Chapter 8

1 The waters asswage. 4 The ark resteth on Ararat. 7 The raven and the dove. 15 Noah, being commanded, 18 goeth forth of the ark. 20 He buildeth an altar, and offereth sacrifice, 21 which God accepteth, and promiseth to curse the earth no more.

1. God remembered Noah. This verse does not imply that God had forgotten Noah for a time. It is an expression indicating divine solicitude and grace. A touching indication of the tenderness of God toward His creatures is found in the statement that God also remembered, with Noah, all other living things. He who proclaimed that although five sparrows are “sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God” (Luke 12:6, 7; cf. Matt. 10:29–31; 6:26), will remember His faithful children, who “are of more value than many sparrows.”

4. Ararat. All Bible expositors agree that the mountainous land of Armenia is meant, though it is uncertain just what part of the Ararat range is indicated. Rumors to the effect that the remains of Noah’s ark have been discovered have not yet been substantiated. The traditional location, modern Mt. Ararat, has two peaks, one 16,945 ft., the other 12,287 ft. high. Among the Persians these twin peaks are known as KohРiРnuh, “the mountain of Noah.” Here was an ideal location for the ark to rest while the waters subsided, and from which the survivors of the Flood might spread to every land (see on ch. 7:24).

5. The waters decreased. The waters diminished gradually for two and one-half months after the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.

7. He sent forth a raven. Forty days after the appearance of the mountaintops, Noah became anxious to know the extent to which the waters had dried up, and whether it was safe for him to leave the ark. As the waters had abated, the ark had already found safety from the tempests in a sheltered spot high in the mountains. From such a position it was difficult to ascertain the extent to which the waters had receded in the lower valleys. A raven was therefore dispatched, that Noah might observe from its behavior something of the condition of the earth. Not able to find a resting place, the raven flew about over the surface of the waters, returning from time to time to the ark (PP 105).

8. He sent forth a dove. Although it is not stated how long Noah waited before making another trial, the expression “and he stayed yet other seven days” (v. 10) indicates that the first period of waiting had also been of the same duration. A week later the dove remained away all day, but returned in the evening with an olive leaf apparently from a tree that had survived the flood. In Hebrew the expression “pluckt off” clearly indicates that the leaf had not been found floating upon the surface of the water. Noah recognized the olive leaf as evidence that the earth must be nearly dry, and that he might soon leave the ark. A week later the dove did not return, evidence that conditions were sufficiently normal to permit it to remain outside the ark. How joyous must Noah’s feelings have been!

13. The covering of the ark. An additional period of waiting is indicated, after which Noah felt the time had come to investigate for himself. Inasmuch as little could be seen through the lattice openings below the roof of the ark, he removed a portion of the roof. The word “covering,” mikseh, is used in the OT to designate the roof of the tabernacle (Ex. 26:14), and also slip covers for the furniture of the sanctuary while it was being transported (Num. 4:10–12). Since these coverings were made of skins, it is possible that the covering of the ark may have been also (see on ch. 6:16).

14. In the second month. To Noah the ground appeared sufficiently dry. But God had closed the door of the ark, and Noah awaited God’s instruction as to when he was to leave it. Altogether he waited 57 days longer before the waters were completely dried up and God could give the desired permission.

If we assume a 30-day month throughout (see on ch. 7:24), a ship’s log for the ark during the Flood would read as follows:

Month

Day

Year

Noah enters the ark. 7:4, 7, 10. ………………………

2

10

600

Beginning of the Flood. 7:11. ………………………

2

17

600

Rain and prevailing wa- ters (first 40 days of Flood). 7:4, 12, 17. to..

3

27

600

“Waters prevailed” (110 additional days). 7:24. to…………………………..

7

17

600

The ark rests on the mountains of Ararat. 8:4. ………………………..

7

17

600

The mountains seen. 8:5….

10

1

600

The raven released (40 days later). 8:6. …………

11

11

600

The dove released (first time). 8:8; PP 105. …….

11

18

600

The dove released (sec- ond time). 8:10. ………..

11

25

600

The dove released (third time). 8:12. ………………

12

2

600

Covering of the ark re- moved; waters dried. 8:13. ………………………

1

1

601

Noah leaves the ark. 8:14-16……………………

2

27

601

A period of exactly five months elapsed from the beginning of the Flood to the time the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat (ch. 7:11; 8:4). This is also given as 150 days (ch. 7:24), thus indicating that the 5 months contained 30 days each. It is uncertain, however, whether the year of Noah’s time was lunar or solar, and whether it began in the spring or in the autumn.

