8
But God re mem bered Noah and all the wild an i mals and the live stock that were with him in the ark , and he sent a wind over the earth , and the wa ters re ced ed . 2 Now the springs of the deep and the flood gates of the heav ens had been closed , and the rain had stopped fall ing from the sky .
3
The wa ter re ced ed steadi ly from the earth . At the end of the hun dred and fif ty days the wa ter had gone down , 4 and on the sev en teenth day of the sev enth month the ark came to rest on the moun tains of Ar a rat . 5 The wa ters con tin ued to re cede un til the tenth month , and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the moun tains be came vis i ble .
6
Af ter for ty days Noah opened a win dow he had made in the ark 7 and sent out a ra ven , and it kept fly ing back and forth un til the wa ter had dried up from the earth . 8 Then he sent out a dove to see if the wa ter had re ced ed from the sur face of the ground . 9 But the dove could find no where to perch be cause there was wa ter over all the surface of the earth ; so it re turned to Noah in the ark . He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to him self in the ark . 10 He wait ed sev en more days and again sent out the dove from the ark . 11 When the dove re turned to him in the eve ning , there in its beak was a fresh ly plucked ol ive leaf ! Then Noah knew that the wa ter had re ced ed from the earth . 12 He wait ed sev en more days and sent the dove out again , but this time it did not re turn to him .
13
By the first day of the first month of No ah ’ s six hun dred and first year , the wa ter had dried up from the earth . Noah then re moved the cov ering from the ark and saw that the sur face of the ground was dry . 14 By the twen ty-sev enth day of the sec ond month the earth was com plete ly dry .
15
Then God said to Noah , 16 “ Come out of the ark , you and your wife and your sons and their wives . 17 Bring out ev ery kind of liv ing crea ture that is with you — the birds , the an i mals , and all the crea tures that move along the ground — so they can mul ti ply on the earth and be fruit ful and in crease in num ber on it .”
18
So Noah came out , to geth er with his sons and his wife and his sons ’ wives . 19 All the an i mals and all the crea tures that move along the ground and all the birds — ev ery thing that moves on land — came out of the ark , one kind af ter an oth er .
20
Then Noah built an al tar to the Lord and , tak ing some of all the clean an i mals and clean birds , he sac ri ficed burnt of fer ings on it . 21 The Lord smelled the pleas ing aro ma and said in his heart : “ Nev er again will I curse the ground because of hu mans , even though a ev ery in cli na tion of the hu man heart is evil from child hood . And nev er again will I de stroy all liv ing crea tures , as I have done .
22
“ As long as the earth endures , seedtime and harvest , cold and heat , summer and winter , day and night will never cease .” a
21 Or humans , for
Genesis 8:22 | 21
8:1 – 14 After the flood has accomplished its purpose ( see 7:22 – 23 ), God begins to restore creation . In contrast to God ’ s act of creation in six days , the waters recede and the earth is restored over a period of five months .
8:2 the floodgates of the heavens God is reversing the process from 7:11 – 12 . See note on 7:11 . See the infographic “ Ancient Hebrew Conception of the Universe ” on p . 5 . 8:3 hundred and fifty days It is difficult to know how this figure and the one given in 8:4 relate ; this is further complicated by difficulties understanding how the calendar in this period of time functioned . See note on 7:11 . 8:4 the mountains of Ararat Refers to a mountain range , not necessarily a particular mountain called Ararat . Ararat was the country or region of Urartu . Assyrian records use this place name for a region that corresponds today most closely with Armenia and Turkey . 8:7 sent out a raven No reason for Noah ’ s action is given , but the narrative implies that Noah is checking for signs of land and states this explicitly in v . 8 about his choice to send out a dove . 8:13 six hundred and first year The Hebrew text here does not directly state that this figure is in reference to Noah ’ s life , but that can be inferred from 7:6 and 7:11 . 8:14 completely dry The Hebrew verb used here , yavesh , is related to the noun yabbashah ( often translated “ dry land ”) used in 1:9 – 10 . The words provide a verbal and thematic link between the two narratives , indicating that the restoration of the world after the flood should be understood as an act of divine re-creation .
8:15 – 22 This passage describes the process of disembarking from the ark , which concludes with Noah offering a sacrifice to Yahweh . Yahweh accepts the sacrifice and promises never to destroy all life by a flood again ( compare note on 7:21 ).
8:20 altar The first reference to a sacrificial or worship altar in the Bible . See the infographic “ Ancient Altars ” on p . 127 ; see the table “ Altars in the Old Testament ” on p . 249 . 8:21 Lord smelled the pleasing aroma This phrase indicates an acceptable offering and appears frequently in the books of Leviticus and Numbers ( e . g ., Lev 1:9 ; 2:9 ; 4:31 ; Nu 15:3 ). curse The Hebrew term used here , qalal , is different from that of Ge 3:17 ( arar ), which references the cursing of the ground after the fall . human heart is evil An explicit reference to the language of 6:5 . God knows that even the flood will not reverse the corruption of the human will and mind . 8:22 As long as the earth endures This wording resolves the tension between the promise of this verse and subsequent descriptions of a final judgment of the world ( 2Pe 3:12 – 13 ). The final apocalypse will produce a new heaven and new earth . God promises to keep his wrath from humanity until the earth — as it is currently known — is no more ( or renewed ).