Genesis 8 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Genesis 8

The Flood Subsides

8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, 4 and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7 and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. 10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11 And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12 Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.

13 In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.

God’s Covenant with Noah

20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse¹ the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Footnotes

[1] 8:21 Or dishonor

Commentary

v1: God remembered Noah, indicating God's faithfulness to His promises (Genesis 6:18). Since He remembers us once, He will always do so; He is unchanging and unchangeable, see 19.29; 30.22; Ex 2.24; 6.5.

v2: The wind comes, and the rain is restrained; the springs of the deep and the floodgates of heaven closed, see Genesis 7:11. God's judgment has lasted 40 days, as He promised, Genesis 7.4. His great power is such that He controls His own wrath. This contrasts with humans who often become uncontrollable in their anger.

v3-5: The waters gradually recede over several months.

v6-8: Noah sends out a raven and a dove. Noah is very practical here. Aware of the receding waters, he wants to be able to leave the ark safely. What evidence willl the raven and dove bring?

v9-12: The dove at first finds no resting place, as in Genesis 1:2; only when Christ walked the earth did the Holy Spirit rest upon Him. The absence of sin is not enough, even the innocence of creation is not enough; there must be the perfection of character.

The olive leaf, the proof of life. The Holy Spirit witnesses of our security in Christ, He tells us that we are free from divine condemnation.

v13-14: Noah remains in the ark until commanded to leave by God. He removes the covering (roof, Genesis 6.18), since the rain has ceased.

v15-16: Noah does not go out when the earth is dry, but waits for the divine command. Even where a course of action seems reasonable, we are wise to await God's direction. There is also a reward here; 2 Peter 3.13; Revelation 21.1-4.

v17-19: Salvation in the ark; all where entered can now leave. There is a fresh command to multiply, and to fill the earth.

v20: Noah's offering of thankfulness;

like Abel, Noah offers livestock;
the offering precedes teaching about offerings under the law;
the animals are offered before they are eaten, so Noah puts God first; and
judgment is ended, as in 2 Samuel 24:25, where the angel put away his sword.

Such is God's mercy that He responds to a sacrifice offered by a man; here is a further picture of Christ's offering of Himself.

v21: The Lord God smells the pleasing aroma of the voluntary offering.

Never again will God curse the ground for man's sake, although man will again become wicked. The curse at the time of Adam remains, and the ground will still be hard work, and will still yield thorns and weeds.

v22: The Lord's promise, in poetry; the cycle of seasons, bringing provision for the peoples of the earth.