Parashat Noaj, חָמָס (ḥamás), the Dor HaMabul and the Messianic prophecy of Yeshua
Yeshua's statement in Matthew 24:37 is usually quoted in isolation:
"Just as the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be."
However, the expression "the days of Noah" It belongs to a much broader biblical context. To understand it from its Hebrew roots, it is necessary to relate Bereshit 6–9, Daniel 7, Matthew 24, Luke 17 and the Jewish interpretations of the דור המבול (Dor HaMabul, “generation of the Flood”).
Furthermore, we must distinguish four levels. First, what the TorahSecond, how do they interpret those texts? Mishnah, the Talmud, the Midrash, and the Jewish commentatorsThird, what they teach GospelsFinally, the conclusions that can be drawn from relating these sources.
This distinction is important. We must not present as "rabbinic teaching" that which belongs to a later messianic interpretation. Nor should we attribute to Yeshua words that the text does not contain.
Based on this, the expression "like in the days of Noah" It takes on a much deeper meaning than the simple statement that "the world will be bad."
SEE THE VIDEO OF THIS CLASS IN SPANISH
1. “As in the days of Noah”: the fundamental text
Matthew 24:37 says in Greek:
For as the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
For you are the ones who have come to us, and you are the ones who have come to us.
Literally:
"For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."
The word presence (parousia) It means presence, arrival or coming.
Next, Yeshua explains the comparison. People were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark.
Then he adds:
and they did not know — kai ouk egnōsan
That is to say: "and they did not understand," "they did not recognize," or "they did not realize," until the Flood came.
Therefore, we find here a first key. Yeshua's emphasis is not initially on listing the sins of the Dor HaMabul. Rather, he highlights that generation's inability to recognize the significance of the moment they were living in.
Life went on.
That's precisely where the danger lay.
2. Luke 17 and the key to understanding the days of Noah
Luke 17 expands on this teaching by placing two events in parallel: the days of Noah and the days of Lot.
In Noah's day, people ate, drank, and married. In Lot's time, they also bought, sold, planted, and built.
This point is important because none of these activities is inherently bad. Eating is not a sin. Neither is getting married. Similarly, buying, planting, or building are all part of everyday life.
Therefore, interpreting that Yeshua condemned those actions misses the main point of the comparison.
The problem is the unconscious normality.
In other words, a society can maintain intense economic activity. It can celebrate marriages, develop projects, and make plans for the future. However, at the same time, it can ignore a spiritual crisis that is nearing its climax.
Thus we can formulate a first definition:
The days of Noah describe a civilization that continues to live as if the present order were permanent, while approaching a decisive moment of judgment.
SEE THE VIDEO OF THIS CLASS IN ENGLISH
3. How does the Torah describe the Dor HaMabul?
To better understand the days of Noahwe must return to Parashat Noaj.
Bereshit 6 presents several fundamental concepts:
Evil (ra’ah): evil.
Shajat (shajat): corruption, ruin or destruction.
Hamas (ḥamás): violence, injustice or grievance.
Road (derej): path or conduct.
The Torah declares:
And the earth was corrupt before God.
Vatishajet ha’aretz lifnei ha’Elohim.
"The earth had become corrupt in God's sight."
Then he adds:
And the land was filled with famine.
Vatimalé ha’aretz ḥamás.
"And the earth was filled with hamas."
Finally, the text states:
For all flesh had corrupted his way on the earth.
"For all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth."
Thus, we can observe a progression:
corrupt heart → corrupt behavior → corrupt relationships → society full of violence and injustice.
4. Shajat (shajat): corruption that leads to destruction
Genesis 6 contains a remarkable relationship between corruption and destruction.
At the beginning, the Torah says:
And the earth will be destroyed.
"The land became corrupt."
Later, God declares:
And behold, I am their destroyer.
"And behold, I will destroy them."
Both expressions come from the root:
hay
This root can express corruption, ruin, and destruction.
Therefore, there is a relationship between the corruption produced by humanity and the destruction that ultimately befalls that world.
From this perspective, Mabul does not appear merely as an external punishment. It can also be understood as the endpoint of a destruction that humanity itself had introduced into the created order.
Thus we can appreciate the principle of:
Measure for measure — midá kenegued midá
that is, measure corresponding to measure.
5. What does חָמָס (ḥamás) mean in Genesis 6?
One of the central terms of Parashat Noaj is:
Hamas — ḥamás
Its meaning is not limited to physical violence.
In the Hebrew Bible, the term can express violence, injustice, offense, cruelty, abuse and harm against one's neighbor.
For that reason, simply translating it as "violence" may be insufficient.
Genesis 6 declares:
And the land was filled with famine.
The phrase means that the earth had fill of Hamas.
In other words, violence and injustice had come to occupy all social space.
Therefore, we can understand the expression as the description of a society marked by the abuse of others.
