Genesis 8:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark.

NIV: He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.

NASB: So he waited another seven days longer; and again he sent out the dove from the ark.

CSB: So Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove from the ark again.

NLT: After waiting another seven days, Noah released the dove again.

KJV: And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;

NKJV: And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark.

In the previous verses, Noah sent out birds in an effort to locate dry land. Sailors in ancient days would release a land-dwelling bird in order to locate land. The bird would fly high to look for a place to go, and head in that direction if there was an island or shore nearby. If the bird came back, it meant there was nowhere close for it to land other than the ship.

Noah has already sent out a raven and then a dove from the ark. If these birds did not return, Noah could assume that they had found land where they'd prefer to stay; this would mean the earth was drying out enough to begin to support life again. The first dove comes back empty-handed (Genesis 8:9). Noah waits seven days between these missions, suggesting that he is keeping to the same seven-day weekly calendar used prior to the flood. Some scholars suggest that Noah even observed a Sabbath in some way.

Genesis 8:1–19 describes the process of God drying out the earth following the flood. Noah and his family and the animals wait for the waters to recede. Noah uses birds as a test to see if any land is nearby. When the time is finally right, a full year after they entered, God commands Noah, his family, and all the animals to leave the ark. Their mission from God is to swarm over the earth, multiply, and begin again.

Even as all other life was being destroyed, God didn't forget Noah and the animals. He stops the deluge of water flowing from above and below and causes a great wind to blow to begin drying out the earth. The ark comes to rest on the mountains of Ararat. There, its occupants wait for the flood waters to go down. After a full year aboard, Noah and his family and the animals finally disembark. Noah builds an altar in worship to God and offers animal sacrifices. God commits to never curse the earth as He had through the flood, and to never again strike down all life on earth.

Genesis 6 and 7 explain the events leading up to the flood, and the actual catastrophe itself. After the devastation and destruction are over, God begins to dry out the earth in Genesis 8. The waters recede, Noah and the animals finally leave after a year aboard, and Noah offers animal sacrifices in worship to God. God commits to never again strike down all life on earth at once. As long as the earth remains, living things will enjoy the cycles of day, night, and seasons. The following chapters describe the re-population of earth by mankind, leading up to another instance of God's intervention, at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11).

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 7/27/2024 6:58:00 AM