it is stated in Bereishit Rabbah, Parashat Noach, that from all living beings, even the spirits (i.e., the demons), Noach brought into the Ark.

However, it is difficult to understand, for I have written above (in the year 5722) that Shemchazai repented before the Flood, and we do not have the means to compare the differences. According to this, Sihon was born in the Ark and Og was outside the Ark; therefore, it is expounded that the fugitive Og was spared from the Flood (as mentioned in Bereshit Rabbah, chapter 8 and Tanchuma, chapter 8). But in Midrash Rabbah, Parashat Zot HaBerachah, it is stated that Sihon and Og were not affected by the Flood up to their ankles.]

Bat [Yiftach is the wife of Cham who served in the Ark, and she was the daughter of Rabbi Chanina, the son of Tzadok (Avot deRabbi Natan, year 5781)]:

In the year 570 (the life of Noach is 956), in the second month, on the seventeenth of the month, all the fountains of the deep were broken up, and the waters were decreasing and increasing until the tenth month [(this is three years on the cycle (for in the year 570, the small cycle was completed, as 19 years multiplied by 19 is 570); thus, the flood occurred in a leap year, for the third year of the small cycle is a leap year, and so writes the author of the Yefeh Toar in Bereishit Rabbah 34 regarding what is stated about the judgment of the generation of the flood, for the flood was in the leap year, and so writes Rabbi Yitzchak of Kinion in accordance with what the Yefeh Toar states, and in the book Levith Chen, Parashat Noach, there is a discussion on this matter)]:

On the first of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen, and it was at the end of forty days, etc. [Rashi explains that when the tops of the mountains were seen, it is puzzling, for after seven days that the raven did not wish to go, he sent the dove, and it is stated that the dove did not find rest. How is it possible that on the twenty-seventh day, when the tops of the mountains were seen, it did not find rest, since the waters did not recede until fourteen days later?

For from the time the tops of the mountains were seen on the first of Av until the waters receded at the beginning of Tishrei, there were only sixty-one days, as Rashi explains.

Therefore, it appears as stated in the section "At the end of forty days," that the waters began to diminish on the first of Sivan, as Rashi explains, and until the first of Av, when the tops of the mountains were seen, it was sixty days, and the total was twenty-seven days until the first sending of the dove.

Thus, it did not find rest because this was thirteen or fourteen days before the tops of the mountains were seen, and he waited seven days to send the dove a second time, and this was six or seven days before the tops of the mountains were seen, and he waited another seven days and brought back food, for several trees were visible (Pirkei Rabi Eliezer)].

And the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat, which is called Armenia, and to this day there is a mark there. In ancient times, they were healed from it, like the theriac in our time [(Yuchsin, Maamar He, Zman B')]. In the land of Kutt, there are four high mountains, two opposite two, and between them stood the ark, and they are the mountains of Ararat [(Geography)].