When the dove returned to Noah's ark with a freshly plucked olive leaf, it was the sign that the flood was receding and the earth was becoming habitable again — life returning, peace restored. From that moment the olive branch became the enduring symbol of peace and reconciliation, recognised the world over.
The olive tree itself is rich with meaning in Scripture — a source of oil for anointing and light, a picture of the flourishing righteous, and, in Paul's image, the tree into which believing Gentiles are grafted alongside Israel. The little leaf the dove carried spoke of a God who does not leave the world under judgment for ever, but brings, after the storm, the green shoot of new peace.
The Olive Branch in Scripture
And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.