In Genesis, what did Noah send out after the dove returned with an olive leaf?

The story behind the answer

In Genesis, Noah sent the dove out again after it returned with an olive leaf.

Genesis 8 describes a sequence of bird tests after the Flood. Noah first sent out a raven, which went back and forth until the waters dried. He then sent a dove, but it found nowhere to rest and returned to him. After seven days, he sent the dove again, and it came back in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf.

Seven days later, Noah sent the dove a third time. It did not return, showing that the waters had receded enough for the bird to find a place to land. The olive leaf therefore functions as evidence that vegetation was reappearing above the waters, while the dove’s final absence indicated further progress.

This question is easy to confuse with the first bird Noah released, which Genesis identifies as a raven. The olive leaf belongs specifically to the dove’s second flight, not to the raven episode.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

Add question to a list

Choose a list to keep this question in: