Sanhedrin 108B

אם כן, לא נפנה דרך כרמים.

They said to him: If so we will not clear a path through vineyards, i.e., we will continue to sin.

דרש רבא: מאי דכתיב ״לפיד בוז לעשתות שאנן נכון למועדי רגל״? מלמד שהיה נח הצדיק מוכיח אותם, ואמר להם דברים שהם קשים כלפידים, והיו בוזים אותו. אמרו לו: זקן, תיבה זו למה? אמר להם: הקדוש ברוך הוא מביא עליכם את המבול. אמרו: מבול של מה? אם מבול של אש, יש לנו דבר אחד ועליתה שמה. ואם של מים הוא מביא, אם מן הארץ הוא מביא, יש לנו עששיות של ברזל שאנו מחפין בהם את הארץ. ואם מן השמים הוא מביא, יש לנו דבר ועקב שמו ⁠– ואמרי לה: עקש שמו.

Rava taught: What is the meaning of that which is written: “A contemptible torch [lapid] in the thought of him that is at ease, a thing ready for them whose foot slips” (Job 12:5)? This teaches that Noah the righteous would rebuke the people of his generation, and he said to them statements that are harsh as torches [kelapidim], and they would treat him with contempt. They said to him: Old man, why are you building this ark? Noah said to them: God is bringing a flood upon you. They said to him: A flood of what? If it is a flood of fire, we have another item and it is called alita, and it is fireproof. And if it is a flood of water that He brings, if He brings the water from the earth, we have iron plates with which we can plate the earth to prevent the water from rising. And if He brings the water from the heavens, we have an item and it is called ekev, and some say it is called ikkesh, which will absorb the water.

אמר להם: הוא מביא מבין עקבי רגליכם, שנאמר ״נכון למועדי רגל״. תניא: מימי המבול קשים כשכבת זרע, שנאמר ״נכון למועדי רגל״. אמר רב חסדא: ברותחין קלקלו בעבירה, וברותחין נידונו. כתיב הכא: ״וישכו המים״, וכתיב התם: ״וחמת המלך שככה״.

Noah said to them: If He wishes He will bring the water from between your feet and you can do nothing to prevent it, as it is stated: “For them whose foot slips.” It is taught in a baraita: The waters of the Flood were as hard and thick as semen, as it is stated: “For them whose foot slips”; foot is a euphemism. Rav Ḥisda says: With hot semen they sinned, and with hot water they were punished. As it is written here, at the conclusion of the Flood: “And the waters assuaged” (Genesis 8:1), and it is written there: “Then the king’s anger was assuaged” (Esther 7:10). Just as the term “assuaged” there is referring to the heat of Ahasuerus’s anger, so too, “assuaged” with regard to the Flood is referring to the heat of the waters.