8:1 God was mindful of Noah
and those animals
and beasts of the field
with him in the boat.
So the Almighty sent a wind
that swept over the land
and the waters receded.
8:2 The upwelling from the depths
and the floodgates of the skies
were now closed.
And the rain stopped
falling from the sky.
8:3 The waters had receded
from over the land.
After 150 days passed
the waters had retreated.
8:4 On the 17th day
of the 7th new moon
the boat came to a rest
on the hills of
8:5 The waters continued to retreat
until the 10th month.
On the 1st day
of the 10th new moon
the hill summits were seen.
8:6 So it came to pass
after 40 days
Noah opened the window
of the boat he had made.
8:7 He sent forth a raven,
and it flew back and forth
until the water dried up from the land.
8:8 Then he sent forth a dove
to see if the water receded
from the surface of the land.
8:9 But the dove found
nothing to perch on
because of the water
covering the land.
So it returned to Noah
who was on the boat.
He reached out his hand
and pulled the dove inside the boat.
8:10 So he waited
seven more days
and again sent the dove
out from the boat.
8:11 The dove returned to him
in the evening.
And in her beak
was a fresh picked olive leaf.
So Noah understood
the waters receded
from the land.
8:12 He waited 7 days more
then sent the dove out again.
This time it did not return.
8:13 By the first day
of the first new moon
of the 601st year of Noah
the water had dried up
from the land.
Noah then removed the awning
that was covering the boat
and saw that the surface
of the ground was dry.
8:14 By the 27th day
of the second new moon
the land was completely dry.
8:15 Then the Almighty spoke to Noah:
8:16 Come out from the boat
you and your wife
your sons and their wives.
8:17 Bring out with you
all the living creatures:
The birds and the animals
and all the crawling creatures
so they can multiply on the earth
and be fruitful on it
and increase in number.
8:18 So Noah came out
with his wife
his sons and their wives.
8:19 And the animals
and crawling creatures
with the birds
and everything that moves on land
came out of the ark
one species after another.
8:20 Then Noah built an altar
to Yahweh
and he made offerings
up onto the altar.(A)
8:21 Yahweh was pleased
with the sweetness of the offerings.(A)
He said:
Even if the humans
tend to be self-centered from childhood
the ground will not be cursed
nor the creatures wiped out.
8:22 As long as the earth endures
planting and harvest
cold and heat
summer and winter
daytime and nighttime
will never cease.
- The Hebrew word עֹלָה (ʿōlâ) is often translated to burnt offerings but this word refers to ascending or something that goes up. This would refer to offering something up to God. (This translation does not agree with the popular translations describing many offerings to God to be the slaughter of animals, draining their blood and burning their bodies to please God. The early translation to the Greek word holokaustos (ὁλόκαυστος) was made in deference to the ancient Greek practice of offering animals to different deities. This in turn was translated into the Latin word holocaustum meaning holocaust, which was translated to burnt offerings in English. A confluence of societal forces came together to enforce such a recording and translation in lieu of the original oral tradition of these texts.
