John Calvin Commentary Genesis 8

And God remembered Noah. Moses now addresses more specifically the other part of the subject, which shows that Noah was not disappointed in his hope of the salvation divinely promised to him. The remembrance about which Moses speaks should be referred not only to the external appearance of things (so to speak) but also to the inner feeling of the holy man.

Indeed, it is certain that God, from the time He had once received Noah into His protection, was never unmindful of him. For truly, it was as great a miracle that he did not perish from suffocation in the ark as if he had lived without breath, submerged in the waters.

And Moses previously said that by God’s secret closing up of the ark, the waters were restrained from penetrating it. But as the ark was floating on the waters, even until the fifth month, the delay by which the Lord allowed His servant to be anxiously and miserably tormented might seem to imply a kind of forgetfulness.

Undoubtedly, his heart was agitated by various feelings when he found himself held in suspense for so long, for he might have inferred that his life had been prolonged so that he might be more miserable than any other person. For we know that we tend to imagine God is absent, except when we have some tangible experience of His presence.

And although Noah tenaciously held fast to the promise he had embraced, even to the end, it is still believable that he was severely assailed by various temptations; and God, without doubt, purposely exercised his faith and patience in this way.

For why was the world not destroyed in three days? And for what purpose did the waters, after they had covered the highest mountains, rise fifteen cubits higher, if not to accustom Noah and his family to meditate more profitably on the judgments of God and, when the danger was past, to acknowledge that they had been rescued from a thousand deaths?

Let us therefore learn from this example to rest on the providence of God, even while He seems to be most forgetful of us; for eventually, by providing us help, He will testify that He has been mindful of us.

Even if the flesh persuades us to distrust, yet let us not yield to its restlessness. As soon as the thought creeps in that God has abandoned all care for us, or is asleep, or far away, let us immediately meet it with this shield: ‘The Lord, who has promised His help to the miserable, will in due time be present with us, so that we may indeed perceive the care He takes of us.’

Nor is there less significance in the statement that God also remembered the animals. For if, on account of the salvation promised to man, His favor is extended to livestock and to wild beasts, what may we suppose His favor will be towards His own children, to whom He has so generously and so sacredly pledged His faithfulness?

And God made a wind to pass over the earth. Here it appears more clearly that Moses is speaking of the effect of God’s remembrance of Noah; namely, that indeed, and by a sure proof, Noah could know that God cared for his life. For although God, by His secret power, could have dried the earth, He made use of the wind, a method He also employed in drying the Red Sea.

And thus He would testify that just as He had the waters at His command, ready to execute His wrath, so now He held the winds in His hand to provide relief. And although a remarkable history is recorded here by Moses, we are still taught that the winds do not arise by chance but by the command of God, as it is said in Psalm 104:4 that they are the swift messengers of God; and again, that God rides upon their wings.

Finally, the variety, the contrary motions, and the mutual conflicts of the elements all work together to yield obedience to God. Moses also adds other lesser means by which the waters were diminished and made to return to their former position.

In sum, God, to restore the order He had previously established, recalled the waters to their prescribed boundaries. This was so that the celestial waters, as if frozen, might be suspended in the air; other waters might lie hidden in their depths; others might flow in separate channels; and the sea also might remain within its boundaries.

And after the end of the hundred and fifty days. Some think that the whole time, from the beginning of the deluge to the abatement of the waters, is noted here; and so they include the forty days in which Moses relates that there was continuous rain. But I make this distinction: until the fortieth day, the waters rose gradually with fresh additions; then they remained in nearly the same state for one hundred and fifty days, for both computations make the period a little more than six and a half months.

And Moses says that, about the end of the seventh month, the diminution of the waters appeared to be such that the ark settled upon the highest summit of a mountain, or touched some ground. And by this lengthened space of time, the Lord would show more plainly that the dreadful desolation of the world had not fallen upon it accidentally, but was a remarkable proof of his judgment; while the deliverance of Noah was a magnificent work of his grace, and worthy of everlasting remembrance.

If, however, we count the seventh month from the beginning of the year (as some do), and not from the time that Noah entered the ark, the subsidence of which Moses speaks took place earlier, namely, as soon as the ark had floated five months. If this second opinion is accepted, there will be the same reckoning of ten months; for the sense will be that in the eighth month after the commencement of the deluge, the tops of the mountains appeared.

