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Read Genesis Chapter 8

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1And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

2The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;

3And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

4And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

5And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

6And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

7And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

8Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

9But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

10And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;

11And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

12And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

13And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.

14And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

15And God spake unto Noah, saying,

16Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.

17Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

18And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:

19Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

20And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

21And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

22While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

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Explanation

Genesis 8

In short

The flood waters recede, the ark lands on a mountain, and Noah sends out birds to test whether the earth is dry. When Noah leaves the ark with all the animals, he builds an altar and makes an offering. God responds by promising never again to destroy all life with a flood.

What the text says

God remembers Noah and the creatures with him, and sends wind to dry the earth (verse 1). The sources of the floodwater are stopped, verse 2 says. The waters go down continually, and after 150 days the ark rests on the mountains of Ararat in the seventh month (verses 3 to 4). The mountaintops appear ten months after the flood began (verse 5).

After 40 more days Noah opens a window and sends out a raven, which flies back and forth until the earth dries (verses 6 to 7). He then sends a dove to see if the ground is dry, but she finds nowhere to rest and returns to the ark (verses 8 to 9). Seven days later he sends the dove again; she returns with an olive leaf in her mouth, showing the waters have receded (verses 10 to 11). A third time he sends the dove, and she does not return (verse 12).

In Noah's 601st year the ground is dry, and he removes the ark's covering (verse 13). The earth is fully dry in the second month (verse 14). God tells Noah to leave the ark with his family and all the animals so they can multiply (verses 15 to 17). Noah obeys (verses 18 to 19). He builds an altar and offers burnt sacrifices (verse 20). God smells the offering and promises never again to curse the ground or destroy all living things by flood, though human hearts remain evil (verse 21). God says the cycles of nature will continue (verse 22).

Takeaways

  • God's care for Noah extends to remembering him and all creatures in the ark when the flood ends.
  • Noah uses the raven and dove as practical means to discover when the earth has become habitable again.
  • God accepts Noah's sacrifice and binds himself by oath never again to destroy all life by flood, despite human evil.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.