Genesis 15:9-10: “And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid one against another; but the birds (singular in Hebrew) divided he not.”
In this passage God is forming the Abrahamic covenant. This was called a blood covenant. In ancient times when two individuals made a contract, they would take an animal and cut it in half and separate the two halves a few feet from each other. Then they would sprinkle the blood between that separation. The two individuals entering into a contract would join hands, walk the path between the two separated parts of the animal over the blood. At the end of this path priest would stand and listen to the conditions, vows or promises each person would make in the contract. The two entering into the contract would have 10 witnesses standing on either side. It was their job to listen to the terms or conditions of the contract. These were the hitmen. If either party broke a condition of the contract it would be the job of these ten witnesses to remove (in Mafia style) the one who broke the condition of the covenant.
God put Abraham into a deep sleep and then God passed through the center of the sacrifices by Himself. God knew his people would not keep their end of the bargain, so He did not make His people a party to the penalty but instead bore the penalty Himself for their breaking the covenant. That penalty was paid for 2000 years ago when He sent His son to die on the cross and shed his blood.
What is curious is that the cow and goat were cut in half but the birds were not. I was told in seminary that it was for practical reasons because the birds were too small to cut in half. I mean come on, you can cut a grasshopper in half, there had to be some other reason. Perhaps a little study of the Hebrew words for dove and birds might suggest a deeper meaning here.
First the word for turtledove is tavar. This means, of course a turtledove, but it comes from the root word often used to mean to go around to spy, investigation, explore. Birds know no boundaries. They can fly from country to country without a passport. David envied the birds because they could fly right into the temple and the Holy of Holies and rest in the presence of God with no effort. Israel is located at the junction of three continents and is crossed by migrating birds on a scale unparalleled anywhere. Studies show that about 500 million birds cross Israel’s’ narrow airspace twice every year in the course of their migrations. Perhaps the birds sense the presence of God in that sacred land. Tavar (dove, investigate) is also a word used for searching out one’s heart, to discover the truth. The lips can lie but the heart cannot lie. If a person speaks his heart he is not lying. You read how Samson deceived Delilah three times, but the fourth time he spoke his heart, he spoke what was true.
Note that after the tavar (turtledove) a pigeon (gozel) was laid down. The word used in Hebrew for pigeon is gozel. Ornithologist tells us that there is no scientific difference between a dove and a pigeon, they are really the same bird. This is why some translations will translate gozel as a nesting bird. But in the next verse it says that Abraham did not separate the bird (siphar) which is singular. He obvious laid two birds down so the singular in Hebrew must refer to the one species of bird. You can do that with the singular in Hebrew. Actually plural and singular does not always mean plural or singular as it does in English. Something in a plural form can mean something that is the ultimate or most powerful, just as two things in a singular form can mean two of one kind. Hence, we can assume that there was only one type of bird used here not two. So why two words for the turtledove if we are referring to same bird? Actually, he word gozel can also mean to pass over. Note that the third time the dove is mentioned the writer uses the word siphar which means not just a bird, but a bird who is happily chirping and dancing. It also means a humble or soft voice that brings the presence of the Holy Spirit. So the next time you are sitting outside Starbuck trying to share the love of God with a friend and a little bird lands near you and starts to chip and dance, take note, maybe he is telling you that the Holy Spirit is very present at that moment
Anyways, that is for those of you who are into that sort of thing, but back to my more serious study. The writer is obviously making a play on words here creating a hint of something much deeper. You see buried deep in this little story lays the message that the bird was not divided into two halves because it represented the Holy Spirit who spies out our hearts, explores our hearts (tavar) for sin. Through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ this sin is redeemed and God will pass over (gozel) the penalty for that sin so that we may enter into the joy and dancing (sipar) of Jehovah. Oh well, just something to think about next time you see a siphar (bird) sipharing (chirping and dancing). After all, God has given us all of His creation to speak to us, we just need to listen to His creation with our hearts.
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