Genesis8

God remembered Noah and all living things in the ark, causing a wind to pass over the earth and the floodwaters to recede. The ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, and Noah sent out a raven and then doves to ascertain the earth's dryness, with the second dove returning with an olive leaf. Upon God's command, Noah, his family, and all the animals exited the ark onto the dry ground. Noah then built an altar and offered burnt offerings, prompting God to promise never again to curse the ground or destroy all living creatures by a flood, ensuring the continuation of seasons.
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God Causes the Waters to Recede

1
But God remembered Noah and all the animals and livestock that were with him in the ark. And God sent a wind over the earth, and the waters began to subside. ​
2
The springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained.
3
The waters receded steadily from the earth, and after 150 days the waters had gone down.
4
On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. ​
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And the waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

Noah Sends Out the Birds

6
After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark
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and sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until the waters had dried up from the earth. ​
8
Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground.
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But the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him in the ark, because the waters were still covering the surface of all the earth. So he reached out his hand and brought her back inside the ark.
10
Noah waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.
11
And behold, the dove returned to him in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. ​
12
And Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove again, but this time she did not return to him.

The Earth Dries Completely

13
In Noah’s six hundred and first year, on the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth. So Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. ​
14
By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was fully dry.

God Commands the Family to Exit

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Then God said to Noah,
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“Come out of the ark, you and your wife, along with your sons and their wives.
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Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, and everything that crawls upon the ground—so that they can spread out over the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon it.” ​
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So Noah came out, along with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.
19
Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird—everything that moves upon the earth—came out of the ark, kind by kind.

Noah Sacrifices; God's Promise

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Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. ​
21
When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done. ​
22
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.” ​

Study Notes for Genesis 8

Verse 1

The phrase 'God remembered Noah' is a theological term meaning God actively turned his attention to act on behalf of his covenant partner. The wind is the primary mechanism God uses to dry the earth, reversing the deluge caused by the 'fountains of the deep' (v. 2).

Verse 4

The ark rested on the 'mountains of Ararat,' a range located in modern-day Eastern Turkey. This marks the end of the 150 days during which the waters prevailed over the earth.

Verse 7

The raven is an unclean bird that sustains itself on carrion; its failure to return merely confirms that some dry surfaces were exposed where it could find sustenance, but not that the earth was habitable.

Verse 11

The olive leaf is a powerful symbol of renewal, life, and the return of vegetation. It confirms to Noah that the judgment had passed and the possibility of a fruitful future had returned to the earth.

Verse 13

Noah waited for God’s explicit command to exit (v. 15), even though he could see the ground was dry. The full duration of their confinement, from the start of the Flood (7:11) to this date, was slightly over a year.

Verse 17

God’s command to multiply and be fruitful echoes the original creation mandate (Gen 1:28). This signals the fresh start for humanity and creation, tasked with repopulating the earth.

Verse 20

Noah’s first act upon leaving the ark is worship, establishing the crucial role of sacrifice and devotion in the post-Flood world. He uses 'clean' animals, suggesting this distinction existed prior to the Mosaic Law.

Verse 21

The recognition that human nature remains inherently corrupt ('evil from his youth') leads God not to destroy humanity again, but to establish a covenant of divine restraint. God accepts the sacrifice as a 'sweet savour,' indicating divine acceptance.

Verse 22

This verse establishes the divine guarantee of cosmic stability, assuring Noah that the reliable cycles of nature (seasons, day/night) will continue. This covenant promise ensures the conditions necessary for human life and agriculture.

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