Chapter 8
22 verses — switch translations with the toolbar below.
Scripture
KJV1And God remembered Noah, 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 asswaged;
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 the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
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, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
8Also 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 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.
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 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.
12And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
13And it came to pass in the six 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.
14And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
15And God spake unto Noah, saying,
16Go forth of 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 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 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 fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
20And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing 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.
“And God remembered Noah, 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 asswaged.”
Overview
God remembers Noah and causes a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters begin to recede. The ark rests on the mountains of Ararat. Noah sends out a raven and then a dove to test the waters; the dove returns with an olive leaf, signaling that the earth is drying. When the ground is finally dry, God tells Noah to leave the ark. Noah builds an altar and offers burnt offerings to the Lord, and God promises never again to curse the ground or destroy every living thing with a flood.
Key Themes
God Remembers His Own
The phrase 'God remembered Noah' does not mean God forgot — it signals His faithful, covenant-keeping attention turning toward deliverance and restoration.
New Creation from Judgment
The receding waters and dry land emerging echo the original creation — God is giving humanity a fresh start, a new beginning from the waters of judgment.
Worship as the First Response
Noah's first act upon leaving the ark is to build an altar and offer sacrifice — gratitude and worship are the proper response to God's deliverance.
Study Questions
What does it mean that 'God remembered Noah' (v. 1), and what does this phrase teach about God's faithfulness to His people?
How does the dove returning with an olive leaf (v. 11) serve as a symbol of hope and new life after judgment?
Why is Noah's first action after the flood to build an altar and offer sacrifices (v. 20)?
How does God's promise in verse 21 — 'I will not again curse the ground' — balance His justice with His mercy?
In what ways does the post-flood world resemble a new creation, and what does this teach about God's redemptive purposes?
Connection to Christ
Noah's altar and sacrifice after the flood point to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. Just as God was pleased with Noah's offering and promised a new beginning, so God is pleased with Christ's sacrifice and offers new life to all who believe. The dove with the olive branch has become a universal symbol of peace — the peace that Christ ultimately secures between God and man.
Personal Reflection
Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through Genesis 8. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?