Noah in rabbinic literature Noah in rabbinic literature Allusions in rabbinic literature to the Biblical character Noah, who saved his family and representatives of all the animals from a great flood by constructing an ark, contain various expansions, elaborations and inferences beyond what is presented in the text of the Bible itself. According to Midrash Agadah on Genesis v. 29, Noah obtained his name, which means "rest," only after he had invented implements for tilling the ground, which, owing to the lack of such implements, had yielded only thorns and thistles (comp. Genesis 3:18). In this manner Noah really brought rest to mankind and
Generations of Noah son who refused to come aboard the Ark, instead preferring to climb a mountain, where he drowned. Some later Islamic commentators give his name as either "Yam" or "Kan'an". According to Irish mythology, as found in the "Annals of the Four Masters" and elsewhere, Noah had another son named Bith who was not allowed aboard the Ark, and who attempted to colonise Ireland with 54 persons, only to be wiped out in the Deluge. Some 9th-century manuscripts of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" assert that "Sceafa" was the fourth son of Noah, born aboard the Ark, from whom the House of Wessex