And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
Here we have the effects and evidences of the ebbing of the waters. 1. The ark rested. This was some satisfaction to Noah, to feel the house he was in upon firm ground, and no longer movable. It rested upon a mountain, whither it was directed, not by Noah's prudence (he did not steer it), but by the wise and gracious providence of God, that it might rest the sooner.
Commenting on Genesis 8:4-5
And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month,.... That is, from the seventeenth of the seventh month, to the first of the tenth month, a space of two months and thirteen days, and being summer time, through the heat of the sun, they decreased apace: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen; not...
And the waters decreased continually--The decrease of the waters was for wise reasons exceedingly slow and gradual--the period of their return being nearly twice as long as that of their rise.