Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Genesis 10:8/רמב"ן על בראשית י׳:ח׳
אהוּא הֵחֵל לִהְיוֹת גִּבֹּר בָּאָרֶץ כָּתַב רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על בראשית י':ח') לְהַמְרִיד כָּל הָעוֹלָם עַל הקב"ה בַּעֲצַת דוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה. וְאִם כֵּן "הוּא הֵחֵל", אַחַר הַמַּבּוּל, כִּי בִּימֵי דּוֹר אֱנוֹשׁ הוּחַל. וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁנֹּאמַר כִּי הוּחַל בְּדוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה מֶרֶד, וּבִימֵי אֱנוֹשׁ לֹא הָיוּ בְּמוֹרְדֵי אוֹר אֲבָל עָבְדוּ גַּם לֵאלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים:
1HE BEGAN TO BE A MIGHTY ONE IN THE EARTH. Rashi wrote, “Mighty in causing the entire world to rebel against the Holy One, blessed by He, by the plan he devised for the generation that witnessed the dispersion of the races.” But if so, he began means that he began after the flood [for it could not mean that he was the first ever to begin to rebel against G-d] since in the days of the generation of Enosh, such rebellion had already begun.280 It is possible that we should say that rebellion against G-d began in the generation of the dispersion while in the days of Enosh, people were not yet among those that rebel against the light;281 rather, they also worshipped other gods.