6. What did the sages understand by ḥamás?
Jewish tradition develops this word in a particularly significant way.
Rashi comments on Genesis 6:11:
And the land will be filled with violence - robbery.
«La tierra se llenó de ḥamás — [esto significa] companion, robo».
For its part, Bereshit Rabbah 31:5 presents an even clearer picture.
The Midrash describes a person taking a basket of goods to the market. Someone takes such a small amount that it falls below the value that can be claimed in court. Then another person does the same. Then a third person arrives.
In the end, the victim loses practically everything. However, each aggressor has taken advantage of a legal loophole.
Ethical teaching is powerful:
A society can preserve laws and courts while destroying justice.
You don't need to eliminate the law.
Instead, you can learn to to use it for one's own benefit and to the detriment of others.
This rabbinic image helps to understand the seriousness of ḥamás.
7. When injustice becomes the system
At this point, the problem is no longer an isolated thief.
We are facing a culture where many people discover how to harm others without fully assuming the consequences.
Furthermore, Bereshit Rabbah speaks of economic grievance and offense through wordsHe then broadens the discussion to include other forms of moral decay.
So, ḥamás It can function within rabbinic interpretation as a word that summarizes the breakdown of human relationships.
Consequently, my neighbor ceases to be someone I should treat fairly. Instead, he becomes someone I can take advantage of.
8. The biblical hamas and a necessary clarification
It is advisable to avoid an anachronism here.
The חָמָס (ḥamás) from Genesis 6 It is an ancient biblical Hebrew term related to violence, grievance, and injustice.
In itself, it does not constitute a prophetic reference to the name of a contemporary organization.
The similarity in the transliteration also does not allow us to convert Genesis 6:11 into a prediction of a modern name.
In this study we talk about ḥamás of the Torah.
Its importance is much broader, because it represents a moral category. When violence, exploitation, and injustice pervade a society, human relationships begin to deteriorate.
9. What was the decisive sin of Dor HaMabul?
Jewish tradition makes an important observation here.
Rashi relates ותשחת — “se corruptió” with serious forms of moral corruption. Instead, it interprets violence as companion, robo.
Sanhedrin 108a also teaches that that generation had committed numerous transgressions. However, their sentence was especially linked to the Gazelle (gezel)That is, theft or robbery.
This emphasis places enormous importance on relationships:
Between a man and his friend — bein adam lejaveró
between a person and their neighbor.
In other words, a civilization can develop culture and religiosity while destroying interpersonal justice.
For the Torah, that injustice has a profound weight.
10. Prosperity, pleasure, and arrogance in the days of Noah
At this point an important connection appears with the words of Yeshua.
Why does it mention eating, drinking, and getting married?
Rabbinic tradition describes the Flood generation as enjoying abundance. However, that prosperity could also fuel their arrogance.
The texts present images of safe houses, livestock, children, music, well-being, and pleasures.
This introduces another category:
abundance — shefa, abundancia
Abundance is not the problem.
The danger arises when it produces a false sense of self-sufficiency. As a result, a person can lose awareness of dependence, responsibility, and boundaries.
The pattern can be expressed as follows:
blessing → self-sufficiency → arrogance → rebellion.
In this way, the words of Yeshua acquire a special force.
The generation described doesn't have to resemble a devastated society. On the contrary, it can be prosperous, celebrate, trade, and build. It can even make plans for many decades to come.
That is precisely why he may stop recognizing his true condition.
11. ארך אפים: patience before judgment
Pirkei Avot 5:2 states:
Ten generations from Adam to Noah
"Ten generations from Adam to Noah."
The Mishnah relates those generations to:
To announce how long he has been waiting for him
"to show how great His patience is."
This is how the concept appears:
Erej apayim — erej apayim
patience or long-suffering.
The Noah pattern therefore contains two realities: prolonged mercy and eventual trial.
The delay of the trial does not mean that the trial does not exist.
12. Noah as a living warning
The Talmudic tradition also presents Noah warning his generation.
Sanhedrín 108 describe a Noah the Tzadik — Noaj haTzadikNoah the righteous, exhorting the people:
Make a reply — Asú teshuvá
"Let them do teshuvah.
According to this tradition, the generation did not simply lack information. They had received a warning, but that warning did not change their behavior.
Therefore, we can distinguish three levels.
Ignorance: I did not receive any information.
Knowledge: I received information.
Recognition: I understood its meaning and acted.
The problem of Dor HaMabul It belongs especially to the last level.
13. Why does Yeshua use the title "Son of Man"?
We now come to one of the central questions.
Why does Matthew 24:37 speak of the coming of the Son of Man?
The title takes us to the prophetic horizon of Daniel 7:13:
And behold, with the clouds of heaven, a great man came.
