And this thing was evil before God, and He destroyed them with the water of the Flood, which was colder than ice. He opened the doors of heaven, and the cataracts of the Flood poured down; and He opened the fountains that were under the earth, and the fountains of the Flood appeared on the earth. And the sinners were blotted out, for they reaped the fruit of their punishment. And with them perished all beasts and creeping things, for they were all created for the gratification of ADAM, and for his glory, some p. 6 to provide him with food, and some for his pleasure, and some for the names to the glorification of his Creator so that he might know them, even as DAVID saith, "And Thou hast set everything under his feet";1 for his sake they were created, and for his sake they were destroyed, with the exception of Eight Souls, and seven of every kind of clean beasts and creeping things, and two of every kind of unclean beast and creeping thing.
1 Psalm viii. 6.