put forth his hand,
and took her, and brought her unto him into the ark._

25. When Noah's hopes had been set at naught by the raven, which flew
about wantonly but brought no tidings concerning the condition of the
earth, he took a dove, thinking that she would more truly perform the
mission. The text almost authorizes us to say that those two birds
were sent forth at the same time, so that Noah might have two
witnesses from whom to gain desired knowledge. The raven enjoying the
free sky, flew round about the ark, but did not want to return into
it. The dove, however, fleeing from the corpses and corruption, comes
back and permits itself to be caught. This story, as we shall hear,
offers a fine allegory concerning the Church.

Vs. 10-12. _And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent
forth the dove out of the ark; and the dove came in to him at
eventide; and, lo, in her mouth an olive-leaf plucked off: so Noah
knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet
other seven days, and sent forth the dove; and she returned not again
unto him any more._

26. The dove, being a faithful messenger, is sent forth once more.
Moses carefully describes how the waters decreased gradually, until at
last the surface of the earth, together with the trees, was laid bare.
We do not believe that the dove brought the olive leaf intentionally,
but by the command of God, who wanted to show Noah, little by little,
that he had not altogether forgotten but remembered him. This olive
leaf was an impressive sign to Noah and his fellow-prisoners in the
ark, bringing them courage and hope of impending liberation.

27. The Jews dispute sharply in respect to this matter of where the
dove found the olive leaf, and some, in order to secure special glory
for their homeland, make the ludicrous assertion that she took it from
the Mount of Olives in the land of Israel, which God had spared from
the flood that destroyed the remainder of the earth. But the saner
Jews rightly refute this nonsense by arguing that if this were true,
the olive leaf could not have been a sign for Noah that the waters had
fallen. Others have invented the fable that the dove was admitted to
paradise and brought the leaf from there.

28. But I have (ch 2, para 39-42) set forth at length my views
concerning paradise, and this nonsense is not worthy the effort of a
refutation. It serves a better purpose to remind you that all these
things happened mi