Va’arú im ananei shemaya kevar enash até…
“And behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming…”
The key expression is:
קבר אֱנָשׁ — kevar enash
"like a son of man" or "like a human being."
Next, Daniel 7:13–14 describes how this figure receives dominion, glory, and a kingdom.
Therefore, within the context of Matthew 24, Son of Man leads to the universe of Daniel 7.
14. Daniel 7 and the Jewish Messianic Interpretation
Jewish tradition contains messianic interpretations of Daniel 7.
For example, Rashi comments on the figure who comes "like a son of man":
He is the Messiah King.
"This is the Messiah King."
Furthermore, Sanhedrin 98a uses Daniel 7:13 within a discussion about the coming of the Messiah.
In that discussion, the rabbis compare two images. On one hand, Daniel 7 It features a figure related to clouds. On the other hand, Zechariah 9:9 It describes a humble king riding on a donkey.
Thus, relating Daniel 7 to a messianic expectation is not necessarily a construction external to Jewish tradition.
We also find that reading within rabbinic sources.
15. Why "Son of Man" and not another title?
The answer lies in the literary context.
Matthew 24 speaks of kingdom, judgment, nations, clouds, coming and glory.
Furthermore, Matthew 24:30 declares that they will see the:
Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The connection with Daniel 7 is clear within this reading.
Therefore, "Son of Man" is a title that fits the prophetic setting of Matthew 24.
It is not necessary to create an opposition between "Son of Man" and "Son of God".
Rather, we should ask:
What passage of Scripture does Yeshua evoke through this title?
The answer leads to Daniel 7 and its stage of judgment, kingdom and dominion.
16. The connection between Daniel 7 and Genesis 6
Now we can better observe the structure of teaching.
On one hand, we have Genesis 6–9.
Humanity reaches an extreme state of corruption. Then comes judgment. Noah is preserved, and finally, a new beginning emerges.
On the other hand, it appears Daniel 7.
Empires are depicted as beasts. Then a tribunal is established, and the dominion of these powers reaches its limit. Finally, the figure appears. Already a man (kevar enash), similar to a human being, and receives dominion.
From a theological perspective, a significant contrast can be established.
Genesis 6 shows what happens when humanity degrades through corruption and hamas.
In turn, Daniel 7 presents powers like beasts and contrasts them with a human-like figure and with the saints of the Most High..
The texts should not be confused as if they were a single text. However, their relationship within Yeshua's discourse is significant.
17. The Mabul as de-creation
To better understand the days of NoahWe must also consider the place of the Flood within Bereshit.
In Genesis 1, God organizes the aquatic chaos. He separates the waters, makes dry land appear, and establishes habitable spaces.
In Genesis 7 the opposite occurs.
The sources of:
Tehom Rabbah — tehom rabba
The great abyss opens. At the same time, the heavenly gates also open.
As a result, the waters once again cover the organized world.
From a literary point of view, the Mabul can be read as a kind of:
de-creation
Humanity had corrupted the order of Creation. Now, the story describes a return of the world to the waters.
However, the story doesn't end there.
The waters recede, land reappears, and the animals emerge from the ark. Then the following is heard again:
Peru and many more — Perú urevu
"Be fruitful and multiply."
Therefore, Noah is associated with a new beginning.
18. The Teva: Judgment, Preservation, and New Beginning
In the midst of this de-creation appears:
Thebe — tevá
the ark.
The teva does not prevent the Flood. Rather, it allows one to pass through it.
This creates a pattern:
corruption → warning → separation → trial → preservation → new beginning.
Furthermore, Yeshua says:
"Until the day Noah entered the ark."
The word "until" is important.
There is a moment when the waiting period ends.
This fits with the concept of erej apayimprolonged patience.
A society might interpret the delay of judgment as proof that it will never come. However, within the biblical framework, the waiting also signifies that there is still time.
19. The days of Noah and the Messianic prophecy
Now we can reconstruct the teaching sequence.
Dor HaMabul — Generation of the Flood
A generation becomes corrupted.
Corruption — hashjatá
Corruption pervades the established order.
Hamas — ḥamás
Violence and injustice permeate human relationships.
Shefa
Prosperity can mask the seriousness of the situation.
Erej apayim — erej apayim
There is a prolonged period of patience.
Rebuke — tojajá
The generation receives a warning.
Answer — teshuvá
There is still a possibility of returning.
Lack of recognition
Meanwhile, life continues with apparent normality.
Din
The trial finally arrives.
Salvation — hatzalá
In the midst of the trial there is preservation.
Human / Human being
Then comes the horizon of Daniel: the Son of Man.
Maljut — Maljut
Finally, the story leads to the theme of the Kingdom.
Here we find the messianic dimension of this reading.
The prophecy doesn't end solely with a catastrophe. Its horizon also points to... Kingdom.
Daniel 7:14 speaks of dominion, glory, and kingdom.
