（创07）挪亚：传统解经方法举例 (Genesis 07): Noah: Examples of Traditional Interpretative Methods

(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）

(Genesis 7:6) “Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.”

The Torah portion named after Noah is from Genesis 6:8-11:32, which tells the story of Noah building the ark to escape the flood. Many years ago, during a family Bible study on the weekend, an inquirer who was leading the discussion tried hard to explain or understand how an ark approximately 150 meters long, 25 meters wide, and 15 meters high could possibly hold all kinds of animals and birds in the world. (Later, I saw an explanation suggesting that related species might have had common ancestors back then.) Moreover, people in Genesis had very long lifespans. How can these things be scientifically explained? Many people see this great discrepancy with modern lifespans and thus do not believe the Bible. But years later, I realized that reading this way was not the original intent of the Bible—at least, it was not the most important part. The Bible is, in fact, the Creator’s words to His chosen people, teaching us how to live our lives. It is not an archeology textbook, nor is it a physics dissertation. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” The Creator has the right to decide in what way and by knowledge in which era to have His intended words recorded.

Jewish tradition holds that when reading the Bible, we should at least focus on four levels of meanings.

The first level is Peshat (literal meaning). Here, the main story is about how Noah, because he listened to the Creator’s words, safely passed through the great disaster and preserved humankind, as well as various animals and birds. Note that in studying the literal meaning of Scripture, the focus is not on archaeological or geographical excavations, such as where Noah’s ark might be found. Instead, as Paul—well-versed in Jewish culture—taught in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we ponder the life lessons the Creator teaches us through this passage. For example, Noah worked in his family unit; all eight members cooperated, striving to follow the Creator’s commands, building the ark together, preparing a year’s worth of food, and daily feeding various animals in the ark.

The second level is Remez (implied meaning). Implied meaning, as I understand it, refers to a conclusion that is not explicitly stated in the text but can be deduced. For example, since Noah is the ancestor of all humankind (Genesis 10:32) and he offered sacrifices to the Creator after surviving the flood (Genesis 8:20), it can be deduced that the Creator is the object of worship for all humankind, not just the god of a particular foreign nation. Some of these implied meanings require high levels of mental effort to grasp. For instance, from the fact that the flood came when Noah was 600 years old, it can be inferred that the Creator had immense patience with humankind. The process of deduction is as follows: Noah’s grandfather, Methuselah, is recorded in the Bible (Gen. 5:27) as the longest-lived person, reaching 969 years old. According to Genesis 5:25, “Methuselah lived one hundred eighty-seven years and became the father of Lamech.” Then (Gen. 5:28-29) says, “When Lamech had lived one hundred eighty-two years, he had a son, and he named him Noah…” So Noah’s grandfather died the year the flood came when Noah was 600 (969 = 187 + 182 + 600). Methuselah’s name in the original text means “his death will bring.” The Creator had long determined that the flood would come after Noah’s grandfather’s death. It is likely that He allowed Noah’s grandfather to live so long out of patient waiting for humankind to repent.

The third level is Derash (homiletical meaning). For example, Noah sent a dove out of the ark three times to observe whether the floodwaters had receded (Gen. 8:8-12). The second time, “the dove returned to him in the evening; there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf!” “He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again, but it did not return to him.” Rashi’s commentary records an interpretation here that the dove preferred bitter olive leaves from the Creator’s hand over food as sweet as honey from the hands of mortal men. Similarly, we prefer to rely on the Creator’s grace rather than the mortals’ charity. Reference: https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genesis.8.12?lang=bi

The fourth level is Sod (secret meaning). For example, Jews noticed that the Noah Torah portion has 153 verses. References:

This matches the Hebrew numerical value (gematria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gematria) of the name of “Bezalel,” the builder of the Tabernacle (Exodus 31:12). Noah built the ark for survival, while Bezalel built the Tabernacle to glorify the Creator. Survival is a condition for glorifying God, and glorifying God is the purpose of survival. This number, 153, is also the number of fish the resurrected Jesus helped the disciples catch (John 21:10-11), matching the Hebrew numerical value of “sons of God.” The fact that the Noah Torah portion has exactly 153 verses hints that all humankind has the hope of becoming children of God and glorifying the Creator, not just the single nation of Israel as in the Old Testament, since Noah is the ancestor of all humankind.