Concerning the name Ararat, I follow the most widely accepted opinion. And I do not see why some should deny it to be Armenian, whose mountains are declared, by ancient authors, almost with one consent, to be the highest. The Chaldean paraphrase also points out the particular part, which it calls mountains of Cardu, which others call Cardueni. But whether what Josephus handed down concerning the fragments of the ark found there in his time is true (remnants of which, Jerome says, remained into his own age), I leave undecided.

At the end of forty days. From this, we may conjecture with what great anxiety the holy man's heart was oppressed. After he had perceived the ark to be resting on solid ground, he still did not dare to open the window until the fortieth day. This was not because he was stunned and numb, but because such a formidable example of God's vengeance had affected him with such combined fear and sorrow that, deprived of all judgment, he silently remained in the chamber of his ark.

At last, he sent out a raven, from which he hoped to receive a more certain indication of the earth's dryness. But the raven, perceiving nothing but muddy marshes, hovered around and immediately sought to be readmitted. I have no doubt that Noah purposely selected the raven, knowing that this kind of bird might be allured by the odor of carcasses to fly further if the earth, with the animals upon it, was already exposed to view. However, the raven, flying around, did not go far.

I wonder how a negation, which Moses does not have in the Hebrew text, has crept into the Greek and Latin versions, as it entirely changes the meaning. This is how the fable originated that the raven, having found carcasses, was kept away from the ark and abandoned its protector. Afterwards, futile allegories followed, just as human curiosity is always eager for trivialities.

But the dove, in its first departure, imitated the raven by flying back to the ark. Afterwards, it brought an olive branch in its bill. At the third time, as if liberated, it enjoyed the open air and the open earth.

Some writers speculate ingeniously about the olive branch, because among the ancients it was a symbol of peace, as the laurel was of victory.

However, I am more inclined to think that, as the olive tree does not grow on mountains and is not a very tall tree, the Lord had given His servant a token from which he might infer that pleasant regions, productive of good fruit, were now free from the waters.

Because Jerome's version says that it was a branch with green leaves, those who have thought that the deluge began in September take this as confirmation of their opinion.

But the words of Moses have no such meaning. And it might be that the Lord, wanting to revive Noah's spirit, offered a branch to the dove that had not yet completely withered under the waters.

And God spoke to Noah. Though Noah was greatly terrified by the judgment of God, yet his patience is commended in this respect: having the earth, which offered him a home, before his eyes, he still does not venture to go out. Profane men may ascribe this to timidity, or even to indolence; but holy is that timidity which is produced by the obedience of faith.

Let us therefore understand that Noah was restrained by a hallowed modesty from allowing himself to enjoy the bounty of nature until he should hear the voice of God directing him to do so. Moses relates this in a few words, but it is proper that we should attend to the matter itself.

All should indeed spontaneously consider how great the fortitude of the man must have been, who, after the incredible weariness of a whole year, when the deluge has ceased and new life has shone forth, still does not move a foot out of his sepulcher without the command of God.

Thus we see that, by a continual course of faith, the holy man was obedient to God; because at God’s command, he entered the ark and remained there until God opened the way for his exit, and because he chose rather to lie in a tainted atmosphere than to breathe the free air, until he should feel assured that his removal would be pleasing to God.

Even in small matters, Scripture commends this self-government to us: that we should attempt nothing except with an approving conscience. How much less is the rashness of men to be endured in religious matters, if, without taking counsel from God, they permit themselves to act as they please. It is not, indeed, to be expected that God will every moment pronounce by special oracles what must be done; yet we ought to listen attentively to his voice, so that we may be fully assured that we undertake nothing except what is in accordance with his word.

The spirit of prudence and counsel should also be sought, for God never leaves destitute of it those who are teachable and obedient to his commands. In this sense, Moses relates that Noah went out of the ark as soon as he, relying on the oracle of God, was aware that a new dwelling place on earth had been given to him.

That they may breed abundantly, etc. With these words the Lord would cheer the mind of Noah, and inspire him with confidence, that a seed had been preserved in the ark which should increase until it replenished the whole earth. In short, the renovation of the earth is promised to Noah, so that he may know that the world itself was enclosed in the ark, and that the solitude and devastation, at the sight of which his heart might faint, would not be perpetual.