Genesis 8:9

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 8:9 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “but 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.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

but 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.
Genesis 8:9 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 8

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
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.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, [and] she returned unto him into the ark, etc.] It being a creature that feeds upon seeds it picks off from the ground, and loving cleanness, it could find no place where it could alight, and have food to live upon, and retain its cleanness; for though the tops of the mountains were clear of the waters, yet they might be muddy and filthy with what the waters had raised up in them, or left upon them; and therefore it returned to Noah again, and not only like the raven unto the ark, but into it: for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: there was no place dry, and so neither food nor footing for this creature; and which was an…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- 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 is said to remember him when he takes any step to deliver him from the waters.…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“found: Deu 28:65; Eze 7:16; Mat 11:28; Joh 16:33 and she: Psa 116:7; Isa 60:8 pulled her: Heb. caused her to come Genesis 8:10”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification