EOB: Official Site of the Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (Old and New Testament)

Genesis 8:20

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took some of every clean animal and every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes the divine name YHWH (“the LORD”) where the LXX reads simply “the Lord” (Greek: kyrios). This reflects the standard LXX practice of rendering the Tetragrammaton with kyrios. In the phrase describing the animals, the MT specifies “from every clean animal and from every clean bird,” while the LXX reads similarly but some LXX manuscripts show minor variation in word order. The Hebrew word for “altar” (mizbeach) and the Greek (thysiasterion) correspond directly, as do the terms for “burnt offerings” (Hebrew: olot; Greek: holokautomata).

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

WEB (World English Bible):

Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of all clean beasts, and of all clean birds, and offered a whole burnt-offering upon the altar.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

And Noe built an altar unto the Lord: and taking of all cattle and fowls that were clean, offered holocausts upon the altar.

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

Noah built an altar to Jehovah, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

And Noah made an altar to the Lord, and, taking of all the clean beasts and of all the clean birds, he made burnt offerings on the altar.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

GENESIS 8:20 – NOAH’S SACRIFICE AND THE RESTORATION OF WORSHIP

The Altar and the Offering:
This verse marks the first explicit mention of an altar (mizbeach) in Scripture, establishing Noah as a priestly figure who mediates between God and the renewed creation. The burnt offerings (olah) represent complete consecration—the animals are wholly consumed, ascending as smoke to heaven. Noah offers from the clean animals, those designated for sacrifice, demonstrating that even before the Mosaic Law, humanity possessed divinely-given knowledge of proper worship.

Typological Significance:
The Fathers consistently read Noah’s sacrifice as prefiguring the sacrifice of Christ. Saint Ephrem the Syrian notes that just as Noah’s offering brought peace between God and creation after the flood of judgment, so Christ’s offering on the Cross reconciles heaven and earth after the deluge of sin. The ark resting on Ararat and Noah immediately building an altar parallels how the Church, having passed through the waters of baptism, is established upon the altar of Eucharistic sacrifice.

Saint John Chrysostom emphasizes that Noah’s first act upon leaving the ark was not to build a house for himself but to construct an altar for God. This teaches that thanksgiving and worship must precede all other human activities. The patriarch understood that survival itself demanded gratitude, and that the new world must be founded upon right relationship with the Creator.

Liturgical Connections:
The Orthodox Church sees in Noah’s sacrifice an anticipation of the Divine Liturgy. The phrase “sweet savor” (osme euodias) reappears in Ephesians 5:2, where Paul describes Christ giving Himself as “an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.” This same language appears in the Proskomedia, when the priest prepares the gifts, and in various prayers accompanying the offering of incense. The ascending smoke of Noah’s burnt offering finds its liturgical continuation in the incense that rises during Orthodox services, symbolizing prayers ascending to the heavenly throne.

Spiritual Meaning:
For Orthodox spirituality, this passage teaches that authentic faith expresses itself in sacrificial offering. Noah does not hoard the clean animals for breeding purposes or future security; he gives generously from what God preserved. The Fathers see here a lesson against avarice and an encouragement toward radical generosity. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem connects this offering to the spiritual sacrifices Christians are called to make—the offering of praise, thanksgiving, and ultimately one’s entire life.

The verse also establishes the pattern of covenant renewal through sacrifice, pointing toward the New Covenant sealed in Christ’s blood. As Noah’s sacrifice inaugurated a new era for creation, so the Eucharistic sacrifice continually renews the covenant between God and His Church, making present the once-for-all offering of Golgotha.

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