vision, it is Noah’s altar, the first mentioned in Genesis, that marks the recession of the floodwaters and the uncovering of a cleansed earth (Gen. 8:20). It is Noah’s ritual of speechless thanks that marks the change in God’s heart from pain to promise. On the other side of this ritual, a new world emerges, this one anchored to a cosmic covenant that announces God’s relentless intentions to stay in relationship with a fragile but ever-hopeful created order (Gen. 9:8–11). From this point onward,