Genesis 8:8

Amplified Bible

Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the water level had fallen below the surface of the land.

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground.

Update Bible Version
And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

New Century Version
Then Noah sent out a dove to find out if the water had dried up from the ground.

New English Translation
Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground.

Webster's Bible Translation
Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

World English Bible
He sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the surface of the ground,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also Noe sente out a culuer aftir hym, to se if the watris hadden ceessid thanne on the face of erthe;

Young's Literal Translation
And he sendeth forth the dove from him to see whether the waters have been lightened from off the face of the ground,

Berean Standard Bible
Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground.

Contemporary English Version
Noah wanted to find out if the water had gone down, and he sent out a dove.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water had gone from the surface of the ground.

American Standard Version
And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

Bible in Basic English
And he sent out a dove, to see if the waters had gone from the face of the earth;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And agayne he sent foort a Doue from him, that he myght see yf the waters were abated from the vpper face of the grounde.

Darby Translation
And he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had become low on the ground.

Easy-to-Read Version
Noah also sent out a dove. He wanted it to find dry ground. He wanted to know if water still covered the earth.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground.

King James Version (1611)
Also hee sent foorth a doue from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground.

King James Version
Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

New Life Bible
Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water was gone from the ground.

New Revised Standard
Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he sent forth a dove from him, - to see whether the waters had abated, from off the face of the ground;

Geneva Bible (1587)
Againe he sent a doue from him, that he might see if the waters were diminished from off the earth.

George Lamsa Translation
Then he sent forth a dove from the ark, to see if the waters had abated from the face of the ground;

Good News Translation
Meanwhile, Noah sent out a dove to see if the water had gone down,

Douay-Rheims Bible
He sent forth also a dove after him, to see if the waters had now ceased upon the face of the earth.

Revised Standard Version
Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground;

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he sent a dove after it to see if the water had ceased from off the earth.

English Revised Version
And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

Christian Standard Bible®
Then he sent out a dove to see whether the water on the earth’s surface had gone down,

Hebrew Names Version
He sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the surface of the ground,

Lexham English Bible
And he sent out a dove to see whether the waters had subsided from upon the ground.

Literal Translation
He also sent out from him the dove, to see if the waters had gone down from off the face of the earth.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sent he forth a doue from him, to wete, whether the waters were falle vpon the earth.

New American Standard Bible
Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water was low on the surface of the land;

New King James Version
He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground.

New Living Translation
He also released a dove to see if the water had receded and it could find dry ground.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then he sent out a dove from him, to see if the water was abated from the face of the land;

Legacy Standard Bible
Then he sent out a dove from him, to see if the water was abated from the face of the land;

Contextual Overview

⁶At the end of [another] forty days Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made; ⁷and he sent out a raven, which flew here and there until the waters were dried up from the earth. ⁸Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the water level had fallen below the surface of the land.⁹But the dove found no place on which to rest the sole of her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were [still] on the face of the entire earth. So he reached out his hand and took the dove, and brought her into the ark. ¹⁰He waited another seven days and again sent the dove out from the ark. ¹¹The dove came back to him in the evening, and there, in her beak, was a fresh olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water level had subsided from the earth. ¹²Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a dove: Genesis 8:10-12, Song of Solomon 1:15, Song of Solomon 2:11, Song of Solomon 2:12, Song of Solomon 2:14, Matthew 10:16

Reciprocal: Isaiah 60:8 - as the 1 Corinthians 15:14 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 8:10
He waited another seven days and again sent the dove out from the ark.

Genesis 8:11
The dove came back to him in the evening, and there, in her beak, was a fresh olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water level had subsided from the earth.

Genesis 8:12
Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again.

Song of Solomon 1:15
"Behold, how beautiful you are, my darling, Behold, how beautiful you are! Your eyes are dove's eyes."

Song of Solomon 2:14
"O my dove, [here] in the clefts in the rock, In the sheltered and secret place of the steep pathway, Let me see your face, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your face is lovely."

Matthew 10:16
"Listen carefully: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves [have no self-serving agenda].

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Also he sent forth a dove from him,.... Seven days after he had sent out the raven, as in Genesis 8:10

to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; for the dove is a creature that delights in cleanness, flies low, and goes far off, so that if it returned not again, he might conclude that the waters were gone off the earth; but being a sociable creature, and familiar to men, and especially loving to its mate, if they were not gone off, it would certainly return again. This some take to be an emblem of the Gospel, bringing the good tidings of peace, pardon, righteousness and salvation by Jesus Christ: rather it is an emblem of a sensible sinner, and true believer in Christ, being mournful, timorous, swift, modest, and affectionate; such persons, like doves of the valley, mourn for their iniquities; tremble at the sight of their sins, and the curses of the law, at the apprehension of divine wrath, at the awful judgment of God; and are fearful lest Christ should not receive them, to whom they swiftly fly for refuge, as doves to their windows; and who are modest, meek, and lowly, and affectionate to Christ, and one another. The Targum of Jonathan calls this an house dove, or tame one: hence, perhaps, came the practice of making use of doves as messengers to carry letters from place to place o.

o Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 37.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- 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. The several steps to this end are enumerated.

