(ט) בדרותיו יֵשׁ מֵרַבּוֹתֵינוּ דּוֹרְשִׁים אוֹתוֹ לְשֶׁבַח, כָּל שֶׁכֵּן אִלּוּ הָיָה בְדוֹר צַדִּיקִים הָיָה צַדִּיק יוֹתֵר; וְיֵשׁ שֶׁדּוֹרְשִׁים אוֹתוֹ לִגְנַאי, לְפִי דוֹרוֹ הָיָה צַדִּיק וְאִלּוּ הָיָה בְדוֹרוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם לֹא הָיָה נֶחְשָׁב לִכְלוּם (סנה’ ק”ח):
(9) 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).
(ז) מפני מי המבול אַף נֹחַ מִקְּטַנֵּי אֲמָנָה הָיָה, מַאֲמִין וְאֵינוֹ מַאֲמִין שֶׁיָבֹא הַמַבּוּל, וְלֹא נִכְנַס לַתֵּיבָה עַד שְׁדְּחָקוּהוּ הַמָּיִם:
(7) מפני מי המבול BECAUSE OF THE WATERS OF THE FLOOD — (מפני properly means ‘‘from before”) — Noah, also, was of those people who are wanting in faith: he believed and he did not believe that the Flood would come, and he would not enter the Ark until the waters forced him to do so.
(ז) ויבוא נח וגו' שבעה ימים נכנס קודם בא המבול זהו.
(7) "Before the water..." - He went in before they came. And we don't know the reason why he says in his interpretation that he was of little faith. Because the text testifies that he was righteous and pure and that he did everything God commanded!
(ז) מפני מי המבול ונכנס קודם שיבאו. ולא ידענו טעם לדברי האומר בדרש (ב"ר ל"ב) שאף נח היה מקטני אמנה, שהרי הכתוב מעיד עליו שהיה צדיק תמים ועשה ככל אשר צוהו יקוק:
(7) מפני מי המבול, these words supply the reason why Noach entered. We do not understand the scholar in Bereshit Rabbah 32,6 who claimed that Noach lacked in faith because he did not enter the ark until after the rain forced him to. After all, the Torah had specifically stated that Noach was perfect and did all that G’d had commanded him.