TRV
Translation
King James Version
And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
Complete Jewish Bible
He brought him all these, cut the animals in two and placed the pieces opposite each other; but he didn't cut the birds in half.
Berean Standard Bible
So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half.
American Standard Version
And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other: but the birds divided he not.
World English Bible Messianic
He brought him all of these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn’t divide the birds.
Geneva Bible (1599)
So he tooke all these vnto him, and deuided them into the middes, and laid euery piece one against an other: but the birdes deuided he not.
Young's Literal Translation
and he taketh to him all these, and separateth them in the midst, and putteth each piece over against its fellow, but the bird he hath not divided;
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In the KJVVerse 371 of 31,102
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Commentary on Genesis 15 verses 7–11
7 ¶ And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points
We have here the assurance given to Abram of the land of Canaan for an inheritance.
I. God declares his purpose concerning it, Gen 15:7. Observe here, Abram made no complaint in this matter, as he had done for the want of a child. Note, Those that are sure of an interest in the promised seed will see no reason to doubt of a title to the promised land. If Christ is ours, heaven is ours. Observe again, When he believed the former promise (Gen 15:6) then God explained and ratified this to him. Note, To him that has (improves what he has) more shall be given. Three things God here reminds Abram of, for his encouragement concerning the promise of this good land: -
1.What God is in himself: I am the Lord Jehovah; and therefore, (1.) "I may give it to thee, for I am sovereign Lord of all, and have a right to dispose of the whole earth." (2.) "I can give it to thee, whatever opposition may be made, though by the sons of Anak." God never promises more than he is able to perform, as men often do. (3.) "I will make good my promise to thee." Jehovah is not a man that he should lie.
2.What he had done for Abram. He had brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, out of the fire of the Chaldees, so some, that is, either from their idolatries (for the Chaldeans worshipped the fire), or from their persecutions. The Jewish writers have a tradition that Abram was cast into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship idols, and was miraculously delivered. It is rather a place of that name. Thence God brought him by an effectual call, brought him with a gracious violence, snatched him as a brand out of the burning. This was, (1.) A special mercy: "I brought thee, and left others, thousands, to perish there." God called him alone, Isa 51:2. (2.) A spiritual mercy, a mercy to his soul, a deliverance from sin and its fatal consequences. If God save our souls, we shall want nothing that is good for us. (3.) A fresh mercy, lately bestowed, and therefore should be the more affecting, as that in the preface to the commandments, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Egypt lately. (4.) A foundation mercy, the beginning of mercy, peculiar mercy to Abram, and therefore a pledge and earnest of further mercy, Isa 66:9. Observe how God speaks of it as that which he gloried in: I am the Lord that brought thee out. He glories in it as an act both of power and grace; compare Isa 29:22, where he glories in it, long afterwards. Thus saith the Lord who redeemed Abraham, redeemed him from sin.
3.What he intended to do yet further for him: "I brought thee hither, on purpose to give thee this land to inherit it, not only to possess it, but to possess it as an inheritance, which is the sweetest and surest title." Note, (1.) The providence of God has secret but gracious designs in all its various dispensations towards good people; we cannot conceive the projects of Providence, till the event shows them in all their mercy and glory. (2.) The great thing God designs in all his dealings with his people is to bring them safely to heaven. They are chosen to salvation (Th2 2:13), called to the kingdom (Th1 2:12), begotten to the inheritance (Pe1 1:3, Pe1 1:4), and by all made meet for it, Col 1:12, Col 1:13; Co2 4:17.
II. Abram desires a sign: Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? Gen 15:8. This did not proceed from distrust of God's power or promise, as that of Zacharias; but he desired this, 1. For the strengthening and confirming of his own faith; he believed (Gen 15:6), but here he prays, Lord, help me against my unbelief. Now he believed, but he desired a sign to be treasured up against an hour of temptation, not knowing how his faith might, by some event or other, be shocked and tried. Note, We all need, and should desire, helps from heaven for the confirming of our faith, and should improve sacraments, which are instituted signs, for that purpose. See Jdg 6:36-40; Kg2 20:8-10; Isa 7:11, Isa 7:12. 2. For the ratifying of the promise to his posterity, that they also might be brought to believe it. Note, Those that are satisfied themselves should desire that others also may be satisfied of the truth of God's promises. John sent his disciples to Christ, not so much for his own satisfaction as for theirs, Mat 11:2, Mat 11:3. Canaan was a type of heaven. Note, It is a very desirable thing to know that we shall inherit the heavenly Canaan, that is, to be confirmed in our belief of the truth of that happiness, and to have the evidences of our title to it more and more cleared up to us.
