Genesis 8:9 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 8:9
But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
a dove (apparently from the warmth of their mating) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
found
מָצְאָה֩ma.tze.'Ah
H4672
properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
rest
מָנ֜וֹחַma.No.ach
H4494
quiet · noun, common masculine singular absolute
sole
לְכַףle.khaf-
H3709
the hollow hand or palm (so of the paw of an animal · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
foot
רַגְלָ֗הּrag.Lah
H7272
a foot (as used in walking) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
returned
וַתָּ֤שָׁבva.Ta.shov
H7725
to turn back (hence · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
ark
הַתֵּבָ֔הha.te.Vah
H8392
a box · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
waters
מַ֖יִםMa.yim
H4325
water · noun, common masculine plural absolute
face
פְּנֵ֣יpe.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
earth
הָאָ֑רֶץha.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
forth
וַיִּשְׁלַ֤חvai.yish.Lach
H7971
to send away · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hand
יָדוֹ֙ya.Do
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
her
וַיִּקָּחֶ֔הָvai.yi.ka.Che.ha
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
in
וַיָּבֵ֥אvai.ya.Ve'
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
ark
הַתֵּבָֽהha.te.Vah
H8392
a box · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 116:7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Deuteronomy 28:65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a tremblin…
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have ov…
Isaiah 60:8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?
Ezekiel 7:16 But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 8:6-12
We have here an account of the spies which Noah sent forth to bring him intelligence from abroad, a raven and a dove. Observe here,
I. That though God had told Noah particularly when the flood would come, even to a day (Gen 7:4), yet he did not give him a particular account by revelation at what times, and by what steps, it should go away, 1. Because the knowledge of the former was necessary to his preparing the ark, and settling himself in it; but the knowledge of the latter would serve only to gratify his curiosity, and the concealing of it from him would be the needful exercise of his faith and patience. And, 2. He could not foresee the flood, but by revelation; but he might, by ordinary…
Also he sent forth a dove--a bird flying low and naturally disposed to return to the place of her abode.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 8:8
He sent forth a dove - The dove was sent forth thrice; the first time she speedily returned, having, in all probability, gone but a little way from the ark, as she must naturally be terrified at the appearance of the waters. After seven days, being sent out a second time, she returned with an olive leaf pluckt off, Gen 8:11, an emblem of the restoration of peace between God and the earth; and from this circumstance the olive has been the emblem of peace among all civilized nations. At the end of the other seven days the dove being sent out the third time, returned no more, from which Noah conjectured that the earth was now sufficiently drained, and therefore removed the covering of the ark,…
But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark,.... It being a creature that feeds upon seeds it picks off from the ground, and loving cleanness, it could find no place where it could alight, and have food to live upon, and retain its cleanness; for though the tops of the mountains were clear of the waters, yet they might be muddy and filthy with what the waters had raised up in them, or left upon them; and therefore it returned to Noah again, and not only like the raven unto the ark, but into it:
for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: there was no place dry, and so neither food nor footing for this creature; and which was an emblem…
The Church Fathers
ON THE DOVE. — We can also ask why the dove found no place to settle if the summits of the mountains had already appeared, as is clear from the order in which things are told. (Cf. Gen 8:5) And the previous question seems to be resolved by saying that the author, as a recapitulation, later narrated the things that had happened before, or rather because the earth had not yet dried up. [Augustine of Hippo, Question on Genesis, PL 34,
He also sent out a dove after him, to see if the waters had ceased upon the face of the earth; but when she did not find where her foot might rest, she returned to him in the ark. For the waters were over the whole earth; and he extended his hand, and having caught her, brought her into the ark. The dove, as we have said, signifies the spiritual and simple mind of the elect, who, with the window of heavenly contemplation opened to them, reject all things that revolve in the lower regions the more cautiously, the higher they see the joys that remain forever. For such persons, like this dove, so despise all worldly allurements as if flying above them, that they do not care even to touch them with the last vestiges of their mind, as it is impossible for them to find true rest in this world, both its adversities and its prosperities being carried away like flowing waters, wandering and uncertain. Moreover, they strive not only to remain themselves within the boundaries of the Church, but also, as much as they can, to bring others into it by their example or exhortation; hence it is rightly added.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Deluge — The name given to Noah’s flood, the history of which is recorded in Gen. 7 and 8. It began in the year 2516 B.C., and continued twelve lunar months and ten days, or exactly one solar year. The cause…
Dove — In their wild state doves generally build their nests in the clefts of rocks, but when domesticated “dove-cots” are prepared for them (Cant. 2:14; Jer. 48:28; Isa. 60:8). The dove was placed on the…
Sabbath — (Heb. verb shabbath, meaning “to rest from labour”), the day of rest. It is first mentioned as having been instituted in Paradise, when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:2). “The sabbath was made for…
Dove, Turtle · Sent out from the ark by Noah — Sent out from the ark by Noah
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
At the end of forty days. We may hence conjecture with what great anxiety the breast of the holy man was oppressed. After he had perceived the ark to be resting on solid ground, he yet did not dare to open the window till the fortieth day; not because he was stunned and torpid, but because an example, thus formidable, of the vengeance of God, had affected him with such fear and sorrow combined, that being deprived of all judgment, he silently remained in the chamber of his ark. At length he sends forth a raven, from which he might receive a more certain indication of the dryness of the earth. But the raven perceiving nothing but muddy marshes, hovers around, and immediately seeks to be readm…
Forty days after the appearance of the mountain tops, Noah opened the window of the ark and let a raven fly out (lit., the raven, i.e., the particular raven known from that circumstance), for the purpose of ascertaining the drying up of the waters. The raven went out and returned until the earth was dry, but without being taken back into the ark, as the mountain tops and the carcases floating upon the water afforded both resting-places and food. After that, Noah let a dove fly out three times, at intervals of seven days. It is not distinctly stated that he sent it out the first time seven days after the raven, but this is implied in the statement that he stayed yet other seven days before se…
The raven is the largest member of the crow family, and was among Noah’s unclean animals (Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14). As a scavenger and carrion eater, it was able to sustain itself without returning to the boat.
Rashi on Genesis 8:8
וישלח את היונה AND HE SENT FORTH A DOVE at the end of seven days, for it is written, (Genesis 8:10) “And he stayed yet other seven days” — from this statement you may infer that after the first occasion, also, he waited seven days.
וישלח And HE SENT FORTH — This does not mean merely “sending on an errand”, but “sending away”, “letting go” — he freed her to go where she liked, and thus he could see whether the waters abated, because if she could find a resting place she would not return to him.
