Old Testament Commentary - Genesis 8

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 8 The flood ceases—Noah sends forth a dove, which returns with an olive leaf—He releases all living things from the ark—He offers sacrifices—Seedtime and harvest and seasons assured.
1 And God remembered ^aNoah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters ^basswaged; 2 The ^afountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; 3 And the waters ^areturned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the ^bwaters ^cwere abated. 4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. 5 And 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.		4^a Moses 3:4-5; Abr. 5:4-5 ^b TG Jesus Christ—Jehovah 5^a TG Nature, Earth ^b TG Spirit Creation ^c TG Creation ^d TG Man, Physical Creation of ^e Moses 3:5
6 ¶ And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.		4^a Moses 3:4-5; Abr. 5:4-5 ^b TG Jesus Christ—Jehovah 5^a TG Nature, Earth ^b TG Spirit Creation ^c TG Creation ^d TG Man, Physical Creation of ^e Moses 3:5
10 And he ^astayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. 12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.		4^a Moses 3:4-5; Abr. 5:4-5 ^b TG Jesus Christ—Jehovah 5^a TG Nature, Earth ^b TG Spirit Creation ^c TG Creation ^d TG Man, Physical Creation of ^e Moses 3:5
13 ¶ And it came to pass in the ^asix hundredth 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 dry. 14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
15 ¶ And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy ^awife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. 17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be ^afruitful, and ^bmultiply upon the earth. 18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their ^akinds, went forth out of the ark.
20 ¶ ^aAnd Noah builded an altar unto the LORD^a; and took of every ^bclean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt ^cofferings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a sweet ^asavour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again ^bcurse the ground any more ^cfor man's sake; for the ^dimagination of man's heart is ^eevil from his youth; neither will I again ^fsmite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22 While the earth remaineth, ^aseedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and ^bnight shall not cease.	20^a Noah builded an altar unto the LORD This is the first time in the King James Old Testament that the actual word 'altar' is used. It was the first thing that Noah did when he left the ark. He did build an altar to offer up sacrifice upon it. But this is not the first time sacrifice has been made to the Lord. Abel and Cain are recorded to have sacraficed unto the Lord and Cains offering of the grain of the field was rejected and Abel's animal sacrifice was accepted. According to Church History, in the land we know as Adam-ondi-Ahman, there was identified the remains of a number of stones said to be the remains of Adam's ancient altar upon which Adam offered sacrifice. But these have been somewhat mixed up with the remains of a 'tower altar' of the Nephites which the Prophet Joseph Smith was reported to have also identified in the land of Adam-ondi-Ahman. That this was the same place where both Nephites and the ancient fathers down from Adam offered sacrifice or that there were two such sites in Adam-ondi-Ahman, one of Adam and one of the Nephite Altar has not been made clear by the records of Chruch History. But certanily Adam did build an altar as he did offer sacrifice upon it. And Adam was taught by an angel that the proper sacrifice in the similitude of the Only Begotten was that of an animal sacrifice (Moses 5:5-8). That Noah took this practice with him from the land and time of the ancient patriarchal fathers til Adam can will be presumed and accepted. Now Noah took of the few in number animals of the ark and did sacrifice them sets forth the importance of this offering, to offer unto the Lord the things of the world and not place them first above God.