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Genesis 8:8

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

He sent a dove to check if the water had gone down from the ground.

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes “from upon him” (me’alav) after “the waters had subsided,” specifying that Noah was checking whether the waters had receded from upon the earth’s surface. The LXX omits this phrase, simply stating “from the earth.”

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

null

WEB (World English Bible):

All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And God remembered Noah, and all the wild beasts, and all the cattle, and all the creeping things, and all the flying creatures, as many as were with him in the ark, and God brought a wind upon the earth, and the waters stayed.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

But Noe found grace before the Lord.

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

He also sent out from himself a dove to see if the water had subsided from the face of the ground.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

And the dove came in to him about the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; so Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

And a pigeon came to him in the evening, and in her mouth was an olive leaf, still green; so Noah was certain that the waters had gone down on the earth.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Commentary on Genesis 8:8

The Sending of the Dove

In this verse, Noah sends forth a dove from the ark to determine whether the waters had receded from the earth. While seemingly a simple narrative detail, the Fathers of the Church perceived in this action a profound typological significance pointing toward the mysteries of salvation.

Christological and Pneumatological Significance:
The dove holds a central place in Orthodox theology as the preeminent symbol of the Holy Spirit. When Noah releases the dove over the waters, the Fathers saw a prefiguration of the Spirit hovering over the waters at creation and, most significantly, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ at His baptism in the Jordan. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem and other patristic commentators drew explicit connections between this passage and the theophany at Christ’s baptism, where the Spirit descended “like a dove” upon the Lord. The waters of the flood, which brought death to the old world, become a type of baptismal waters that bring death to sin and new life in Christ.

Liturgical Connections:
The Orthodox Church celebrates the Great Blessing of Waters at Theophany, and the hymnography of this feast echoes the Genesis narrative. The prayers speak of the Spirit sanctifying the waters, recalling both the primordial creation and the flood. The dove seeking rest upon renewed earth prefigures the Spirit finding rest upon Christ, the New Adam, and subsequently upon all the baptized who are incorporated into His Body.

Ecclesiological Reading:
Saint Ambrose of Milan and other Fathers interpreted the ark as a type of the Church, the vessel of salvation amid the flood of sin and death. The dove sent forth represents the proclamation of peace and reconciliation that the Church extends to the world. Just as the dove would return bearing the olive branch, signifying that God’s wrath had subsided and new life was possible, so the Church announces the reconciliation accomplished through Christ’s sacrifice.

Spiritual Application:
For the Orthodox spiritual life, this passage speaks to the soul’s journey through the waters of repentance. The dove represents the gentle movements of grace seeking a place of rest within the purified heart. Saint Gregory of Nyssa saw in Noah’s patient waiting a model for the contemplative soul, which must wait upon God’s timing and discern the movements of the Spirit with wisdom and humility.

The simplicity of the dove also instructs believers in the virtues necessary for receiving divine grace, recalling Christ’s exhortation to be “innocent as doves.” The soul that would perceive God’s peace must cultivate purity and simplicity of heart.

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