III. God directs Abram to make preparations for a sacrifice, intending by that to give him a sign, and Abram makes preparation accordingly (Gen 15:9-11): Take me a heifer, etc. Perhaps Abram expected some extraordinary sign from heaven; but God gives him a sign upon a sacrifice. Note, Those that would receive the assurances of God's favour, and would have their faith confirmed, must attend instituted ordinances, and expect to meet with God in them. Observe, 1. God appointed that each of the beasts used for this service should be three years old, because then they were at their full growth and strength: God must be served with the best we have, for he is the best. 2. We do not read that God gave Abram particular directions how to manage these beasts and fowls, knowing that he was so well versed in the law and custom of sacrifices that he needed not any particular directions; or perhaps instructions were given him, which he carefully observed, thought they are not recorded: at least it was intimated to him that they must be prepared for the solemnity of ratifying a covenant; and he well knew the manner of preparing them. 3. Abram took as God appointed him, though as yet he knew not how these things should become a sign to him. This was not the first instance of Abram's implicit obedience. He divided the beasts in the midst, according to the ceremony used in confirming covenants, Jer 34:18, Jer 34:19, where it is said, They cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts. 4. Abram, having prepared according to God's appointment, now set himself to wait for the sign God might give him by these, like the prophet upon his watch-tower, Hab 2:1. While God's appearing to own his sacrifice was deferred, Abram continued waiting, and his expectations were raised by the delay; when the fowls came down upon the carcasses to prey upon them, as common and neglected things, Abram drove them away (Gen 15:11), believing that the vision would, at the end, speak, and not lie. Note, A very watchful eye must be kept upon our spiritual sacrifices, that nothing be suffered to prey upon them and render them unfit for God's acceptance. When vain thoughts, like these fowls, come down upon our sacrifices, we must drive them away, and not suffer them to lodge within us, but attend on God without distraction.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 7–11. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Hebrew Questions on Genesis
(Verses 10, 11.) And he placed them opposite each other: but he did not separate the birds. However, birds descended upon the carcasses and the divisions thereof, and Abram drove them away. It does not pertain to the present work to explain the sacrament. We only say this, because the Hebrew version has for these words: And birds descended upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. For he deservedly often delivered Israel from narrow straits.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
City of God 16.24
And it is said, “But the birds divided he not,” because carnal people are divided among themselves. But those who are spiritual are not divided at all, whether they seclude themselves from the busy conversation of humankind, like the turtledove, or dwell among them, like the pigeon. For both birds are simple and harmless, signifying that even in the Israelite people, to which that land was to be given, there would be individuals who were children of the promise and heirs of the kingdom that is to remain in eternal felicity.
Caesarius of ArlesAD 542
SERMON 82.2
Now notice carefully Abraham is said to have divided the three animals into two parts and to have placed them one against the other. “The birds,” says Scripture, “he did not cut in two.” Why is this, brothers? Because in the church catholic, carnal people are divided but spiritual people are not. And, as Scripture says, they are separated one against the other. Why are carnal people divided and set against each other? Because all wicked lovers of the world do not cease to have divisions and scandals among each other. For this reason they are divided, since they are opposed to one another. However, the birds, that is, spiritual souls, are not divided. Why not? Because they have “one heart and one soul in the Lord.” To will and not to will is all one thing to them. Surely the turtledoves and pigeons that we mentioned above are like these souls. In the turtledove chastity is represented, and in the pigeon, simplicity. All God-fearing people in the church catholic clearly are chaste and simple, and with the psalmist they can say, “Had I but wings like a dove, I would fly away and be at rest.” And again: “The swallow finds a nest in which she puts her young.” Carnal people, who can be divided, are pressed down by the heavy fetters of vice. Spiritual people are raised on high by the wings of various virtues. As if by two wings, that is, the two precepts of love of God and charity toward the neighbor, they are lifted up to heaven. With the apostle they can say, “But our citizenship is in heaven.” As often as the priest says, “Lift up your hearts,” they can say with assurance and devotion that they have lifted them up to the Lord. However, very few and rare are the people in the church who can say this with confidence and truth. Therefore Abraham did not divide the birds, because spiritual souls who have one heart and soul, as I said, cannot be divided or separated from love of God and of neighbor. They exclaim with the apostle, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress or persecution?” Other words follow until it is said, “Nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Therefore spiritual souls are not separated from Christ by torments. Carnal souls are sometimes separated by idle gossip. The cruel sword cannot separate the former, but carnal affections can remove the latter. Nothing hard breaks down spiritual people, but even flattering words can corrupt the carnal. For this reason Abraham divided those animals into two parts, but the birds he did not divide.
