Genesis 8:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Observe the rapid transformation that occurred, leading to the significant reduction of water, resulting in the ark resting atop the mountains. The Scripture notes that the waters had ascended fifteen cubits above the highest peaks, and subsequently declares that "the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat." The waters gradually receded until the tenth month, when the summits of the mountains became visible. Reflect on the steadfastness of the righteous man, who endured in this state for many months, akin to being confined in darkness.

In the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life, on the first day of the first month, the waters of the earth receded. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, which is Jorah, the ground was completely dry (Gen. 8:13-14). Consequently, Noah and those with him remained inside the ark for a duration of three hundred sixty-five days. From the twenty-seventh day of the second month of Jorah to the twenty-seventh day of the same month in the following year, based on the lunar calendar, this totals three hundred sixty-five days. It is also noteworthy that Noah’s generation counted the year as consisting of three hundred sixty-five days; thus, it can be suggested that the Chaldeans and Egyptians were responsible for devising and formalizing this system of reckoning.

The land did not emerge from beneath the waters all at once; rather, the waters receded gradually until the month of December when the summits of the mountains became visible. Noah remained in the ark for many days, waiting for the floodwaters to subside, as recorded in the Book of Genesis.

The Deuteronomist precisely indicates the reduction of the waters and the total end of the flood in different stages. At the second stage, the peaks of the mountains became visible.

If the summits of the mountains became visible two months, or 63 days, after the ark came to rest, it can be inferred that the mountain upon which the ark settled was likely the tallest, most probably Mount Ararat. However, this mountain peak was not revealed instantly after the ark, which sat 15 cubits deep, came to its final resting place; rather, it was uncovered over a period of time. Given that the floodwaters had been gradually rising for five months, it would not have been feasible for them to recede dramatically overnight after such an extensive period of inundation. Consequently, it was only after a while that high elevations like Mount Ararat became exposed. The first day of the tenth month is believed, in our view, to correspond with a day in July.