Editing Noah (section)

==Religious views==
===Judaism===
{{See also|Noah in rabbinic literature|Noach (parsha)}}
[[File:Ararat Ms. 11639 521a.jpg|205px|left|thumb|A Jewish depiction of Noah]]
The righteousness of Noah is the subject of much discussion among rabbis.<ref name=JewishEnyc/> The description of Noah as "righteous in his generation" implied to some that his perfection was only relative: In his generation of wicked people, he could be considered righteous, but in the generation of a ''[[tzadik]]'' like [[Abraham]], he would not be considered so righteous. They point out that Noah did not pray to God on behalf of those about to be destroyed, as Abraham prayed for the wicked of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]]. In fact, Noah is never seen to speak; he simply listens to God and acts on his orders. This led some commentators to offer the figure of Noah as "the righteous man in a fur coat," who ensured his own comfort while ignoring his neighbour.<ref>Mamet, D., Kushner, L., [https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr0SAQAAIAAJ&q=+%22man+in+a+fur+coat%22 ''Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy''], Schocken Books, 2003, p. 1.</ref> Others, such as the medieval commentator [[Rashi]], held on the contrary that the building of the Ark was stretched over 120 years, deliberately in order to give sinners time to repent. Rashi interprets his father's statement of the naming of Noah (in Hebrew – Noaħ נֹחַ). "This one will comfort us (in Hebrew– yeNaĦamenu יְנַחֲמֵנו) in our work and in the toil of our hands, which come from the ground that the Lord had cursed"<ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis|5:29|9}}</ref> Some interpret this as meaning Noah heralded a new era of prosperity, when there was an easing (in Hebrew, naħah נחה) of the curse from Adam's time, when the Earth produced thorns and thistles even where men sowed wheat. It is said that Noah introduced the plow, symbolizing this relief.<ref>Frishman, J., Rompay, L. von, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SqThaPjXFyQC&q=noah+righteous&pg=PA63 ''The Book of Genesis in Jewish and Oriental Christian Interpretation: A Collection of Essays''], Peeters Publishers, 1997, pp. 62–65.</ref>

According to the ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'', "The [[Book of Genesis]] contains two accounts of Noah." In the first, Noah is the hero of the flood, and in the second, he is the father of mankind and a husbandman who planted the first vineyard. "The disparity of character between these two narratives has caused some critics to insist that the subject of the latter account was not the same as the subject of the former."<ref name=JewishEnyc/>

The ''[[Encyclopedia Judaica]]'' notes that Noah's drunkenness is not presented as reprehensible behavior. Rather, "It is clear that ... Noah’s venture into viticulture provides the setting for the castigation of Israel’s Canaanite neighbors." It was Ham who committed an offense when he viewed his father's nakedness. Yet, "Noah’s curse, ... is strangely aimed at Canaan rather than the disrespectful Ham."<ref name=Skolnik287 />

===Mandaeism===
In [[Mandaeism]], Noah ({{langx|myz|ࡍࡅ|Nu}}) is mentioned in [[s:Translation:Ginza Rabba/Right Ginza/Book 18|Book 18]] of the ''[[Right Ginza]]''. In the text, [[Noah's wife]] is named as Nuraita ({{langx|myz|ࡍࡅࡓࡀࡉࡕࡀ}}), while his son is named as Shum (i.e., [[Shem]]; {{langx|myz|ࡔࡅࡌ|Šum}}).<ref name="GR Gelbert">{{cite book |url=https://livingwaterbooks.com.au/product/ginza-rba/ |last1=Gelbert |first1=Carlos |title=Ginza Rba |year=2011 |publisher=Living Water Books |location=Sydney |isbn=9780958034630}}</ref><ref name="GR Lidzbarski">{{cite book|last=Lidzbarski|first=Mark|date=1925|title=Ginza: Der Schatz oder Das große Buch der Mandäer|location=Göttingen|publisher=Vandenhoek & Ruprecht|url=https://archive.org/details/MN41563ucmf_2}}</ref>

===Christianity===
[[File:Noah catacombe.jpg|150px|right|thumb|An early Christian depiction showing Noah giving the gesture of [[orant]] as the dove returns]]

2 Peter 2:5 refers to Noah as a "preacher of righteousness".<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Peter|2:5|NASB}} ([[New American Standard Bible]])</ref> In the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke, Jesus compares Noah's flood with the coming [[Last Judgement|Day of Judgement]]: "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the coming of the [[Son of man (Christianity)|Son of Man]]. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|24:38}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|17:26}}</ref>

