Genesis 8:20

Noah builded an altar. Noah’s first act upon leaving the ark was one of worship. The sacrifices offered by Noah were not only an expression of gratitude for preservation but also a new pledge of his faith in the Saviour — typified by every sacrificial animal. In the offering “of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl” Noah gave evidence both of gratitude and of generosity. Although this passage is the first one in Scripture to mention the building of an altar, it should not be thought that altars were not in use prior to the Flood. The word “burnt offerings,” ‘oloth, is not the same as that used to describe Abel’s sacrifice. It is derived from a verb meaning “to rise up,” and suggests, not the elevation of the gift upon the altar, but the ascent of the smoke of the burnt offering toward heaven (see Judges 13:20; 20:40; Jer. 48:15; Amos 4:10).