I accidentally deleted my first round of notes for this parashah, so it took a bit for me to get back on the horse, so to speak.

I’m already familiar with the Great Deluge, having picked it up through Sunday School and Rugrats, but they glossed over the important details, like the cause and the Covenant.

Judging from the Covenant of Noah, God’s main concern was bloodshed. It’s weird, then, that the punishment to be meted out, post-Deluge, is more bloodshed rather than the wandering exile God set for Cain. This also serves as Biblical support for the death penalty, but the perpetuity it would seem to impose if taken literally would depopulate the world in a hurry.