The [[First Epistle of Peter]] compares the power of [[baptism]] with the Ark saving those who were in it. In later Christian thought, the Ark came to be compared to the [[Christian Church|Church]]: [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] was to be found only within Christ and his Lordship, as in Noah's time it had been found only within the Ark. [[St Augustine of Hippo]] (354–430), demonstrated in ''[[The City of God (book)|The City of God]]'' that the dimensions of the Ark corresponded to the dimensions of the human body, which corresponds to the [[body of Christ]]; the equation of Ark and Church is still found in the [[Anglican]] rite of baptism, which asks God, "who of thy great mercy didst save Noah," to receive into the Church the infant about to be baptised.<ref>Peters, DM., [https://books.google.com/books?id=MXU3PTrFe6gC&q=nuanced+%22temple+period%22+%22and+early+christianity%22 ''Noah Traditions in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Conversations and Controversies of Antiquity''], Society of Biblical Lit, 2008, pp. 15–17.</ref>

In [[History of medieval Christianity|medieval Christianity]], Noah's three sons were generally considered as the founders of the populations of the three known [[continent]]s, [[Japheth]]/Europe, [[Shem]]/Asia, and [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]]/Africa, although a rarer variation held that they represented the three classes of medieval society – the priests (Shem), the warriors (Japheth), and the peasants (Ham). In medieval Christian thought, Ham was considered to be the ancestor of the people of black Africa. So, in racialist arguments, the curse of Ham became a justification for the slavery of the black races.<ref>Jackson, JP., Weidman, NM., [https://books.google.com/books?id=g4WalMw26IkC&q=noah+christianity+medieval+shem&pg=PA4 ''Race, Racism, and Science: Social Impact and Interaction''], ABC-CLIO, 2004, p. 4.</ref>

[[Isaac Newton]], in his religious works on the development of religion, wrote about Noah and his offspring. In Newton's view, while Noah was a monotheist, the gods of pagan antiquity are identified with Noah and his descendants.<ref>{{citation |last=Force |first=J E |chapter=Essay 12: Newton, the "Ancients" and the "Moderns" |editor-last1= Popkin |editor-first1=RH |editor-last2=Force |editor-first2=JE |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gJKaqMDxyL0C&q=noah+religion&pg=PA254 |title=Newton and Religion: Context, Nature, and Influence |publisher=Kluwer |year=1999 |pages=253–254 |via=Google Books |series=International Archive of the History of Ideas |number =161|isbn=9780792357445 }}</ref>

===Gnosticism===
An important Gnostic text, the ''[[Apocryphon of John]]'', reports that the chief [[archon (Gnosticism)|archon]] caused the flood because he desired to destroy the world he had made, but the First Thought informed Noah of the chief archon's plans, and Noah informed the remainder of humanity. Unlike the account of Genesis, not only are Noah's family saved, but many others also heed Noah's call. There is no ark in this account. According to [[Elaine Pagels]], "Rather, they hid in a particular place, not only Noah, but also many other people from the unshakable race. They entered that place and hid in a bright cloud."<ref>{{cite book|last=Pagels|first=Elaine|author-link=Elaine Pagels|title=The Gnostic Gospels|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sOfrvFT7RVYC|year=2013|publisher=Orion|isbn=978-1-78022-670-5|page=163}}</ref>

===Druze faith===
The [[Druze]] regard Noah as the second spokesman (''natiq'') after [[Adam]], who helped transmit the foundational teachings of monotheism (''tawhid'') intended for the larger audience.{{sfn|Swayd|2009|p=3}} He is considered an important prophet of God among Druze, being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.<ref name="Hitti 1928 37" /><ref name="Dana 2008 17" />

===Islam===
{{Main|Noah in Islam}}
[[File:Noah's Ark by Miskin.jpg|thumb|left|upright|An Islamic depiction of Noah and the ark in a 16th-century [[Mughal painting|Mughal miniature]]]]

Noah is a highly important figure in [[Islam]] and he is seen as one of the most significant of all [[prophets in Islam|prophets]]. The [[Quran]] contains 43 references to Noah, or ''Nuḥ'', in 28 chapters, and the seventy-first chapter, [[Nuh (surah)|''Sūrah Nūḥ'']] ({{langx|ar|سورة نوح}}), is named after him. His life is also spoken of in the commentaries and in Islamic legends.

Noah's narratives largely cover his preaching as well the story of the [[Flood myth|Deluge]]. Noah's narrative sets the prototype for many of the subsequent prophetic stories, which begin with the prophet warning his people and then the community rejecting the message and facing a punishment.

