Genesis 8:6
in Genesis 8After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
KJV
And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
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This verse in Genesis 8
Commentary
10 notes on this verseAnd it came to pass at the end of forty days,.... From the appearance of the mountains, that is, from the first day of the tenth month, to forty days after; and being ended, this must be the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the month Ab, which answers to July and August; and according to Bishop Usher (k) it was Friday the twenty eighth of August: that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made; of which See Gill on Gen 6:16. (k) Ut supra. (Annales Vet. Test. p. 4.)
This site's exposition
Noah opened the window he had made
on Genesis 8:6-7
Noah opens the window he had made after forty days, the same span the rain fell at 7:12. A raven feeds on carrion and can rest anywhere on a drowned world, so it brings no word back. Leviticus 11:15 later lists it among the unclean birds.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
As a sign that the flood had abated the dove is now bringing Back to the ark in her beak the budding green branch of an olive.
But for the present we need to explain the reason why the bird [the raven] did not come back. Perhaps, with the waters subsiding, the bird, being unclean, happened upon corpses of men and beasts and, finding nourishment to its liking, stayed there! This would have been something that proved to be no little sign of hope and encouragement for the just man [if the raven had returned].
(Verse 6) After forty days, Noah opened the door of the ark which he had made, and released a raven, but it did not return to him until the waters had dried up from the earth. As for the dove, it is said differently: He released a raven, and it went out, going and coming back until the waters had dried up from the earth.
The Medieval Church2 voices
And when forty days had passed, Noah opened the window of the ark, which he had made, and sent out a raven, etc. We have spoken above about the window of the ark, which, after the flood has subsided, is opened, indicating the secret mysteries …
A commentator
BedeHomilies on the Gospels, HOMILY XI. ON THE FEAST DAY OF THEOPHANY · Written before 735.
proposed
Noah wanted to know how things stood on the face of the earth when the inundation had come to an end, and he sent forth a raven, which scorned to return to the ark, signifying those who, although they have been cleansed by the waters …
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That though Noah by faith expected his enlargement, and by patience waited for it, yet he was inquisitive concerning it, as one that thought it long to be thus confined. Note, Desires of release out of trouble, earnest expectations of it, and enquiries concerning its advances towards us, will very well consist with the sincerity of faith and patience.
That though Noah by faith expected his enlargement, and by patience waited for it, yet he was inquisitive concerning it, as one that thought it long to be thus confined. Note, Desires of release out of trouble, earnest expectations of it, and enquiries concerning its advances towards us, will very well consist with the sincerity of faith and patience.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
at the end of forty days--It is easy to imagine the ardent longing Noah and his family must have felt to enjoy again the sight of land as well as breathe the fresh air; and it was perfectly consistent with faith and patience to make inquiries whether the earth was yet ready.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִ֕י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִקֵּ֖ץ | miketz | from [the] end of | H7093 → | 67 times |
| אַרְבָּעִ֣ים | ʾarbaim | forty | H705 → | 136 times |
| י֑וֹם | yom | day[s] | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וַיִּפְתַּ֣ח | vaiyiftach | and he opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| נֹ֔חַ | noach | Noah | H5146 → | 46 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חַלּ֥וֹן | chalon | [the] window of | H2474 → | |
| הַתֵּבָ֖ה | hatevah | the ark | H8392 → | 28 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָֽׂה׃ | ʾasah | he had made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וַֽיְהִ֕יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
מִקֵּ֖ץfrom [the] end of
miketzH7093 →67 times
אַרְבָּעִ֣יםforty
ʾarbaimH705 →136 times
י֑וֹםday[s]
yomH3117 →2304 times
וַיִּפְתַּ֣חand he opened
vaiyiftachH6605 →144 times
נֹ֔חַNoah
noachH5146 →46 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חַלּ֥וֹן[the] window of
chalonH2474 →
הַתֵּבָ֖הthe ark
hatevahH8392 →28 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשָֽׂה׃he had made
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 6:10Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on…
it leads to
- Acts 5:29
But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.
- Psalms 55:17
Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17–18
Pray without ceasing.
- Psalms 95:6
O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
- Psalms 34:1
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.
- Acts 5:29
Through
Genesis 6:16You are to make a roof for the ark, finish its walls a cubit from the top, place a door in the side of the ark, and build lower, middle, and upper decks.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 41:16
as well as the thresholds and the beveled windows and the galleries all around with their three levels opposite the threshold, were overlaid with wood on all sides. They were paneled from the ground…
- Genesis 7:16
And they entered, the male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.
- 2 Kings 9:30
Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
- Ezekiel 41:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Bede, Homilies on the Gospels, HOMILY XI. ON THE FEAST DAY OF THEOPHANY; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 26.12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Prudentius, SCENES FROM SACRED HISTORY 3.