The initials of Peshat (literal meaning), Remez (implied meaning), Derash (homiletical meaning), and Sod (mystical meaning) form the word PRDS (meaning “Paradise” in Hebrew). This is the Jewish traditional “Paradise” method of interpreting the Bible. Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardes_(exegesis)

（创07）挪亚：传统解经方法举例

创世记7:6 “当洪水泛滥在地上的时候，挪亚整六百岁。”

以挪亚命名的读经进度，是从创世记6:8-11:32，讲到挪亚造方舟躲避洪水的故事。

多年前在我们家周末查经时，有一个带查经的慕道友曾经很费力地解释或理解一个约150米长，25米宽，15米高的方舟怎么可能装下世界上各种动物和鸟类。（我后来看到一种解释，说相近的物种可能在当时有共同的祖先。）另外，创世记里的人寿命很长，这些怎么从科学上解释？很多人看到这些与现代人的寿命太不一致，就不相信圣经了。但多年后我才发现，这样的读法原来不是圣经的本意，至少不是最重要的一部分。原来，圣经是造物主对祂拣选的人所说的话，是教导我们怎么样行人生的路的，不是考古课本，也不是物理论文。提摩太后书3:16-17说，“圣经都是神所默示的（或作凡神所默示的圣经），于教训，督责，使人归正，教导人学义，都是有益的。” 造物主有权决定用什么方式，按什么个时代人的知识水平，来让祂想要说的话被写下来。

犹太传统认为读圣经时至少应该关注四层意思。

第一层是Peshat（表面意思），这里主要讲挪亚怎么因为听造物主的话，就安全渡过了大灾难，并且还保存了人类和各种动物和鸟类。注意，在学习圣经表面意思的时候，要注重的不是考古或地理的发掘，比如挪亚方舟在哪里可以找到，而是像在前面引用的精通犹太文化的使徒保罗在提摩太后书3:16-17所教导的那样，揣摩造物主通过这段圣经要教我们什么样的人生功课，比如挪亚以家庭为单位，全家八口人相互配合，努力遵行造物主的命令，一起造方舟，准备一年的食物，在方舟上每天喂养各种动物。

第二层意思是Remez（隐含的推论），隐含的推论，我理解为经文里没有明确说，却可以推导出来的结论，比如说，既然挪亚是全人类的祖先(创10:32），而他躲过大洪水后曾全家向造物主献祭（创8:20），这就推导出造物主是全人类所应当敬拜的对象，而不只是某个外族人的神。

（参见一个中国古代献祭的故事https://baike.baidu.com/item/大雅·生民/1923538。）

有些隐含的推论，是需要高度的智力活动才能获得的，比如从挪亚600岁洪水才来，推论出造物主的对人类的高度忍耐。这个推论过程是这样的：挪亚的爷爷玛土撒拉是按圣经记载（创27）活得最长的人，活了969岁。根据（创25 ），“玛土撒拉活到一百八十七岁，生了拉麦。” 然后，（创28-29）“拉麦活到一百八十二岁，生了一个儿子，给他起名叫挪亚，…” 所以，挪亚爷爷是到孙子600岁洪水来的那年才死的（969=187+182+600）。而挪亚爷爷的名字玛土撒拉，在原文就是“他的死送来了”的意思。造物主早就规定在挪亚的爷爷死后送来洪水，祂很可能是因为耐心等待人类悔改，才让挪亚的爷爷活得那么长。

第三层意思是Darash（寓意）。比如说，挪亚为了观测洪水是否已经退去，曾三次送一只白鸽出方舟（创8:8-12），第二次， “鸽子回到他那里，嘴里叼着一个新拧下来的橄榄叶子，” “他又等了七天，放出鸽子去，鸽子就不再回来了。” Rashi解经在这里记载了一种寓意，说这鸽子宁愿它的食物是来自从造物主手中的苦橄榄叶，也不愿是来自必死的凡人手中的食物，即使像蜜那样甜。类似与此，我们宁可依靠造物主的恩典，也不愿依赖凡人的施舍。参考

https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genesis.8.12?lang=bi

第四层意思是Sod（奥秘）。比如说，犹太人注意到，挪亚这个读经进度有153句经文。参考：

https://thinkingtorah.com/parshat-noach-summary/

https://www.ladderofjacob.com/post/153-fish

这与造圣所的以色利人“比撒列”（出31:12）的名字在希伯来文表示的数值（Gematriahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gematria）相等。

挪亚造的是方舟，是为了生存。比撒列造的是圣所，是为了荣耀造物主。生存是荣耀主的条件，荣耀主是生存的目的。这153 ，也是新约里复活后的耶稣帮助门徒们打到的鱼的个数（约翰福音21:10-11），与“神的儿子们”的希伯来语数值数值相同。挪亚这个读经进度正好也有153句经文, 我觉得这也预表全人类都有希望成为神的儿女，荣耀造物主，而不只是像旧约里那样的以色列一个民族，这是因为挪亚是全人类的祖先。

Peshat（表面意思），Remez（隐含的推论），Darash（寓意），和 Sod（奥秘），这四层意思的希伯来文的字首，构成了PRDS（就是PaRaDiSe乐园的意思）- 这就是犹太人传统的“乐园”解经方法。参考https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardes_(exegesis)。