Toldot Noah

This is the line of Noah.—Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God.—

בדורותיו IN HIS GENERATIONS — Some of our Rabbis explain it (this word) to his credit: he was righteous even in his generation; it follows that had he lived in a generation of righteous people he would have been even more righteous owing to the force of good example. Others, however, explain it to his discredit: in comparison with his own generation he was accounted righteous, but had he lived in the generation of Abraham he would have been accounted as of no importance (cf. Sanhedrin 108a).

THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS. Toledot (generations) means the events that transpired during his lifetime, as in what a day may bring forth (yeled) (Prov. 27:1). These are the generations of Jacob (Gen. 37:2) is similar.

THESE ARE ‘TOLDOTH’ NOAH. Commentators have explained the word toldoth to mean “his experiences” [or “his events”] much the same as the sense of: what a day ‘yeiled’ (may bring forth).
In this way the word toldoth refers to the entire section [since all the events of the flood are occurrences in the life of Noah]. But this does not appear to me to be correct since the external events in the life of a person, [over which he has no control], are not his toldoth.
The correct interpretation is that the word toldoth here retains its literal meaning of “progeny,” just as, These are ‘toldoth’ (the progeny of) the sons of Noah; And these are ‘toldoth’ (the progeny of) Ishmael. Thus Scripture is saying, “These are the progeny of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
Scripture however repeats, And Noah begot three sons, because [at the end of the first verse] it interrupted by saying, Noah was a righteous man, and whole-hearted, in order to inform us why He commanded him concerning the ark. And even though Scripture has already stated above, And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth, it returns to mention them a second time in order to relate that Noah was unlike all his ancestors who begot daughters and sons. This is the meaning of the words, three sons; Scripture mentions their number in order to say that these three alone were his progeny, and they were saved by his merit, and by them was the whole earth overspread.

תולדות נח, a reference to his history, commencing with his own life and continuing with that of his offspring.

[IN HIS GENERATIONS.] At the time of the flood, and in the generations after the flood. For Noah lived till the fifty-eighth year of Abraham. Let this be a mnemonic device, our father Abraham was the age of Noah (58) when Noah died.

את האלהים התהלך נח NOAH WALKED WITH GOD — In the case of Abraham Scripture says, (Genesis 24:40) ‘‘[God] before whom I walked”; Noah needed God’s support to uphold him in righteousness, Abraham drew his moral strength from himself and walked in his righteousness by his own effort (Genesis Rabbah 30:10).

AND WHOLE-HEARTED. In his heart. Tamim (wholehearted) is an adjective. It belongs to those roots whose second and third letters are the same. All three letters of the root remain in this word.

(10) Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

SHEM, HAM, AND JAPHETH. It appears to me that Japheth was the oldest, as it is said, the brother of Japheth the elder, and so in counting their generations, Scripture mentions the children of Japheth first. Ham was the youngest of all, as it is said, And [Noah] knew what his youngest son had done unto him. Here, however, Scripture mentions Shem first because of his superiority and then Ham, for they were born in that order. Thus Japheth is left at the end. But Scripture did not want to say, “Shem and Japheth and Ham,” because in that case all of them would have been mentioned out of the order of their birth, and Japheth had no outstanding quality to merit that the order of birth be dispensed with on his account. Shem, however, is mentioned here first because of his superiority even though in the account of the generations he is last. Similarly, [we find the verses]: The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael; And I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau.