Genesis 8:11

And the dove came in to him in the evening,.... It having been out all day delighting itself in a free air, and perching upon the trees, but yet not finding sufficient food, or a proper lodging, it

And 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. No JFB commentary on this verse.

The dove came in to him in the evening, as the manner of doves is, partly for better accommodation, both for food and lodging, than yet she could meet with abroad; and partly from her love to her mate. In her mouth was an olive leaf. Quest. Whence was this leaf, when trees had been so generally overthrown and rooted up by the deluge? Answ. 1. Many trees might be preserved by an advantageous situation, between the rocks or hills which broke the force of the waters. 2. It is probable that God, by his powerful providence, preserved the plants and trees for future ages; and therefore there is no mention of any of their roots or seeds preserved in the ark. 3. The olive-tree especially will not only stand, but live and flourish under the waters, as Pliny, 1. 13. c. 25, and 16. 20, and Theophrastus, 4. 8, observe. Add, that the word here rendered leaf signifies also a tender branch.

Genesis 8:11 And 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.Ver. 11. In her mouth was an olive leaf.] The olive never casteth her leaf, and is greenest in the spring, saith Pliny. It might very well continue so under water during the flood. It may also very well, by an allegory, set forth that grace and peace by Jesus Christ, brought in the mouth of his ministers in this evening of the world. The dove returned at first without her errand; but, sent again, she brought better tidings. The man of God must not only be "apt to teach," but "patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; proving, if at any time, God will give them repentance." All are not sent into the vineyard at the same hour of the day. Holy Melancthon, being himself newly converted, thought it impossible for his hearers to withstand the evidence of the gospel. But after he had been a preacher a while, ‘ tis said he complained, "that old Adam was too hard for young Melancthon." And yet he lacked not afterwards the seal of his ministry. For among many others converted by him, was that sweet saint, George, Prince of Anhalt, whose house was eccelesia, academia, curia , and whose heart was so upright with God, his life so laudable among men, that Melancthon (once publicly defending the certainty of our future felicity by this argument, that godly men must be hereafter rewarded, wicked men punished), he named this pious prince as an unquestionable example of such a man, as might assuredly expect the promised crown of life eternal, which God the righteous Judge will give to all his. Dιδακτικον, ανεξικακον. Aνεχουκαιαπεχου. - Epictet. Melch. Adam. Scultet. (ex ore Bucholceri, qui Melancthonis fuit auditor.)

(10-12) Again he sent forth the dove . . . —When, after another week’s delay, Noah again sent forth the dove, it remained away until “the time of evening,” finding both food and ground on which it could alight near the ark. It was not till nightfall that it came home, bringing to him “an olive leaf pluckt off,” or, possibly, a fresh olive-leaf. The olive-tree, which grows abundantly in Armenia, is said to vegetate under water; but what Noah wanted to learn was, not whether the topmost boughs were emerging from the flood, but whether the soil beneath was becoming free from water. Now, after a seven days’ interval, when Noah again sent forth the dove, she did not return, “because the ground was dry.” It is thus plain that the olive-tree had had plenty of time on some of the higher lands, while the flood was subsiding, to put forth new leaves. From this event the olive-leaf, thus sent by the regenerated earth to Noah in proof that she was ready to yield herself to him, has been ever since, among all mankind, the symbol of peace.

11. at eventide] i.e. at the time when the dove would return to roost; implying a long absence from the ark. an olive leaf pluckt off] Better, as R.V. marg., a fresh olive leaf. This would shew two things, (1) that the waters had sunk to a level at which the olive would grow, and (2) that life had revived upon the earth. The scene has universally been accepted as symbolical of reconciliation and peace. It finds no counterpart in the Babylonian story. The olive would be the most familiar tree to the dweller in Palestine. LXX φύλλονἐλαίαςκάρφος, Lat. ramum olivae virentibus foliis. 13 (P). And it came to pass … earth] The disappearance of the waters is dated by P as coinciding with the 1st day of the 1st month of Noah’s 601st year. The 1st month would be Tisri, corresponding to our October. See note on Genesis 7:11. Those who assume a reference to the later Heb. reckoning, which was identical with that of the Babylonian calendar, suppose the 1st month to be that of Abib, in the spring time, when the rainy season ended. (J) and Noah removed] LXX ἀπεκάλυψετὴνστέγηντῆςκιβωτοῦ, Lat. aperiens tectum arcae. the covering of the ark] The literal rendering of the Heb. But what it was, and how it was removed, we are not told. The details of the structure of the ark, according to J, were probably left out, in order to make way for the description of P in Genesis 6:14-16. 14 (P). And in the second month] We have here the last date in the Flood story. The earth is dry on the 27th day of the 2nd month in the 2nd year. The Flood had begun on the 17th day of the 2nd month in the previous year (Genesis 7:11). From first to last we have here a period of one year and 10 days. It has been pointed out that a lunar year consists of 354 days; and that one lunar year and 11 days is exactly a solar year of 365 days. This may be merely a coincidence; and in calculating the months we reckon them as solar months of 30 days each. The LXX in Genesis 7:11 dated the commencement of the Flood from the 27th day of the 2nd month of the 1st year; and, therefore, assigns an exact year to its duration. dry] Note the successive stages in P: Genesis 8:5 waters decreased, tops of mountains visible; Genesis 8:13 waters gone; Genesis 8:14 soil dry.

11. Olive leaf plucked off — Not picked up. The freshly torn leaf or twig showed that the bird had plucked it from the tree.