בראשית, פרק ח׳, פסוק י״ד

The end of the flood marks the moment creation returns to a normal state, ready once again for human life. After long months of waiting inside the ark, the earth finishes healing and becomes as solid and stable as it was at the very beginning of the world. This moment closes a complete cycle of judgment and purification. The specific date given for this event is the twenty-seventh day of the second month, known as Marcheshvan [רד"ק, רבנו בחיי, ביאור יש"ר].

There is an eleven-day difference between the day the flood began the previous year and the day it ends. This gap shows that the judgment upon the generation of the flood lasted exactly one full year. Because a solar year is eleven days longer than a lunar year, these extra days complete a full solar cycle of 365 days [רש"י, רד"ק, רבנו בחיי, ריב"א]. On this exact day, the sun returned to the precise position it held when the flood began, finishing a complete natural sequence [קאסוטו]. While these specific dates are recorded through prophecy, Noah himself did not know the exact math; instead, he relied on his own senses and the birds he sent out to understand the condition of the water [ביאור יש"ר].

As for the condition of the earth, there is a clear shift from how the ground was described earlier. Previously, the surface was free of water but remained muddy and wet underneath. Now, the earth reaches a state of complete and deep dryness [שד"ל, העמק דבר, קאסוטו]. The soil is finally solid and entirely safe to walk on [רש"י, ביאור יש"ר, שטיינזלץ], and the surface of the land is completely leveled and smoothed out [העמק דבר].

Even though the earth is fully dry and ready to be lived on, Noah does not leave the ark. Just as he only entered the structure by God's direct instruction, he stands ready and waits for an explicit command from God before stepping outside. His choice to wait for divine instruction, even after all danger has passed and the ground is safe, is compared to the actions of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who later refused to step out of the fiery furnace until they received a direct order to do so from the king [רבנו בחיי, קאסוטו].