an ark, although it is only later, in vv. 17–21, that He tells him that it is by water that He will destroy all flesh, and that it is His will to save him and his family. In this way it is possible to speak to a wholly righteous man, who accepts his Master’s bidding even when he does not know its reason or purpose. The command to build the ark, which is one of the key themes in this paragraph, is stressed by the reiteration of the verb עָשָׂה ʿāśā seven times in the paragraph, as I noted in the introduction