Genesis 8:6-12 | The Way of Scripture

Genesis 8:6-12

Noah Sends a Raven and a Dove

Berean Standard Bible

6 After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 7 and sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until the waters had dried up from the earth.
8 Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him in the ark, because the waters were still covering the surface of all the earth. So he reached out his hand and brought her back inside the ark.
10 Noah waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11 And behold, the dove returned to him in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.
12 And Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove again, but this time she did not return to him.

What is the context?

The ark is resting, but the family has not been told to leave. Noah sends a raven and then a dove to learn about the ground beyond what he can see. The dove's first return shows there is no place for it to settle. Its later return with a fresh olive leaf gives Noah evidence that the waters have retreated further.

The repeated waits are part of the account. Noah does not receive every answer at once, and the leaf is not yet the command to leave. On the next release the dove does not return. In the following verses Noah will look out, and then God will tell the family to go out. Observing the changing conditions and waiting for God's word are presented together.

How is this passage commonly understood?

This is commonly read as Noah patiently testing the conditions as the flood recedes. Wesley's notes on verses 7–12 explain the birds as giving him information about the drying ground and the return of a place to live.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

Where can I study this further?

No deeper study linked yet.

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