The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 203

particular, was supposed to attach to this apo~, Hif. of 71n, to turn, to twist to bo afraid, to tremble, to wait (Furst)'· fut ominous bird. Which went to and fro. O.J?OC. Ka! (Geseuius). Yet other save~ days: Literally, and it went forth going and returning, i o. flying bo.ckwards and for- illl, prop. th? inf. o.bsoL of the verb i111, to wards, fro1!1 the ark and to the o.rk, perhaps go over agam, to repeat ; hence as an res_ting o~ 1t, but not entering into it (Calvin, adv_erb, conv~ying tho idea of doing over Willet, Alllsworth, Keil, Kalisch, Lange, Bush, aga.m ~ho nctlon expr~ssed in the verb. (cf. 'Speaker's Commentary'); though some havo eh. xlvi. 29; . Pa. lxxxiv. 5). And again he conceived that it no more returned to the ark sent forth-literally, he added to send (<if. but kept :flyingto and fro throughout the earth vers. 12, 21)-the dove out of the ark. (~XX, ',', rai_ f(tAB~v oVr ClvEo-rpEYJEv;" . Ver. 11.-And the dove came in unto him. "\· ulg:,.te, qm egrediebatur et non reverte- Literally, to Aim. As the manner of doves ?atur ; " Alford, '' it is hardly probable that is, partly for better accommodation both for it returned ; " Murphy, "it did not need to food and lodging than yet he could meet with return"). Until the waters were dried up abroad, and partly from love to his mato from off the earth. When of course its (Poole). In the evening (of the seventh return was unnecessary. Gf. for a similar day). And, lo, in her mouth was an olive form of expression 2 Sam. vi. 23. Whether leaf plucked off. Not as if "Deo jubente, it entirely disappeared at the first, or con- uno die germinavit terra" (Ambrose), but tinued ho,.ering round the ark Noah was because the olive leaves kept green wider unable from its movements to a;rive at any water (C]lrysostom). Rosenmiiller, Lange certain conclusion as to the condition of the and Kalisch quote Pliny (xiii 50) and earth, and accordingly required to ndopt Theophrastus (' Hist. Plant.,' iv. 8) to another expedient, which he did in the this effect. That the olive tree grows in mission of the dove. Armenia is proved by the testimony of Vers. 8, 9.-Alao he sent forth-ver. 10 Strabo (xi. 575), Horace (Od. I. vii. 7), seems to warrant the inference that this was Virgil (Georg. ii. 3), Diodonis Siculus after an int~rval of seven days (Baumgarten, (i 17), &c. On this .point vide Kalisch. Knobel, Keil, Lan~e)-o. dove. Literally, Tl1e leaf which the dove carried towards the dove. The Scnptural references to the the ark was " taraf," freshly plucked ; dove are very numerous: cf. Ps. lxviii. 14 hence rightly translated by "viride" (Mi- (its beautiful plumage); Levit. v. 7 ; xii. 6 chaelis, Rosenmi.iller) rather than by " de- (its sacrificial use) ; Isa. xxxviii. 14 ; lix. 11 cerptum" (Chaldee, Arabic) or "·raptum" (its plaintive notes); Ps. Iv. 6 (its power of (Calvin). Kaprpo, (LXX.) is just the oppo- flight) ; Matt. L 16 (its gentleness) ; vide site of "fresh," viz., withered. Bo Noah also the metaphorical usage of the term in knew that the waters were abated from off Cant. i. 15 ; v. 12 (beautiful eyes) ; Cant. v. the earth. 2; vi 9 (a term of endearment). From him. Ver. 12.-And he sta.yed. ?O~~l; Niph. Le. from himself, from the ark; not lnrixw fut. of ?1=1! (Gesenius) ; cf. ?O!l (ver. 10), ai,roi:i (LXX. ), potrt eum (Vulgate); i. e. after Hiph. fut. of ';,m (Fiirst, Dolitzach). Tayler the raven. Lange thinks the expression in- Lewis, following Jewish authorities, would dicates that the gentle creature had to be driven from its shelter out upon the wide derive both from ?IJ!; with Abon Ezra waste of water. To aee if the waters were making the first a regular Niphal, and with abated-literally, lightened, i. e. decreased Rashi the second a contracted Piel (vid6 (vcr. 11)-from off the face of the ground; Lange, p. 808 ; Clark's ' For. Theo!. Lib.'). but the dove found no reat for the sole of Yet other seven days. The frequent ropeti- her foot. The earth Leiug not yet dry, but tion of tlie number seven clearly points to wet and murl,ly, and doves dclightmg to the hebdomadal division of the week, nnd 11Cttle uii l y on sud1 places as are dry and the institution of 'labbatic rest (vidc eh. ii..  Oil, VIII. 1-14.] THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 127