The Ma•bulꞋ Recedes, Grounding The Barge

ca. B.C.E. 2475

Middle Eastern Fan-Tailed Raven (Corvus rhipidurus), taken in Israel, Spring 2011 by James P. Smith (birdfinders.co.uk)

Finally, in mid-autumn as the waters subsided, the barge grounded on a shallow. Despite being the annual rainy season, by mid-winter NōꞋakh began to see islands emerge as the waters slowly continued to recede. As the end of winter neared, NōꞋakh released a raven to determine if it could find dry land to nest – but it returned, numerous times.

Perhaps NōꞋakh wondered if the raven had made the grounded barge his home. So he released a dove, but that returned too.

A week later he released the dove again – and that time the dove brought back an olive-leaf to refurbish its nest in the grounded barge.

Dove (Laughing; Spilopelia senegalensis), taken by Charlesjsharp

The following week, which was the 1^st day of spring, NōꞋakh released the dove again; and this time, it didn't come back. So NōꞋakh removed the roof from the grounded barge so they could have a better view – and there was swampy land all around.

Earliest Altar – in earliest times, all meals in­volved a sacrifice-offering and, therefore, the earliest "stoves" on which all family meals were cooked, were simple campfire roasting spits – the earliest altars (photo: s382.photobucket.com)

By early summer, the Ma•bulꞋ had completely receded and the swampy land had mostly dried out allowing NōꞋakh, his family and all of the animals to deboard the grounded barge.

Then NōꞋakh built an altar to give thanks and offered an ascendance from each of the kâ•sheirꞋ animals. ה' was pleased with the ascendances and resolved that seasons and times would always, without exception, follow the natural laws of logic that govern the universe, and the seasons, and the days and nights of earth.