Genesis 8:20-21
8:20 a This first mention of an altar in the Bible shows Noah’s gratitude for having passed through the judgment.• sacrificed as burnt offerings: The same wording is used of the whole burnt offering in Leviticus (Lev 1:3-9 b); however, it can refer to any offering that is burned. Noah gave this offering to thank and worship God, who had delivered him and his family from the flood.
8:21 c pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice (literally smelled the sweet aroma): The narrator uses anthropomorphic language (i.e., he describes God’s activity in human terms) to show God’s acceptance of Noah’s offering (see also Exod 29:18 d; Lev 1:9 e; Num 15:3 f). The common ancient Near Eastern notion that the gods ate the sacrifices offered to them is notably absent.
• to himself (literally in his heart): The phrase echoes “broke his heart” (6:6 g), just as think or imagine echoes “everything they thought or imagined” (6:5 h). God’s commitment to a new order replaced his grief over the old.
• I will never again curse ... destroy: The old curse was not lifted (5:29 i), but God promised not to add to it, thus establishing new limits for life in a disordered world (cp. Isa 54:9 j). The flood was to stop violence, not to reform the human heart (Gen 6:5 k). Humankind’s bent toward evil would be contained to some degree through accountability to a new law (9:5-6 l).
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