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
The Lord replied: "Take for me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, and a three-year-old ram, also a turtledove and a pigeon." He took all these and divided them in half, and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not divide the birds. For the heifer may signify the people under the yoke of the law; the goat the same people who would be sinful, the ram the same people who would also reign. Therefore, these animals are called three because in the third age of the world that people matured and entered the land of promise. The first age is from Adam to Noah, the second from Noah to Abraham himself, the third from Abraham to David; in which the people were saved from Egyptian servitude and transferred to the land of promise. Or if these signify something else more fitting, I would by no means doubt that the spiritual are prefigured in the addition of the turtledove and the pigeon; and thus it is said: "But he did not divide the birds," because the carnal are divided among themselves, but the spiritual by no means, whether they remove themselves from the busy dealings of men like the turtledove, or dwell among them like the pigeon; yet both birds are simple and harmless, signifying that in the very Israelite people, to whom that land was to be given, there would be undivided peoples of promise and heirs of the kingdom remaining in eternal happiness.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Genesis 15:10 meticulously describes Abraham's precise actions in preparing the animals for a divinely commanded covenant ceremony. He takes the specified larger animals, divides them in half, and arranges the pieces opposite each other, while notably leaving the birds undivided. This act of careful obedience sets the physical stage for God's subsequent, unilateral ratification of His covenant promises concerning Abraham's countless descendants and the inheritance of the land, underscoring the profound gravity and unconditional nature of the divine commitment.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: This verse is deeply embedded within the pivotal narrative of Genesis 15, a chapter that marks a significant formalization of God's covenant promises to Abraham. The preceding verses establish a dialogue where God reassures a childless and landless Abraham, promising him an innumerable progeny (Genesis 15:5) and the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:7). When Abraham, in a moment of human doubt or desire for assurance, asks, "How can I know that I will gain possession of it?" (Genesis 15:8), God responds by instructing him to prepare specific animals for a covenant ritual: a three-year-old heifer, a she-goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon (Genesis 15:9). Genesis 15:10 details Abraham's immediate and precise execution of these instructions, thus creating the physical framework for the extraordinary covenant ratification that follows, where God alone passes through the divided pieces (Genesis 15:17).
Historical & Cultural Context: The ritual described in Genesis 15:10 reflects a common and deeply significant practice in the ancient Near East for solemnizing treaties and covenants. Such ceremonies, often referred to as "cutting a covenant" (Hebrew: karat berit), involved the division of animals, between which the covenanting parties would pass. This act served as a self-maledictory oath, symbolizing that if either party violated the terms of the agreement, they would suffer the same fate as the divided animals—death and dismemberment. This ritual underscored the extreme gravity and binding nature of the agreement. Abraham, living in this cultural milieu, would have understood the profound implications of such a ceremony, recognizing it as the most serious form of contractual agreement. The inclusion of specific animals (heifer, goat, ram, turtledove, pigeon) also aligns with common sacrificial practices of the time, though their specific combination here is for a covenant-making purpose.
Key Themes: Genesis 15:10 contributes significantly to several overarching themes within Genesis and the broader biblical narrative. Firstly, it highlights the solemnity and binding nature of divine covenants, emphasizing that God's promises are not made lightly but are established with utmost seriousness and divine guarantee. Secondly, it underscores the theme of divine initiative and unconditional grace; while Abraham prepares the way, it is God alone who ultimately passes through the pieces (Genesis 15:17), signifying that the covenant's fulfillment rests entirely on God's faithfulness and power, not on human merit or performance. Thirdly, Abraham's immediate and meticulous obedience to God's specific, even unusual, instructions (Genesis 15:9) serves as a powerful example of faith and obedience, demonstrating a posture of trust and submission that precedes and enables God's mighty acts. Finally, the imagery of divided animals and implied blood sacrifice foreshadows the necessity of blood in covenant ratification, a theme that finds its ultimate expression in the New Covenant established through Christ's sacrifice.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Genesis 15:10 recounts Abraham's faithful execution of God's command to prepare the animals for the covenant ceremony. His actions are precise and deliberate, reflecting his trust and obedience to the divine instruction.
