The Raven, a Minister of Death (Genesis 8:6–7)

Since it had taken forty days to flood the earth, Noah waited forty days after the ark came to rest to conduct some experiments to gauge the living conditions out of the ark. For his first experiment, he released a raven.

Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).