The ark is proof of the goodness of God and the obedient faith of Noah. The ark was a refuge in time of peril, a home for the homeless, and a temple where the godly family of Noah worshiped. It bore them safely from the old world to the new, from an environment of vice and sin to an earth purified from sin. The ark was God’s appointed place of salvation, and outside of it there was no safety. And as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be when this present age is brought to an abrupt close at the coming of the Son of man (see Matt. 24:37). Those who wish to be saved must avail themselves of the provision God has made for the

16. Go forth. Noah had learned to trust in God and to wait patiently during his 120 years of preaching and building the ark. That long period of active labor was followed by more than a year in the ark. During the first weeks and months he had experienced incessant rain, raging tempest, and tremendous upheavals of the earth, which seemed ready to destroy his frail bark. Later, as the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, there began a tedious time of waiting, which lasted for more than seven months. How often Noah might have felt that God had forgotten the lonely ark and its inmates on that high mountaintop. Happy twin virtues—faith and patience! With what eager joy Noah must have listened once more to the voice of God, bidding him go forth.

17. That they may breed abundantly. This statement has been viewed by some commentators as implying that God had restrained the reproductive power of the animals during the year they spent in the cramped quarters of the ark. Now the original blessing upon animals to multiply and fill the earth (ch. 1:22) is repeated.

18. Noah went forth. As an angel descended from heaven and swung open the door that had been closed a year earlier by similar means, Noah and his family came forth. The animals followed Noah’s example, leaving the ark in orderly fashion, each after its own kind. This instinct to associate with other members of their own kind is generally characteristic of the animal world to the present day.

20. Noah builded an altar. Noah’s first act upon leaving the ark was one of worship. The sacrifices offered by Noah were not only an expression of gratitude for preservation but also a new pledge of his faith in the Saviour—typified by every sacrificial animal. In the offering “of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl” Noah gave evidence both of gratitude and of generosity. Although this passage is the first one in Scripture to mention the building of an altar, it should not be thought that altars were not in use prior to the Flood. The word “burnt offerings,” Фoloth, is not the same as that used to describe Abel’s sacrifice. It is derived from a verb meaning “to rise up,” and suggests, not the elevation of the gift upon the altar, but the ascent of the smoke of the burnt offering toward heaven (see Judges 13:20; 20:40; Jer. 48:15; Amos 4:10).

21. The Lord smelled a sweet savour. God’s satisfaction with Noah’s conduct and His acceptance of Noah’s gift are presented in very human language. The divine response to Noah’s devoted worship was a resolve that the earth would never again be destroyed by a flood. This promise was not communicated to Noah until a little later (see ch. 9:8–17). The words “I will not again curse the ground” did not remove the curse of ch. 3:17. They simply refer to the fact that a universal catastrophe such as the Deluge would not overtake the human race again. Localized floods were not included.

The imagination of man’s heart. Some commentators have seen a contradiction between this verse and ch. 6:5–7. God had ordained the Flood because “every imagination of the thoughts” of man’s heart was “only evil continually,” and here, for the very same reason, He promised never to send another. It must be that in the first case “imagination” refers to a fixed pattern of thought as translated into action (ch. 6:5), and that here it refers to man’s inherent tendencies. The KJV marginal reading, “though,” instead of “for,” is probably correct.

22. While the earth remaineth. Man’s ordinary seasonal pursuits had been completely and universally interrupted by the Flood. God now assured Noah that not only would there never be another flood but also no other comparable interruption of the seasonal cycle would occur. Seasons had been ordained at creation (Gen. 1:14); these were to continue.

The most remarkable account of the Deluge outside of the Bible occurs in the ancient Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. Although that section of the epic which deals with the Flood exhibits surprising similarities to the Genesis record, differences between the two accounts constitute convincing evidence of the inspiration and accuracy of the Biblical record. Polytheism and other heathen religious ideas give the Epic of Gilgamesh a definitely pagan flavor. Although similar Flood stories persist today among all branches of the human race, it is only natural to find the Babylonian account more nearly accurate than the others because of the proximity of Babylon to the mountains of Ararat. For further information on the Epic of Gilgamesh, see “Archeology and the Recovery of Ancient History,” pp. 115-117.

Ellen G. White comments

4, 6-11, 13, 15-20PP 105

21 PP 106

22 COL 65; Ed 105; PP 106