A wind. - This would promote evaporation, and otherwise aid the retreat of the waters. “The fountains of the deep and the windows of the skies were shut.” The incessant and violent showers had continued for six weeks. It is probable the weather remained turbid and moist for some time longer. In the sixth month, however, the rain probably ceased altogether. Some time before this, the depressing of the ground had reached its lowest point, and the upheaving had set in. This is the main cause of the reflux of the waters. All this is described, as we perceive, according to appearance. It is probable that the former configuration of the surface was not exactly restored. At all events it is not necessary, as the ark may have drifted a considerable space in a hundred and fifty days. Some of the old ground on which primeval man had trodden may have become a permanent water bed, and a like amount of new land may have risen to the light in another place. Hence, it is vain to seek for a spot retaining the precise conditions of the primitive Eden. The Euphrates and Tigris may substantially remain, but the Pishon and Gihon may have considerably changed. The Black Sea, the Caspian, the lakes Van and Urumiah may cover portions of the Adamic land. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the prevalence of the waters begins to turn into a positive retreat.

Genesis 8:4-5

The ark rested. - It is stranded on some hill in Ararat. This country forms part of Armenia. As the drying wind most probably came from the east or north, it is likely that the ark was drifted toward Asia Minor, and caught land on some hill in the reaches of the Euphrates. It cannot be supposed that it rested on either of the peaks now called Ararat, as Ararat was a country, not a mountain, and these peaks do not seem suitable for the purpose. The seventh month began usually with the new moon nearest the vernal equinox, or the 21st of March. “The tenth month.” The waters ceased to prevail on the first of the ninth month. The ark, though grounded six weeks before, was still deep in the waters. The tops of the hills began to appear a month after. The subsiding of the waters seems to have been very slow.

Genesis 8:6-12

The raven and the dove are sent out to bring tidings of the external world. “Forty days.” Before Noah made any experiment he seems to have allowed the lapse of forty days to undo the remaining effect of the forty days’ rain. “The window.” He seems to have been unable to take any definite observations through the aperture here called a window. The raven found carrion in abundance, floated probably on the waters, and did not need to return. This was such a token of the state of things as Noah might expect from such a messenger. He next sends the dove, who returns to him. “Yet other seven days.” This intimates that he stayed seven days also after the raven was sent out. The olive leaf plucked off was a sign of returning safety to the land. It is said by Theophrastus (Hist. Plant. 4, 7) and Pliny (H. N. 13, 50) that the olive strikes leaves even under water. From this event, the olive branch became the symbol of peace, and the dove the emblem of the Comforter, the messenger of peace. After seven other days, the dove being despatched, returns no more. The number seven figures very conspicuously in this narrative. Seven days before the showers commence the command to enter the ark is given; and at intervals of seven days the winged messengers are sent out. These intervals point evidently to the period of seven days, determined by the six days of creation and the seventh day of rest. The clean beasts also and the birds are admitted into the ark by seven pairs. This points to the sacredness associated with the number arising from the hallowed character of the seventh day. The number forty also, the product of four, the number of the world or universe, and ten the number of completeness, begins here to be employed for a complete period in which a process will have run its course.

Genesis 8:13-14

Noah delays apparently another month, and, on the first day of the new year, ventures to remove the covering of the ark and look around. The date of the complete drying of the land is then given. The interval from the entrance to the exit consists of the following periods:

Rain continued	40 days
Waters prevailed	150 days
Waters subside	99 days
Noah delays	40 days
Sending of the raven and the dove	20 days
Another month	29 days
Interval until the 27th of the 2nd month	57 days
Sum-total of days	365 days

Hence, it appears that the interval was a lunar year of three hundred and fifty-six days nearly, and ten days; that is, as nearly as possible, a solar year. This passage is important on account of the divisions of time which it brings out at this early epoch. The week of seven days is plainly intimated. The lunar month and year are evidently known. It is remarkable that the ten additional days bring up the lunar year in whole numbers to the solar. It seems a tacit agreement with the real order of nature. According to the Hebrew text, the deluge commenced in the 1656th year of the race of man. According to all texts it occurred in the time of Noah, the ninth in descent from Adam.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 8:8. He sent forth a dove — The dove was sent forth thrice; the first time she speedily returned, having, in all probability, gone but a little way from the ark, as she must naturally be terrified at the appearance of the waters. After seven days, being sent out a second time, she returned with an olive leaf pluckt off, Genesis 8:11, an emblem of the restoration of peace between God and the earth; and from this circumstance the olive has been the emblem of peace among all civilized nations. At the end of the other seven days the dove being sent out the third time, returned no more, from which Noah conjectured that the earth was now sufficiently drained, and therefore removed the covering of the ark, which probably gave liberty to many of the fowls to fly off, which circumstance would afford him the greater facility in making arrangements for disembarking the beasts and reptiles, and heavy-bodied domestic fowls, which might yet remain. See Genesis 8:17.