Chapter Eight
The diminishing of the flood waters
Genesis 8:1. And God remembered Noah, “Let us, beloved, understand these words in a manner befitting God, and not in that coarse sense in which our weakened nature is inclined to understand them,” says the holy John Chrysostom concerning them: “What does it mean to remember? He had compassion, that is, God showed mercy on the righteous man dwelling in the ark, taking pity on him when he was in such a confined and difficult situation, and knew not how his afflictions would end.” Moreover, the very “remembrance” of His servants by God, in the language of Sacred Scripture, signifies the fulfillment of promises and the distribution of rewards to them (Gen 19:29; Exod 2:24; Ps 131:1). and God brought a wind upon the earth, and the waters subsided. A strong wind, which dispersed the rain clouds, was in the hands of divine omnipotence a mediating or natural cause for the cessation of the flood. In this case, as in other similar instances (Exod 10:13-19), God employs natural phenomena and laws, established by Him, as instruments of His will.
Genesis 8:2. And the fountains of the abyss were closed, and the windows of heaven, and the rain from heaven was restrained. The cause of the cessation of the flood stands in complete correspondence with the cause of its origin (Gen 7:11).
Genesis 8:3. And the water receded gradually from the earth, and the water began to decrease after the completion of one hundred and fifty days. In parallel with the picture of the gradual increase of the flood (Gen 7:17-20), this section gives a no less artistic depiction of its gradual cessation. Having noted the very fact of the withdrawal of water into its usual reservoirs, the chronicler also points to the details—first, the decrease in the quantity of water, second, the resting of the ark on the summit of Mount Ararat, and the emergence from beneath the water of the peaks of other mountains.
The resting of the ark on Mount Ararat
Genesis 8:4. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, Taking the most reliable date of the flood’s beginning as the seventeenth day of the month of Marchesvan (early November), we should place the resting of the ark on the summit of the Ararat mountains on the seventeenth day of the month of Nisan, which will correspond to the beginning of our April. And since, according to the indication of the chronicler, between these two aforementioned chronological terms one hundred and fifty days passed (Gen 7:24), it follows that each of these five months has thirty days, from which many not without reason conclude that in the primordial era the year was solar and not lunar, as it later became among the Hebrews in the period of the Law. It should be noted that in the indication of the day of both months there is some difference between the Russian and the Greco-Slavonic text—in the former it is the 17th, and in the latter the 27th. We must suppose that this difference occurred, probably, through the fault of the translators, who could easily confuse the letter designations of Hebrew numbers. on the mountains of Ararat. Already the very fact that the plural is used here instead of the singular (mountains of Ararat) testifies that reference is made not to one specific mountain peak, but to an entire chain of mountains, or in general to a mountainous region. And indeed, the Bible knows an entire country of Ararat, which it identifies with Armenia, as is especially clear from the comparison of (2 Sam 19:37) with (Isa 37:38) (according to the Septuagint). By a similar name—Urarda or Urtu—Armenia is also designated in the cuneiform monuments of the Assyrian kings. On one of the mountains of this Armenia, probably the highest one, called Kara-Dagh or “Great Armenia” (16,254 feet above sea level), Noah’s ark came to rest.
Genesis 8:5. The water receded continually until the tenth month; in the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible. Since the Great Ararat is only one of the peaks of an entire mountain chain, it is understandable that as the water decreased, the tops of other mountains were revealed. This occurred, as is evident from the text, on the first day of the 10th month, Tammuz, that is, approximately in the middle of our July.
Genesis 8:6. After forty days Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. These forty days should evidently be counted from the moment the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, that is, after 270 days.
The release from the ark of the raven and the dove
The entire section speaks of the means by which Noah assured himself of the cessation of the flood. Since Noah’s ark, as we saw above (Gen 6:16), did not have side windows which opened up a view of the flood, but was lit by a single opening from above, Noah, in order to ascertain the condition of the earth, resorted to releasing birds: first a raven, and then a dove.
and he sent out a raven, [to see if the water had decreased from the earth,] which went out, flying back and forth, until the earth was dry from the water.
Or, as is expressed even more vividly in the Hebrew text, “went out, flying away and returning.” This makes it known that the rapacious raven, living outside the ark, flew away to the corpses of men and animals and again alighted on the roof of the ark, thus giving no indication of the state of the earth.
Genesis 8:8. Then he sent out a dove from him to see whether the water had decreased from the face of the earth, Noah made this new release seven days after the first (verse 10); this time he sent out a dove, which better served the purpose, since a dove feeds on grain and fears moisture.
