What did Noah’s dove carry back to the ark after the Flood waters receded?

Noah’s dove returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf after the Flood waters receded.

Genesis 8:11 says the dove came back in the evening carrying an olive leaf. Noah understood this as evidence that the waters had diminished from the earth and that vegetation was again available.

The dove had already been sent out once and returned because it could not find a place to rest. After the olive leaf, Noah released it again, and it did not return. The sequence shows the gradual transition from a flooded landscape to a livable one.

The olive leaf became one of the most enduring symbols associated with the Flood story. In wider Mediterranean and later Christian, Jewish, and secular traditions, a dove with an olive branch represents peace, reconciliation, and hope. Genesis itself specifically says olive leaf, while later art commonly depicts a leafy branch or twig.