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The Waters Recede

The theological center of the flood narrative is not the rising of the waters but three words at the start of this chapter: "God remembered Noah." The flood account is a literary chiasm — the first half mirrors the second in reverse — and this phrase is the hinge. From here the water recedes, the birds are sent, the ark lands, and Noah's first act on dry ground is to build an altar. The flood ends where it began, with a human and an offering.

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God Remembered

1And 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.

The Birds

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.

The First Altar

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.

God Remembered

1God remembered Noah, all the animals, and all the livestock that were with him in the ship; and God made a wind to pass over the earth. The waters subsided.

2The deep's fountains and the sky's windows were also stopped, and the rain from the sky was restrained.

3The waters receded from the earth continually. After the end of one hundred fifty days the waters decreased.

4The ship rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on Ararat's mountains.

5The waters receded continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were visible.

The Birds

6At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ship which he had made,

7and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth, until the waters were dried up from the earth.

8He sent out a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from the surface of the ground.

9But the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him into the ship; for the waters were on the surface of the whole earth. He put out his hand, and took her, and brought her to him into the ship.

10He waited yet another seven days; and again he sent the dove out of the ship.

11The dove came back to him at evening, and, behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters were abated from the earth.

12He waited yet another seven days, and sent out the dove, and she didn't return to him any more.

13In the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ship, and looked. He saw that the surface of the ground was dried.

14In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

The First Altar

15God spoke to Noah, saying,

16"Go out of the ship, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives with you.

17Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth."

18Noah went out, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives with him.

19Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, after their families, went out of the ship.

20Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

21Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, because the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will not again strike every living thing as I have done.

22While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."

God Remembered

1And 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 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.

The Birds

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 dry.

14And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry.

The First Altar

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 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.

God Remembered

1And God remembereth Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle which are with him in the ark, and God causeth a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subside.

2And shut are the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens, and restrained is the shower from the heavens.

3And the waters turn back from off the earth, going on and returning; and the waters are lacking at the end of a hundred and fifty days.

4And the ark resteth, in the seventh month, in the seventeenth day of the month, on mountains of Ararat.

5And the waters have been going on and decreasing till the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first of the month, appeared the heads of the mountains.

The Birds

6And it cometh to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah openeth the window of the ark which he made;

7and he sendeth forth the raven, and it goeth out, going out and turning back, till the drying of the waters from off the earth.

8And he sendeth forth the dove from him, to see whether the waters have been lightened from off the face of the ground.

9And the dove hath not found rest for the sole of her foot, and she returneth unto him, unto the ark, for waters are on the face of all the earth, and he putteth out his hand, and taketh her, and bringeth her in unto him, unto the ark.

10And he stayeth yet another seven days, and addeth to send forth the dove from the ark.

11And the dove cometh in unto him at even-time, and lo, an olive leaf torn off is in her mouth, and Noah knoweth that the waters have been lightened from off the earth.

12And he stayeth yet another seven days, and sendeth forth the dove, and it hath not added to turn back unto him any more.

13And it cometh to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month , in the first of the month, the waters have been dried from off the earth; and Noah turneth aside the covering of the ark, and looketh, and lo, the face of the ground hath been dried.

14And in the second month, in the seven and twentieth day of the month, the earth hath become dry.

The First Altar

15And God speaketh unto Noah, saying,

16'Go out from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.

17and they have teemed in the earth, and been fruitful, and have multiplied on the earth.'

18And Noah goeth out, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him;

19every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl; every creeping thing on the earth, after their families, have gone out from the ark.

20And Noah buildeth an altar to Jehovah, and taketh of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and causeth burnt-offerings to ascend on the altar.

21And Jehovah smelleth the sweet fragrance, and Jehovah saith unto His heart, 'I add not to revile the ground any more for the sake of man, though the imagination of the heart of man is evil from his youth; and I add not to smite any more all living, as I have done.

22During all days of the earth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, do not cease.'

Public domain: KJV (1611) · WEB (2020) · ASV (1901) · YLT (1862). Note: "God remembered Noah" (v.1) does not imply God had forgotten. The Hebrew zakar (remember) in this context means God acts in accordance with his prior commitment — it is a covenant term. The same word is used in Exodus 2:24 when "God remembered his covenant with Abraham" and moves to deliver Israel from Egypt.

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