Noah was a righteous man chosen to preserve humanity and animal life during the catastrophic global flood. Instructed to construct a large wooden ark according to specific dimensions, he brought his family and pairs of living creatures aboard before the deluge began.
The Flood and the Ark
Following forty days of continuous rain and months of submerged land, the waters gradually abated. Noah released a raven and then a dove; the return of the dove carrying a freshly plucked olive leaf indicated that plant life had begun to regenerate. When the dove did not return on its subsequent release, the inhabitants disembarked upon Mount Ararat.
The Covenant of Peace
Following their emergence from the ark, Noah built an altar and offered thanksgiving. A covenant was established promising that a universal flood would never again destroy the earth, marked by the sign of the rainbow. This renewed beginning stands between the early generations of Adam and the later covenant journey of Abraham and Sarah.