891. 'The dove did not return to him any more' means a state of freedom. This follows from what was said above, in particular from the fact that the dove, or the truth of faith - like the other birds, and also the beasts, and so Noah too - was no longer confined to the ark on account of the flood-waters. All the time he was in the ark it was a state of slavery, that is, a state of bondage or imprisonment, with the flood-waters, or falsities, tossing him about. That state is described along with the state of temptation in Chapter 7:17 above, where it is said that 'the waters increased and lifted up the ark, and raised it above the earth', and also in 7:18 that 'the waters grew stronger and the ark went over the face^a of the waters'. His state of freedom is described in verses 15-18 of the present chapter not only by Noah's going out of the ark but also by all the other living things accompanying him - the dove, that is, the truth of faith deriving from good, first of all, for all freedom has its origin in the good of faith, that is, in the love of good.

Notes