Noach (נֹחַ) is the tenth generation from Adam through the Shet line, son of Lemech, who names him Noach declaring: "This one will comfort (yenachamenu) us from our work and the toil of our hands, from the ground which the LORD has cursed" (Genesis 5:29). In a generation where "every inclination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually," Noach is described as righteous (tzaddik) and blameless in his generation — the only such man on earth.
God reveals to Noach his intention to bring a flood over the earth, and commands him to build a massive ark (teva) of gopher wood — 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 30 cubits high. Noach obeys without question. He brings his wife, his sons Shem, Cham, and Yefet, and their wives into the ark along with pairs of every living creature. The waters prevail for 150 days before receding. When Noach emerges, he builds an altar and offers burnt offerings. God smells the pleasing aroma and establishes the Noachide covenant — the rainbow — promising never again to destroy all flesh by flood.
After the flood, Noach plants a vineyard, becomes drunk, and is seen naked by Cham. When Noach wakes and learns what Cham has done, he pronounces a curse on Canaan — Cham's son — and blessings on Shem and Yefet. Noach lives 350 years after the flood, 950 years total, and is the last of the near-millennial lifespans of the antediluvian patriarchs. Through his three sons — Shem, Cham, and Yefet — the entire post-flood world is populated.
