Beraishis 7A God’s mercy in bringing the Mabul

…וַיֹּאמֶר י-ה-ו-ה לְנֹחַ בֹּא אַתָּה וְכָל בֵּיתְךָ אֶל הַתֵּבָה כִּי אֹתְךָ רָאִיתִי צַדִּיק לְפָנַי בַּדּוֹר הַזֶּה

גַּם מֵעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה לְחַיּוֹת זֶרַע עַל פְּנֵי כָל הָאָרֶץ

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In chapter 6, the name אלקים is used (v. 9, v.11, v.13 and v.22). Here in chapter 7, as Noach is told to enter the ark with his family, the name of God describing God’s mercy ( י-ה-ו-ה)  is used.

The explanation for this chage is as follows:

אלקים describes God as Creator, Lawgiver and Judge. אלקים set apart Noach and his family to survive – להחיות (v. 19).

י-ה-ו-ה describes God of mercy. It describes God as the One Who educates mankind toward its goal and shapes every future moment with this goal in mind. The goal of the Mabul was  לְחַיּוֹת זֶרַע to give life to the seed of the future. The Mabul would lay the stage for the future of mankind, built from the remaining people on earth who “walked with God “.

(The goal of the flood wasn’t to destroy. Even the deaths were not gruesome as many pictures of the Mabul depict. See Hirsch commentary on pages 184-185)

Beraishis 7: 1
pages 187-188