Therefore, Yeshua's message should not be reduced simply to the idea that "destruction is coming."
Its horizon indicates that Human corruption and the powers represented as beasts do not constitute the end of the biblical story..
20. "As in the days of Noah": a summary of the teaching
Let us finally return to Matthew 24:37:
"Just as the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be."
The expression brings together three major themes.
Noah and the Mabul
First, it takes us to Bereshith 6–9 already a humanity characterized by:
שחת — corruption
and
חמס — violence and injustice.
Life during the days of Noah
Secondly, the expression "the days" does not only refer to the time of the Flood. It also encompasses the preceding process.
There was prosperity and daily life. People married, ate, traded, and developed projects. At the same time, there was caution, patience, and a lack of recognition. Finally, judgment arrived.
The Son of Man
Thirdly, the title leads us to Daniel 7:
Already ansh — kevar enash.
There appear the clouds, the tribunal, the judgment, the dominion, the glory, and the Kingdom.
Furthermore, within the rabbinic tradition, Daniel 7:13 also received a messianic interpretation.
Therefore, Yeshua's statement can be understood as a relationship between:
Noah + Mabul + Daniel + judgment + Messiah + Kingdom.
The central thesis of the days of Noah
The twenty sections can be summarized in a sequence:
Abundance
↓
גאוה — self-sufficiency and arrogance
↓
שחת — corruption
↓
חמס — violence and injustice
↓
normalization
↓
reprimand — warning
↓
Patience — paciencia
↓
lack of recognition
↓
Judgment
↓
הצלה — preservation
↓
בן אדם — Son of Man
↓
Kingdom — Reino
In this way, we can understand an essential characteristic of the days of Noah:
The unsettling sign is not necessarily that everything seems to be ending. On the contrary, life may seem perfectly normal.
In Matthew 24, people are not depicted hiding in terror while awaiting the end. They go about their daily lives: eating, drinking, and celebrating weddings.
Lucas expands the scene even further. There, too, they buy, sell, plant, and build.
Consequently, commerce is functioning, families are making plans, agriculture continues, and new buildings are going up. The future still seems predictable.
However, the Dor HaMabul described by the Torah is morally full of Hamas (ḥamás).
Here we find the fundamental tension:
Outward normality and inward moral decay.
The ethical warning of Parashat Noah
The purpose of studying "the days of Noah" It shouldn't be about compiling sensationalist lists of current events to claim that each one proves the end has come.
In fact, Yeshua's teaching places the emphasis on vigilance because the moment does not present itself in an easy way to calculate.
Therefore, the most important biblical question is another:
How should a person live when their generation normalizes what the Torah calls corruption?
The answer appears before the Flood:
And Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
In Noah's day, matzah only be’einei YHWH.
"But Noah found favor in the eyes of YHWH."
Further on we read:
Noah was a righteous and blameless man in his generations.
Noaj ish tzadik tamim hayá bedorotav.
Noaj was A righteous man — ish tzadika just man. He was also Tamim — tamim, complete, In his generations — bedorotav, in their generations.
Finally:
God's grace was upon Noah.
And the Lord God said unto Noah.
"Noah walked with God."
That is the true contrast of Parashat Noaj.
While the generation continues its Road (derej), his own way, Noah walks with Elohim.
Where the practical generation ḥamás, Noah represents tens.
Facing the Hashjatá, corruption, Noah appears as with you, complete.
While others ignore the warning, Noah builds the tevah.
The messianic key of "as in the days of Noah"
Yeshua's expression is, therefore, much deeper than a simple warning about a future period of evil.
When talking about "the days of Noah"Yeshua evokes the memory of a civilization that reached the limit of its corruption while daily life continued.
Furthermore, by relating that pattern to the presence of the Son of Man — parousía del Hijo del Hombre, teaching enters Daniel's horizon.
Matthew 24 speaks of the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and glory.
Daniel, for his part, had contemplated:
קבר אֱנָשׁ — kevar enash
one like a son of man, coming:
With the clouds of heaven — im ananei shemayá
"with the clouds in the sky."
Therefore, the literary relationship between both texts is significant.
The teaching can be summarized as follows:
Just as Noah's world reached its limit while ordinary life continued, Yeshua's comparison presents a humanity that continues to live, trade, build, and make plans. The problem is not daily life, but the inability to recognize that a society may have normalized the death of life while believing that everything continues as before.
Therefore, the great exhortation does not consist first in discovering a date.
It consists of discern the generation without becoming it.
It means being tzadik where there exists ḥamás and be with you where there exists HashjatáIt also involves practicing tens where there exists companion.
It also means responding with teshuvah while it still exists erej apayim.
Ultimately, it means walking with Elohim while the generation follows a different path.
That is, from the Hebrew roots of Parashat Noaj, one of the deepest meanings of the statement:
