Genesis 8:11

"When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf!  Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth."  Genesis 8:11

 

This time when the dove came back, it brought a fresh olive leaf, so because of that Noah, knew that the flood waters had gone down.  I wonder if there is any significance to the fact that the dove brought an olive leaf.

It is interesting to note that the dove brought back the olive leaf in the evening.  In the first six days of creation evening was always before morning.  So for the dove to come in the evening, it was coming first thing in the day.

Many people have also brought up the question of how long a plant could survive under water. NeverThirsty has an article that offer one possible explanation.  Mediterranean Olive trees could easily sprout leaves in only 30 days.  Wayne Jackson quotes Alfred Edersheim saying that the olive tree can grow and bear leaves under water and he bears witness to having seen with his own eyes a young olive tree fully leafed and completely immersed in a northern California stream.  John Mackay also wrote an article about the survivability and regrowth of olive trees.  The most striking piece of information I found in his article was about dams in Australia, "In Australia there a many large man-made dams can be full for 20 or 30 yrs then dry out during massive drought. Soon after we see grass and weeds commencing to grow from seeds we have now proven have been buried in the mud for up to decades."