Meaning of the Name Noah

The Hebrew name Noach is related to the root meaning 'rest, relief'. Genesis 5:29 explains the name with the idea of comfort: 'This one will comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands.'

Origin

The name Noah is of Hebrew origin.

Who is Noah in the Bible?

Noah is the central figure of the flood narrative: introduced as 'a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time', he builds the ark and is saved with his family. After the flood God makes a covenant with him, the rainbow being its sign.

The story of Noah in the Bible

Noah's name carries hope from his birth: his father Lamech says this child will bring comfort amid the toil of the cursed ground, and the name itself is linked to the idea of rest and relief. When the earth fills with evil, Noah finds favor in the Lord's eyes; the account presents him as righteous, blameless among his contemporaries, a man who walks with God. God warns him of a coming flood and commands him to build an ark to exact measurements. Noah does as he is told and boards the ark with his family and representatives of every living creature. When the waters cover the earth, those in the ark are saved; after the flood recedes, Noah comes out onto dry land and builds an altar to the Lord. God then makes a covenant with Noah and his sons, promising never again to destroy the earth by floodwaters, and sets the rainbow in the clouds as the sign of that promise. Noah thus stands at the heart of a story of both judgment and new beginning.

Is Noah mentioned in the Quran?

The name Noah (Nuh) is also mentioned in the Quran, which contains a sura bearing his name, and Islamic tradition counts him among the great prophets; in the Bible he appears in Genesis as the righteous man at the center of the flood story.

Verses where Noah appears

Related names