His Name
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 to the earth itself.
Other reasons for this name are given by the ancient rabbis; e.g., Noah restored man's rule over everything, just as it had been before Adam sinned, thus setting mankind at rest. Formerly the water used to inundate the graves so that the corpses floated out; but when Noah was born the water subsided (Genesis Rabba 25:2). The apparent discrepancy in Gen. v. 29, where it is said that Lamech "called his name Noah, saying, This shall comfort us," is explained by the "Sefer haYashar" (section Bereshit, p. 5b, Leghorn, 1870), which says that while he was called in general Noah, his father named him Menahem ("the comforter"). Noah was born circumcised (Midrash Agadah on Genesis 10:9; Tan., Noach, 6).
Read more about this topic: Noah In Rabbinic Literature
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