Genesis Chapter 8

Old Testament Law (Torah) 22 Verses

What is Genesis 8 about?

The book of beginnings — creation, the Fall, Noah's flood, and the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1And God remembered Noah, and all the beasts, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;
2the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
3and the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.
4And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
5And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
6And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
7and he sent forth a raven, and it went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
8And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
9but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark; for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her in unto him into the ark.
10And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
11and the dove came in to him at eventide; and, lo, in her mouth an olive-leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
12And he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove; and she returned not again unto him any more.
13And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dried.
14And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry.
15And God spake unto Noah, saying,
16Go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons` wives with thee.
17Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh, both birds, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
18And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons` wives with him:
19every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatsoever moveth upon the earth, after their families, went forth out of the ark.
20And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar.
21And Jehovah smelled the sweet savor; and Jehovah said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man`s sake, for that the imagination of man`s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more everything living, as I have done.
22While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that [was] with him in the ark, etc.] Not that God had forgotten Noah, for he does not, and cannot forget his creatures, properly speaking; but this is said after the manner of men, and as it might have seemed to Noah, who having heard nothing of him for five months, and having been perhaps longer in the ark than he expected, might begin to think that he was forgotten of God; but God remembered him, and his covenant with him, and the promise that he had made to him, that he and his family, and all the living creatures in the ark, should be…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“ASSUAGING OF THE WATERS. (Gen 8:1-14) And God remembered Noah--The divine purpose in this awful dispensation had been accomplished, and the world had undergone those changes necessary to fit it for becoming the residence of man under a new economy of Providence. and every living thing . . . in the ark--a beautiful illustration of Mat 10:29. and God made a wind to pass over the earth--Though the divine will could have dried up the liquid mass in an instant, the agency of a wind was employed (Psa 104:4) --probably a hot wind, which, by rapid evaporation, would again absorb one portion of the waters into the…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“- The Land Was Dried 1. שׁכך shākak “stoop, assuage.” 3. חסר chāsar “want, fail, be abated.” 4. אררט 'ărārāṭ, “Ararat,” a land forming part of Armenia. It is mentioned in 2 Kings 19:37, and Isaiah 37:38, as the retreat of Adrammelek and Sharezer after the murder of their father; and in Jeremiah 51:27 as a kingdom. 8. קלל qālal, “be light, lightened, lightly esteemed, swift.” 10. חוּל chûl, “twist, turn, dance, writhe, tremble, be strong, wait.” יהל yāchal “remain, wait, hope.” 13. חרב chāreb, “be drained, desolated, amazed.” Genesis 8:1-3 The waters commence their retreat. “And God remembered Noah.” He…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · on verse 1
“And God remembered Noah and every living thing - This is an expression after the manner of men, for not any of his creatures, much less any of his people are forgotten of God. But the whole race of mankind, except Noah and his family, was now extinguished, and gone into the land of forgetfulness, so that God's remembering Noah was the return of his mercy to mankind, of whom he would not make a full end. Noah himself, tho' one that had found grace in the eyes of the Lord, yet seemed to be forgotten in the ark; but at length God returned in mercy to him, and that is expressed by his remembering him. Genesis 8:3”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
“8:1 God remembered: This structural and theological center of the flood story does not mean that God had at any point forgotten Noah. This is covenant language reflecting God’s faithfulness to his promise to ensure the safety of his covenant partner (cp. 6:18; 9:15-16; Exod 2:24; Lev 26:42, 45). • wind: The same word is translated “Spirit” in Gen 1:2. This and other parallels (see Gen 9:1-2) suggest that the restoration of the earth after the flood was effectively a new creation.”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · on verse 1
“With the words, "then God remembered Noah and all the animals...in the ark," the narrative turns to the description of the gradual decrease of the water until the ground was perfectly dry. The fall of the water is described in the same pictorial style as its rapid rise. God's "remembering" was a manifestation of Himself, an effective restraint of the force of the raging element. He caused a wind to blow over the earth, so that the waters sank, and shut up the fountains of the deep, and the sluices of heaven, so that the rain from heaven was restrained. "Then the waters turned ( i.e., flowed off) from the earth,…”
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