Albert Barnes Commentary Genesis 8:1-14

"And God remembered Noah, and all the beasts, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; and the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And 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. And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: and he sent forth a raven, and it went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark; for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; and the dove came in to him at eventide; and, lo, in her mouth an olive-leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove; and she returned not again unto him any more. And it came to pass in the six hundred 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 dried. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry." — Genesis 8:1-14 (ASV)

1. שׁכך shākak: “stoop, assuage.”

2. חסר chāsar: “want, fail, be abated.”

3. אררט 'ărārāṭ — “Ararat,” a land forming part of Armenia. It is mentioned in 2 Kings 19:37 and Isaiah 37:38 as the retreat of Adrammelek and Sharezer after the murder of their father, and in Jeremiah 51:27 as a kingdom.

4. קלל qālal — “be light, lightened, lightly esteemed, swift.”

5. חוּל chûl — “twist, turn, dance, writhe, tremble, be strong, wait.” יהל yāchal: “remain, wait, hope.”

6. חרב chāreb — “be drained, desolated, amazed.”

(Genesis 8:1–3) The waters commence their retreat. And God remembered Noah. He is said to remember him when he takes any step to deliver him from the waters. The several steps to this end are enumerated.

A wind. — This would promote evaporation and otherwise aid the retreat of the waters. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the skies were shut. The incessant and violent showers had continued for six weeks. It is probable the weather remained turbid and moist for some time longer.

In the sixth month, however, the rain probably ceased altogether. Some time before this, the depressing of the ground had reached its lowest point, and the upheaving had set in. This is the main cause of the reflux of the waters. All this is described, as we perceive, according to appearance.

It is probable that the former configuration of the surface was not exactly restored. At all events, it is not necessary, as the ark may have drifted a considerable space in a hundred and fifty days.

Some of the old ground on which primeval man had trodden may have become a permanent water bed, and a similar amount of new land may have risen to the light in another place. Therefore, it is futile to seek for a spot retaining the precise conditions of the primitive Eden.

The Euphrates and Tigris may substantially remain, but the Pishon and Gihon may have considerably changed. The Black Sea, the Caspian, and the lakes Van and Urumiah may cover portions of the Adamic land.

At the end of the hundred and fifty days, the prevalence of the waters begins to turn into a positive retreat.

(Genesis 8:4–5) The ark rested. — It is stranded on some hill in Ararat. This country forms part of Armenia. As the drying wind most probably came from the east or north, it is likely that the ark was drifted toward Asia Minor and caught land on some hill in the reaches of the Euphrates.

It cannot be supposed that it rested on either of the peaks now called Ararat, as Ararat was a country, not a mountain, and these peaks do not seem suitable for the purpose. The seventh month began usually with the new moon nearest the vernal equinox, or March 21st.

The tenth month. The waters ceased to prevail on the first of the ninth month. The ark, though grounded six weeks before, was still deep in the waters. The tops of the hills began to appear a month later. The subsiding of the waters seems to have been very slow.

(Genesis 8:6–12) The raven and the dove are sent out to bring news of the external world. Forty days. Before Noah made any experiment, he seems to have allowed the lapse of forty days to undo the remaining effect of the forty days’ rain. The window. He seems to have been unable to take any definite observations through the aperture here called a window.

The raven found carrion in abundance, floated probably on the waters, and did not need to return. This was such a token of the state of things as Noah might expect from such a messenger. He next sends the dove, who returns to him.

Yet other seven days. This intimates that he also waited seven days after the raven was sent out. The olive leaf plucked off was a sign of returning safety to the land. It is said by Theophrastus (Hist. Plant. 4, 7) and Pliny (H. N. 13, 50) that the olive tree produces leaves even under water.

From this event, the olive branch became the symbol of peace, and the dove the emblem of the Comforter, the messenger of peace. After seven other days, the dove, being sent out, returns no more.

The number seven figures very conspicuously in this narrative. Seven days before the showers commence, the command to enter the ark is given; and at intervals of seven days, the winged messengers are sent out.

These intervals point evidently to the period of seven days, determined by the six days of creation and the seventh day of rest. The clean beasts and the birds are also admitted into the ark by seven pairs.

This points to the sacredness associated with the number seven, arising from the hallowed character of the seventh day. The number forty also—the product of four (the number of the world or universe) and ten (the number of completeness)—begins here to be used for a complete period in which a process will have run its course.

(Genesis 8:13–14) Noah delays apparently another month and, on the first day of the new year, ventures to remove the covering of the ark and look around. The date of the complete drying of the land is then given.

It appears that the interval was nearly a lunar year of three hundred and fifty-six days, plus ten days; that is, as nearly as possible, a solar year. This passage is important because of the divisions of time which it reveals at this early epoch.

The week of seven days is plainly intimated. The lunar month and year are evidently known. It is remarkable that the ten additional days bring the lunar year in whole numbers up to the solar year.

This seems a tacit agreement with the real order of nature. According to the Hebrew text, the Flood began in the 1656th year of the human race.

According to all texts, it occurred in the time of Noah, the ninth in descent from Adam.