(בראשית ו, ט) אלה תולדות נח [נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו] א"ר יוחנן בדורותיו ולא בדורות אחרים וריש לקיש אמר בדורותיו כ"ש בדורות אחרים
R. Johanan said: Come and see how great is the power of robbery, for lo, though the generation of the flood transgressed all laws, their decree of punishment was sealed only because they stretched out their hands to rob, as it is written, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid.
');"><sup>33</sup></span> And it is 'also written, Violence [i.e., robbery] is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ezek. VII, 11.
');"><sup>34</sup></span>
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
The idea is to tell us that even though Noach was called איש צדיק תמים, this was true only in the generations during which he lived, i.e. בדורותיו. His righteousness was relative, when one considers the environment into which he had been born. Had he and his family not survived, the world would have been totally destroyed. The meaning of איש האדמה then is that his survival ensured the continuance of the אדמה, earth. It would have reverted to Tohu vavohu otherwise. Still, the word אדמה, severely limits Noach's achievement. The reverse is true of Moses. Even when engaged in the lowliest of his pursuits, the killing of the Egyptian, he employed the 42-lettered name of G–d. If he is called איש האלוקים (Deut, 33,1,and Exodus 24,13), it is because of his deep understanding of the names of G–d. Even when he killed the Egyptian he used this knowledge. According to the Ari zal the entire sojourn in Egypt and every event recorded of it, was under the heading of חידוש העולם, and the 42-lettered name of G–d was employed in creating the universe originally.
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