Bereishit 6:12
וַיַּרְא אלוקים אֶת-הָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה נִשְׁחָתָה כִּי-הִשְׁחִית כָּל-בָּשָׂר אֶת-דַּרְכּוֹ עַל-הָאָרֶץ
Vayar Elohim et-ha'aretz vehineh nishchatah ki-hishchit kol-basar et-darko al-ha'aretz
ELOKIM saw the earth, and here it had become corrupt. All flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.
At this point the Torah reverts to G-d's Name "Elokim" to indicate that the Attribute of Justice enters the picture at this stage. Seeing that the sins of that generation were so great the Attribute of Justice was poised over them.
וְהִנֵּה נִשְׁחָתָה
vehineh nishchatah
and here it had become corrupt.
What precisely did this "corruption" consist of? "All flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth." They were all destroying their own seed. They did not want to prcreate and used sexual union for pleasure only. This is what is meant by Yeshayahu 57:5 "the ones who slaughter their children." Chazal (Niddah 13) comment on this that a preferable reading to this passage would be "they squeezed out their semen before impregnating their wives." Seeing that they had become guilty of destroying semen which becomes a fetus after forty days, they were punished with a deluge which poured rain on them for forty days (based on Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 22).
Actually, the people of that time were guilty of four sins:
1) idolatry
2) sexual licentiousness including incest
3) murder
4) gratuitous violence
The reason for the forty days of rain may be broken down as follows: Thirty days of continuous rain descended because of their idolatry, i.e. they worshiped the sun for thirty days; however seeing the sun's influence on earth commences already five days before it becomes visible to us and it continues for five days after it has ceased to be visible, it was proper that they be punished on account of sun-worship for forty days. Whatever is true of the visible effect of the sun as well as its invisible effect, applies equally to the stars so that in respect of every form of worship of celestial constellations the number forty represented midah keneged midah (measure for measure) "the punishment fitted the crime." Similar considerations apply to the sin of sexual licentiousness and murder as in both instnces the gestation period of the human being was forty days before it became a real fetus. As to the violence, their fourth sin, the number forty is approprite for the duration of the days of rain as the Torah containing this legislation was given to Moshe after he had spent forty days on Mount Sinai.
The sin of corruption did not only include human beings but it had also corrupted the behavior of the animals. This is why Chazal (Sanhedrin 108) explained "the ones who had become guilty of wasting hot semen were punished by a deluge of hot water." This fact is based on the words used at the end of the deluge in v8:1 "and the waters cooled off."
וַתִּשָּׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי האלוקים
vatishachet ha'aretz lifnei ha'ELOKIM
the earth had become corrupt in the presence of ELOKIM
This is in reference to idolatry practiced by man. The Torah alluded to the fact that the sins of mankind included both trespasses against G-d as well as trespasses against society. They corrupted religion and they corrupted the basics of procreation. These latter sins also included indiscriminate robbery among the people. The Torah refers to this by writing, "the earth became filled with violence," and the repetition, "for the earth is filled with violence through them." Seeing that the Torah reports G-d's decision to bring on the deluge in connection with the report of the violence it is clear tht this sin weighted most heavily and that the decree to destroy mankind was not sealed until G-d had reviewed the indiscriminated violence on earth (Sanhedrin 108). There is support for this view in two verses in Sefer Yeshayahu. In Yeshayahu 54:14 it reads, You shall keep away from oppression [do not engage in it] and you shall have no fear, and from ruin and it shall not come near you." Teh same prophet had said a few verses earlier, "that this is like the deluge to Me..." (v9). In other words, the prophet, in the Name of G-d, warns the people that the deluge had been due to the violence and oppression practiced by people against each other. The reason that this was the "straw that broke the camel's back," i.e. the most critical sin was that it is a trespass against common sense. If there were no G-d at all, mankind would have to legislate laws controlling violence as otherwise civilisation would collapse of its own. A society which did not even observe such a code of laws could not expect to endure.
The very occurrence of the deluge is proof positive that the universe was a creation and that a Creator presides over it and watches it; it proves tht he same Creator punishes those who are guilty and saves the ones who deserve to be saved such as Noach and his family. It proves further that G-d's supervision is not limited to the celestial spheres but that it extends to our "lower" world also. Just as Adam was the ancestor of all human beings after him, so Noach became the ancestor of all human beings after the deluge. Just as Adam had three sons, Kayin, Hevel, and Shet, so Noach had three sons, Shem, Cham, and Yafet. Just as two of Adam's sons were his mainstay whereas the third one was cursed, so you find that one of Noach's sons was cursed. Just as Adam's third son was the one who became the link to posterity so Noach's third son is the true link to posterity as only the descendants of Shem are the ones who will qualify for resurrection. [According to Rashi, Shem was indeed the third, i.e. the youngest son of Noach.]
May HASHEM continue to enlighten us with the Light of His Torah.
-Bachya; Chazal
Noach Pardes - Noach