Noah has several titles in Islam, based primarily on praise for him in the Quran, including "Trustworthy Messenger of God" ({{qref|26|107}}) and "Grateful Servant of God" ({{qref|17|3}}).<ref name=Skolnik287 >{{cite book | editor-last1=Skolnik | editor-first1=Fred | editor-last2=Berenbaum | editor-first2=Michael | editor3=Thomson Gale (Firm) | title=Encyclopaedia Judaica | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-02-865943-5 | oclc=123527471 | url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/70174939.html | access-date=29 November 2019 | first1=Dwight | last1=Young | chapter=Noah | edition=2nd | quote=The earliest Mesopotamian flood account, written in the Sumerian language, calls the deluge hero Ziusudra, which is thought to carry the connotation “he who laid hold on life of distant days.” | volume=15 | pages=287–291 | chapter-url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-and-religion/biblical-proper-names-biographies/noah}}</ref><ref name="Enc Islam">{{cite book|last=Gibb|first=Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen|author-link=Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb|title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam: NED-SAM|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OO4pAQAAMAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Brill|pages=108–109|isbn=9789004098343}}</ref>

The Quran focuses on several instances from Noah's life more than others, and one of the most significant events is the Flood. God makes a [[covenant (biblical)|covenant]] with Noah just as he did with Abraham, [[Moses in Islam|Moses]], [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]] and [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]] later on ({{qref|33|7|pl=y}}). Noah is later reviled by his people and reproached by them for being a mere human messenger and not an angel ({{qref|10|72-74|pl=y}}). Moreover, the people mock Noah's words and call him a liar ({{qref|7|62|pl=y}}), and they even suggest that Noah is possessed by a devil when the prophet ceases to preach ({{qref|54|9|pl=y}}). Only the lowest of classes in the community join Noah in believing in God's message ({{qref|11|29|pl=y}}), and Noah's narrative further describes him preaching both in private and public. The Quran narrates that Noah received a revelation to build an [[Noah's Ark|Ark]], after his people refused to believe in his message and hear the warning. The narrative goes on to describe that waters poured forth from both the earth and the Heavens, destroying all the sinners. Even one of his sons disbelieved him, stayed behind, and was drowned. After the Flood ended, the Ark rested atop [[Mount Judi]] ({{qref|11|44|b=y}}).
[[File:Noah's ark and the deluge.JPG|thumb|upright|Ottoman depiction of Noah's ark and the deluge from ''[[Zubdat al-Tawarikh|Zubdat-al Tawarikh]]'', 1583]]
Also, Islamic beliefs deny the idea of Noah being the first person to drink wine and experience the aftereffects of doing so.<ref name=Skolnik287 /><ref name = "Enc Islam"/>

Quran 29:14 states that Noah had been living among the people who he was sent to for 950 years when the flood started.

{{blockquote|Indeed, We sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them for a thousand years, less fifty. Then the Flood overtook them, while they persisted in wrongdoing.|{{qref|29|14|c=y}}}}

===Baháʼí Faith===
The [[Baháʼí Faith]] regards the Ark and the Flood as symbolic.<ref>From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, October 28, 1949: Baháʼí News, No. 228, February 1950, p. 4. Republished in {{harvnb|Compilation |1983|p=508}}</ref> In Baháʼí belief, only Noah's followers were spiritually alive, preserved in the ark of his teachings, as others were spiritually dead.<ref>{{cite web|first = Brent|last = Poirier|title = The Kitab-i-Iqan: The key to unsealing the mysteries of the Holy Bible|url = http://bahai-library.com/poirier_iqan_unsealing_bible|access-date = 2007-06-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Shoghi Effendi |author-link=Shoghi Effendi |year=1971 |title=Messages to the Baháʼí World, 1950–1957 |publisher=Baháʼí Publishing Trust |location=Wilmette, Illinois, USA |isbn=0-87743-036-5 |url=http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/MBW/ |page=104}}</ref> The Baháʼí scripture ''[[Kitáb-i-Íqán]]'' endorses the Islamic belief that Noah had a large number of companions, either 40 or 72, besides his family on the Ark, and that he taught for 950 (symbolic) years before the flood.<ref>From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, November 25, 1950. Published in {{harvnb|Compilation |1983|p=494}}</ref>

===Ahmadiyya===
According to the [[Ahmadiyya]] understanding of the Quran, the period described in the Quran is the age of his [[Dispensation (period)|dispensation]], which extended until the time of [[Abraham in Islam|Ibrahim]] (Abraham, 950 years). The first 50 years were the years of spiritual progress, which were followed by 900 years of spiritual deterioration of the people of Noah.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://www.alislam.org/library/books/HadhratNuh.pdf | title=Hadhrat Nuh | author=Rashid Ahmad Chaudhry | year=2005 | publisher=Islam International Publications |isbn=1-85372-758-X}}</ref>