Lesson 7: Genesis 6- 9: The Flood, Part Two
The flood has come and with it its judgment. We know that only one man’s family was saved, due to his righteousness. Yet, we must wonder: how did we get from a righteous man and his family to a war-torn world? Let us examine this transition!
The Flood, Part 3
5. Verses 8:1-14
a. Structurally and thematically, "God remembered Noah" is the turning point of the narrative. Waltke defines the term 'remember' as "to act upon a previous commitment to a covenant partner" (140). Theologically, this signifies that the Flood is in God's control (by contrast to other Mesopotamian flood accounts where the gods lose control of the flood they have sent). It is only the remembering of God that gives hope to mankind.
b. The Hebrew word for 'wind' is rendered as Spirit in verse 1:2 and probably should be rendered the same way here. The flood is presented as an undoing of creation, therefore, the pattern of recreation begins as it did in Genesis one, with the presence of God's ordering and life-giving Spirit.
c. "The mountains of Ararat" is less precise than usually imagined. It refers to mountains in the ancient region of Urartu now part of eastern Turkey, southern Russia and northwestern Iran (Waltke, 141). The particular mountain is presumably not known even by the narrator.
d. The narrative slows considerably to give a tender depiction of Noah's interaction with the dove, it reveals something of the heart of Noah more so perhaps than any other description. i. The dove could not find a place (manoah) to set its feet, a play on the name Noah.
ii. The olive leaf may be significant since it was olive oil that fueled the menorah in the tabernacle (Lev. 24:2-4) and was added to the mixture of perfumed oil for anointing tabernacle and furnishings (Ex. 30:24-29). (Matthews, 388) This reinforces the view that the ark functioned as sacred space.
iii. "By not returning [the dove] proclaims this freedom to those who are still shut up in the ark" (Westermann, in Matthews, 388).
e. By the first day of the first month, the earth had largely dried up. This dating emphasizes the newness of the present situation. It was a new beginning for humanity and for creation. Some two months later, the ground was completely dry, one year and 11 days since the first rains.
f. The 'covering' removed by Noah is designated by a word used elsewhere only of the covering for the tabernacle (Ex. 26:14, 36:19, et al).
6. verses 8:15-19
The third speech by God instructs the new humanity and animal kingdom to come out of the ark and replenish the earth as the first man had been instructed.
