Genesis 8:12

Gen 8:12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

Ver. 12. Which returned not unto him any more.] But, out of love of liberty, forgat both her mate and her master; who yet was hereby certified, to his comfort, that now she had, abroad, met with both footing and feeding.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

he . . . sent forth the dove: which returned not . . . any more--In these results, we perceive a wisdom and prudence far superior to the inspiration of instinct--we discern the agency of God guiding all the movements of this bird for the instruction of Noah, and reviving the hopes of his household.

other seven days--a strong presumptive proof that Noah observed the Sabbath during his residence in the ark.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And he stayed yet other seven days,.... After the dove had returned:

and sent forth the dove; the same dove again:

which returned not again unto him any more: the earth being dry, it found rest for the sole of its feet, sufficient food to eat, and a proper place for its habitation; and liking to be at liberty, and in the open air, chose not to return to the ark, even though its mate was there: of those birds sent out, the Heathen writers make mention: Abydenus says (s), that Sisithrus, the same with Noah, sent out birds making an experiment to see whether the earth was emersed out of the water, which returned again to him; and after them he sent out others; and having done so three times, obtained what he wished for, since the birds returned with their wings full of clay or mud; and so Josephus (t) says, the dove which brought the olive leaf was all over with clay or mud: and Plutarch (u) makes particular mention of the dove, and says that, according to the mythologists, a dove was let out of the ark; and that her going out was to Deucalion, (the same with Noah) a sign of fair weather, and her return of foul: and the story that Lucian (w) tells of a golden dove upon the head of a statue in the temple of Hierapolis, supposed to be Deucalion's, seems plainly to refer to this dove of Noah; for the report, he says, was, that this golden dove flew away twice in a year, at the commemoration there made of the flood, by pouring out abundance of water into a chasm or cleft of the earth, then not very large; and which, it was told him, was formerly a very great one, and swallowed up all the flood that drowned the world.

(s) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 12. p. 414, 415. (t) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 3. p. 5. (u) De Solert. Animal. (w) De Dea Syria.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Finding convenient food and resting place upon the earth, and preferring her freedom before her mate: possibly she might lose the sight of the ark, and forget or mistake the way to it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And he stayed. ljYYiw Niph. fut. of ljy (Gesenius); cf. ljYw (ver. 10), Hiph. fut. of lWj (Furst, Delitzsch). Tayler Lewis, following Jewish authorities, would derive both from ljy with Aben Ezra making the first a regular Niphal, and with Rashi the second a contracted Piel (vide Lunge, p. 308; Clark"s "For. Theol. Lib."). Yet other seven days. The frequent repetition of the number seven clearly points to the hebdomadal division of the week, and the institution of Sabbatic rest (vide. Gen_2:1-3, Expos.) And sent forth the dove. "The more we examine these acts of Noah, the more it will strike us that they must have been of a religious nature. He did not take such observations, and so send out the birds, as mere arbitrary acts, prompted simply by his curiosity or his impatience; but as a man of faith and prayer he inquired of the Lord. What more likely then that such inquiry should have its basis in solemn religious exercises, not arbitrarily entered into, but on days held sacred for prayer and religious rest?" (T. Lewis). Which returned not again (literally, and it added not to return) unto him any more.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

וייחל AND HE STAYED — This has the same meaning as ויחל (Genesis 8:10), only that the latter is the Kal, whereas the word here is the Hithpael: ויחל means “he waited” וייחל “he had patience”.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

וייחל עוד, the word is in a passive mode, the root being יחל. If it had been in a hitpael mode, the letter י should have the vowel patach underneath it, but the fact is that it has the vowel kametz.

ולא יספה שוב אליו עוד, this is when Noach realised that the surface of the earth had dried sufficiently and that the pigeon had found a resting place on earth as well as on many trees so that it did not bother to come back to him. This happened in the 601st year of Noach’s life, seeing that the Torah mentions that it was on the first of the first month of that year. (verse 13) Noach’s 600th year had been completed on the 30th of Ellul, and he had entered the 601st year of his life on the first of Tishrey, which is the first month of the year. On the 17th day of the second month he had completed a full year’s stay in the ark. Even though the surface of the earth was “dry” in the sense that it was no longer covered by water, it was still too muddy, and the surface was misleading, seeing that beneath the immediate surface it was soft, spongy. It was not yet ready for walking on without risking that one would break through a very thin veneer of dry earth. This is why G’d had not yet commanded him to leave the ark (until the 27th of that month) At that time, as testified by the word יבשה, the earth had dried sufficiently to make using it as one’s habitat a safe endeavour. Noach did not want to leave the ark until he had been commanded to do so by G’d. He knew that G’d would issue such a command, just as He had at the time commanded him to enter the ark.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.