Noach 6:16 · unit 3

TT #12 · Parashas Noach · First Aliyah · Passuk 6:16

The Complete Passuk

צֹ֣הַר תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה לַתֵּבָ֗ה וְאֶל־אַמָּה֙ תְּכַלֶּ֣נָּה מִלְמַ֔עְלָה וּפֶ֥תַח הַתֵּבָ֖ה בְּצִדָּ֣הּ תָּשִׂ֑ים תַּחְתִּיִּ֛ם שְׁנִיִּ֥ם וּשְׁלִשִׁ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶֽׂהָ׃

Make a tzohar for the ark, and finish it to a cubit upward; put the entrance of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks.

Chabad.org — 6:16

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sanhedrin 108b (assignment of the three decks).

Sefaria — Sanhedrin 108b

E-Daf image — Sanhedrin 108b (size=3)

Shas / HebrewBooks PDF of the daf

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
תַּחְתִּיִּם שְׁנִיִּם וּשְׁלִשִׁים — תָּנֵי: תַּחְתִּיִּם לַזֶּבֶל, אֶמְצָעִים לַבְּהֵמָה, עֶלְיוֹנִים לָאָדָם.

English: “Lower, second, and third” — It was taught: the lower deck for refuse, the middle for the animals, the upper for the people.

On the daf / in context: The three levels are assigned functional roles. (Midrashic sources preserve variant assignments, some placing refuse on the uppermost level to avoid rising odors; the Bavli version places refuse at the bottom so it can be discharged outward.)

Type of Learning

Custom (assignment of function to the three decks named in the verse).

What Is Learned

The ark’s three decks served distinct purposes: lower for refuse, middle for animals, upper for the human family.