Genesis 8:9. but the dove found no resting place for its feet and returned to him into the ark, for the water was still on the surface of all the earth; and he stretched out his hand and took it, and brought it in to him into the ark. A vivid depiction of the fact from which Noah was convinced that the earth was still unfit for habitation not only for men, but even for birds.
Genesis 8:10. And he waited another seven days, and again sent out the dove from the ark. This frequent repetition of the seven-day period may serve as proof that the weekly reckoning of time was already well known at that time.
Genesis 8:11. The dove came back to him in the evening time, This was evidence that the earth had begun to dry somewhat, so that it was possible to spend a whole day on it, until sunset. and behold, a fresh olive leaf in its mouth, and Noah knew that the water had decreased from the earth. The best proof that on the earth new life had already begun to awaken. Moreover, the olive tree, from which oil is obtained and which serves in Sacred Scripture as a symbol of joy and peace, gave Noah a comforting indication of the cessation of divine punishment (retribution).
Genesis 8:12. He waited another seven days, and [again] sent out the dove; and it did not return to him. This time the dove did not return, which proved that on the earth men could freely live.
Genesis 8:13. In the six hundred and first year [of Noah’s life], on the first [day] of the first month, the water dried up from the earth; Here are the chronological dates of the end of the flood, which thus fell on the first day of the new year, that is, on the beginning of the month of Tishri (September-October).
Genesis 8:14. And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. But the complete drying of the earth occurred only at the end of the second month, exactly one year and ten days after its beginning (Gen 7:11). Combining now all the chronological dates of the flood contained in the Bible, we obtain that the total duration of it embraced 364 days (220 + 88 + 56), which makes a complete solar year. The chronicler, however, makes clear that the flood lasted a year and ten days; from this, with great probability we can conclude that at the time of the flood, the earliest epoch, a solar reckoning still existed, and that only later, from the time of Abraham or even Moses, it was converted to a lunar calendar.
Genesis 8:15–16. And [the Lord] God said to Noah: Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons, and the wives of your sons with you; As once Noah entered the ark by a special divine command, so he exits from it not before receiving a special divine revelation concerning this. The memory of the flood constitutes one of the most widespread traditions of the ancient world, and the very details of these accounts often strikingly coincide with the biblical history of the flood. This must be said especially concerning the famous Chaldean poem about Izdubbar or Gilgamesh, discovered in the most ancient cuneiform texts, which form part of the so-called “Chaldean genesis.” A parallel comparison of this Chaldean poem with the biblical account leaves no doubt of their close family relationship, and the great antiquity and documentary nature of the cuneiform texts provides a powerful weapon for biblical apologetics in the struggle against rationalistic criticism. See more on this in S. S. Glagolev’s “Supernatural revelation and natural knowledge of God” and on “The Origin of the human race.”
Genesis 8:17. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you—all flesh—birds, cattle, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth; let them spread over the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth. Concerning these words of the divine command, which directly pertain to the animals, but also touch man, the holy John Chrysostom speaks, for example, as follows: “See how this righteous man again receives that blessing which Adam received before his transgression. As that one, immediately upon being created, heard: and God blessed them, saying: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth (Gen 1:28), so too does this one now become fruitful and multiply on the earth, because as Adam was the beginning and root of all who lived before the flood, so this righteous man becomes as a leaven, the beginning and root of all who lived after the flood” (the holy John Chrysostom, Homily XXVI).
The exit from the ark
Genesis 8:18–19. And Noah went out, and his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him; all the beasts, and [all the cattle, and] all the creeping things, and all the birds, everything that moves on the earth, by their kinds, went out of the ark. Here we are told of the swift and exact fulfillment of the divine command, by which Noah once more testified to his complete obedience to the divine will.
The building of an altar and Noah’s sacrifice
Genesis 8:20. And Noah built an altar to the Lord; This is, strictly speaking, the first biblical mention of a sacred altar or altar; the Hebrew name for it—mizbeach—indicates it as a place of the slaughter of sacrificial animals. and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. From among the clean animals which were in the ark in a specifically increased quantity (Gen 7:2), Noah, upon exiting the ark, offered a sacrifice to the Lord. These sacrifices are called burnt offerings here; in such offerings the sacrificial animal was completely burned without remainder (Lev 1:1-17), which served as a symbol of the complete, perfect acknowledgment of sinful weakness and deep heartfelt repentance. Hence, Noah’s sacrifice was, on the one hand, an act of his repentance for the past sin of mankind which had caused the flood, and on the other—an expression of gratitude to God for deliverance and an expression of complete submission and obedience to His holy will.
