In the Genesis flood account, how many times did Noah send out the dove?

In the Genesis flood account, Noah sent out the dove three times.

Genesis 8 describes the three releases in sequence. On the first attempt, the dove found no resting place and returned to Noah. After waiting seven days, Noah sent it out again, and it returned in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf. After another seven-day interval, he sent the dove out a third time, and it did not return.

The three releases show the changing state of the land. The first indicates that the waters still covered suitable resting places. The second provides the story’s famous olive-leaf sign. The third suggests that the bird could remain outside because conditions had improved.

A common mistake is to count only the second release, since the olive leaf is the best-known part of the episode. Another is to combine the dove with the raven and call the entire bird sequence three releases. Genesis specifically presents one raven episode followed by three dove releases.