8:1 God remembered The Hebrew verb used here, zakhar, is often translated “remember,” but in reference to God, it conveys “thought about” or “turned attention to” (compare 19:29; 30:22). God’s purpose for the flood is accomplished, so He turns His attention back to Noah and the ark.

8:2 the windows of the heavens God is reversing the process from 7:11–12. See note on 7:11.

8:3 one hundred and fifty days It is difficult to know how this figure and the one given in v. 4 relate; this is further complicated by difficulties understanding how the calendar in this period of time functioned. See note on 7:11.

8:4 the seventh month, on the seventeenth day See v. 3; note on 7:11.

the mountains of Ararat Refers to a mountain range, not necessarily a particular mountain called Ararat. Ararat was the country or region of Urartu. Assyrian records use this place name for a region that corresponds today most closely with Armenia and Turkey.

8:6 forty days The 40 days parallel the 40 days of rain (Gen 7:12). Compare 7:11 and note.

8:7 he sent out a raven No reason for Noah’s action is given, but the narrative implies that Noah is checking for signs of land and states this explicitly in v. 8 about his choice to send out a dove.

it went to and fro Meaning that Noah allows the bird to fly in and out many times, not that the raven keeps flying until land appears.

8:8 he sent out a dove The dove (yonah in Hebrew) is mentioned 32 times in the ot.

8:9 he stretched out his hand and took her Noah likely wanted to check the bird’s feet for evidence of clay, which would indicate land.

8:11 a freshly-picked olive tree leaf The leaf must have come from a plant that had regrown to maturity after some time. Noah now knew that land had reappeared.

8:13 the six hundred and first year The Hebrew text here does not directly state that this figure is in reference to Noah’s life, but that can be inferred from Gen 7:6 and 7:11.

the first The comment that the waters had dried up by the first day of the first month emphasizes the beginning of a new creation. Noah can now see land. Nearly two more months pass before God gives Noah the command to disembark.

8:14 was dry The Hebrew verb used here, yavesh, is related to the noun yabbashah (often translated “dry land”) used in 1:9–10. The words provide a verbal and thematic link between the two narratives, indicating that the restoration of the world after the flood should be understood as an act of divine re-creation.

8:16 Go out from the ark Even though Noah knows that the ground has dried, he waits on the ark until he receives God’s explicit command to leave.

8:17 be fruitful and multiply God’s command that the animals should procreate echoes the command from 1:22. The command will be directed to Noah and his sons in 9:1 (echoing 1:28).

8:19 families The Hebrew term used here, mishpachah, usually denotes human family groups. The word occurs elsewhere with the generic sense of “class” or “type” (Jer 15:3; Job 31:34).

8:20 an altar The first reference to a sacrificial or worship altar in the Bible.

Altars in the Old Testament Table

8:21 Yahweh smelled the soothing fragrance This phrase indicates an acceptable offering and appears frequently in the books of Leviticus and Numbers (e.g., Lev 1:9; 2:9; 4:31; Num 15:3).

to himself This choice to never curse the earth again is a deliberate allusion to Gen 6:6–7, where God muses to Himself about the need to destroy humankind.

Never again will I curse The Hebrew term used here, qalal, is different from that of 3:17 (arar), which references the cursing of the ground after the fall.

the heart of humankind is evil An explicit reference to the language of 6:5. God knows that even the flood will not reverse the corruption of the human will and mind.

8:22 As long as the earth endures This wording resolves the tension between the promise of this verse and subsequent descriptions of a final judgment of the world (2 Pet 3:12–13). The final apocalypse will produce a new heaven and new earth. God promises to keep His wrath from humanity until the earth—as it is currently known—is no more (or renewed).