The covenant of God with Noah
Genesis 8:21. And the Lord smelled a pleasant aroma, “Do not be troubled by the coarseness of the expression,” says Chrysostom on this matter, “but, recognizing as the cause of such condescension in words your own weakness, understand from this that the offering of the righteous man was pleasing to God...” This is why the Apostle Paul said in his letter: “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life” (2 Cor 2:15-16). The words “pleasant aroma,” according to a more accurate translation from the Hebrew—reach hannichoach—should be translated thus: “a scent of satisfaction, of consolation,” and in the very analysis of concepts one finds a similarity with the name of Noah, which means “consolation” (Gen 5:29), from which is seen as it were the fulfillment of that very prophecy which was placed in the name given to him. This sacrifice of Noah, like the earlier sacrifice of Abel, was doubtless pleasing to God not because of the material of the offering itself, but because of the feelings of faith, piety, and humble submission to the Creator expressed in it. In a similar manner, prayer and alms-giving of the faithful are ascribed a sweet taste (a pleasant aroma) (Phil 4:18; Rev 5:8; Ps 140:2). and said the Lord [God] in His heart: I will never again curse the earth for man’s sake, because the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again strike every living thing, as I have done: In these words a solemn assurance from God Himself concerning the non-repetition of such a universal (in the sense of universal for all mankind and all living creatures) punishment is obviously given; but the very motivation for it appears at first glance somewhat unclear: it seems to repeat the motive which served as the chief cause of the flood (Gen 6:5); and here the same fact is taken as the motive for the opposite attitude toward the world. But a more careful comparison of these two parallels, made in the light of the context of the discourse, reveals a substantial difference between them. In the first case it is said much more generally and strongly—namely, that “all the thoughts and imaginations of their hearts were evil at all times” (Gen 6:5), which characterizes not so much inherited, but chiefly the constant personal sinful disposition, passing, as is clear from the context, into proud transgression of moral foundations and into unrepentant stubbornness (Gen 6:11). In the verse we are considering, the discourse concerns almost exclusively only inherited sinful corruption, for which a man is comparatively less responsible than for conscious, personal sinfulness. Through the sacrifice, about which was just spoken, man proved as well as possible that his personal disposition had improved considerably, that although he, due to the sinful weakness of his nature, continued to sin, yet each time in the consciousness of his fall and often with deep sorrow about it and with a request to God for mercy, the expression of which was various sacrifices. Such a change in the disposition of the human heart provided fully sufficient grounds for a change in the divine attitude toward it. “Before justice was manifested universally, and mercy acted in particular instances (the story of the flood and Noah): now justice will appear in the particular, as for example, over Sodom, over Pharaoh, and mercy in the universal” (Philaret). Hence it becomes fully natural and intelligible to point to inherited sinful corruption of man as the motive for a lenient attitude toward his sinfulness, with which man expresses (through sacrifices) a desire to struggle in proportion to his weak powers.
Genesis 8:22. As long as the earth remains That is, so long as the earth exists and when “the days of the earth” must yield their place to the “days of heaven” (Ps 88:30). seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. Three seasons are named here by name: spring, summer, and winter, while the fourth is described: “harvest,” as the time of gathering of grain and fruits. However, it should be noted that the Masoretic text and some of the translated texts do not name spring either, but give only a repeated designation of two basic seasons or entire half-years, namely “cold and heat” or, in other words, “summer and winter,” in accordance with which stands the third pair of contrasts “day and night.” And this latter reading is preferable, as it is found in other places in the Bible as well (Ps 73:17). As for the idea contained here, it serves as a more detailed explanation and development of what was just expressed above—concerning the non-repetition of such a terrible natural disaster connected with the inevitable violation of the fundamental Laws of nature (Jer 33:20-25, Ezek 34:25-29). “The most gracious Lord usually pays attention not so much to our sacrifices as to the inner disposition with which we perform them, and, judging by it, either accepts or rejects our sacrifices” (John Chrysostom, 27:273). In conclusion to the history of the flood, we consider it our duty to briefly point out the typological significance which the Fathers of the Church found in it. The foundation for such a view was laid by the Lord Himself and His apostles. Thus, the Lord, reviewing the past history of the flood, sees in it a prediction of the future history of His second fearful coming: as then men were extremely corrupt and careless regarding their salvation, so too will it be before the second coming; and as then a fearful judgment of the divine court was carried out upon all the sinful world, so exactly the same will be repeated at the moment of the terrible judgment (Matt 24:37-39; Luke 17:25-27). The Apostle Peter in one of his letters compares the baptismal font with Noah’s ark (1 Pet 3:20-21), indicating that as the one, so the other equally saves us from sinful death. His thought is developed by the Apostle Paul, saying that we “are buried with Him through baptism into death” and at the same time through this same action are brought into His Church and begin to walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4-6).