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The passage employs several significant literary devices. Repetition of the verb "divided" (H1334, bâthar) emphasizes the central, ritualistic action of the covenant ceremony, drawing attention to its importance and the specific nature of the preparation. The explicit contrast between the division of the larger animals and the non-division of the birds highlights a precise detail of the divine instruction, inviting the reader to consider its symbolic or practical significance within the ritual. This detail also serves as a form of foreshadowing, subtly hinting that the covenant to be made will not be a typical bilateral agreement, as the subsequent narrative reveals that only God passes through the pieces (Genesis 15:17). The entire scene is rich in symbolism, with the divided animals representing the dire consequences of covenant breach, and Abraham's meticulous obedience underscoring the human posture of faith in response to divine command.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Genesis 15:10, as the preparatory act for God's covenant with Abraham, underscores the profound solemnity and binding nature of divine promises. The ritual of "cutting a covenant" with divided animals was a culturally recognized symbol of life-and-death commitment, emphasizing that God's word is not given lightly but is an unbreakable guarantee. Abraham's obedience in preparing the animals, though a human act, serves to highlight the subsequent divine initiative: it is God alone who passes through the pieces, signifying that this covenant is unilateral and unconditional, resting entirely on God's character and faithfulness rather than on human performance. This foundational event establishes a pattern for God's covenant relationship with humanity, rooted in His sovereign grace and unfailing commitment.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Genesis 15:10 offers profound insights for believers today, reminding us that God's promises are utterly dependable, established through solemn and unbreakable divine commitment. Abraham's meticulous obedience in preparing the animals, even the seemingly small detail of not dividing the birds, serves as a powerful example of how our faith should translate into action. Our faithful response to God's commands, even when the purpose is not immediately clear, often precedes and positions us for deeper revelations of His character and plans. This passage encourages us to trust implicitly in God's faithfulness, knowing that He is the one who initiates, guarantees, and fulfills His covenant promises, not based on our performance, but on His sovereign grace. It calls us to a posture of readiness and obedience, preparing our hearts and lives to receive and participate in God's greater works, confident that His covenants are eternally secure.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why were the animals divided in the covenant ceremony?
Answer: The division of animals was an ancient Near Eastern practice for solemnizing treaties and covenants. It symbolized the severe consequences, often death, that would befall either party if they broke the agreement. The parties would typically walk between the divided pieces, implicitly invoking a curse upon themselves if they violated the covenant terms. This ritual underscored the gravity and binding nature of the agreement, as seen in Jeremiah 34:18-20.
Why were the birds not divided like the other animals?
Answer: The text does not explicitly state the reason, but it likely relates to the specific requirements of the covenant ritual. Larger animals were typically cut for the "passing through" ceremony, providing substantial halves for the participants. Birds, such as the turtledove and young pigeon, were often used in purification rites or as offerings for the poor (e.g., Leviticus 12:8), but not typically cut in half for covenant-making in the same manner as larger livestock. Their inclusion in the list of animals, yet their exemption from division, may indicate their role as a complete offering or simply a distinction in the ritual's precise requirements for different animal types.
What does the Hebrew phrase "to cut a covenant" mean?
Answer: The Hebrew idiom "to cut a covenant" (karat berit) directly refers to the ancient practice of cutting animals in half during the solemnization of an agreement. This phrase emphasizes the gravity and binding nature of the covenant, often implying that the shedding of blood was integral to its establishment and that severe consequences would follow its breach. In Genesis 15, this phrase is vividly enacted, highlighting the solemnity of God's promise to Abraham.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Genesis 15:10 and the subsequent covenant ratification find their ultimate and perfect fulfillment in Jesus Christ and the New Covenant. The "cutting" of the covenant, with its implicit shedding of blood and the walking between the pieces, powerfully prefigures the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. Just as God alone, represented by the "smoking furnace, and a burning lamp" (Genesis 15:17), passed between the divided pieces, demonstrating His unilateral and unconditional commitment, so too is the New Covenant an act of God's sovereign grace, secured solely by Christ's finished work on the cross. His blood, shed as the perfect and final sacrifice (Hebrews 9:11-14), is the ultimate "cutting" that ratifies God's promises, providing eternal redemption and guaranteeing salvation for all who believe (Hebrews 10:14). This New Covenant, unlike the old, rests entirely on Christ's faithfulness and not on human merit or ability to keep the law, echoing the unilateral nature of the Abrahamic covenant and offering a secure hope found only in Him (Hebrews 8:6).