Genesis 15:9
in Genesis 15And the LORD said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto him, Take me a heifer three years old, and a she-goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Genesis 15
Commentary
8 notes on this verseTake me a heifer - עגלה eglah, a she-calf; a she-goat, עז ez, a goat, male or female, but distinguished here by the feminine adjective; משלשת meshullesheth, a three-yearling; a ram, איל ayil; a turtle-dove, תר tor, from which come turtur and turtle; young pigeon, גוזל gozal, a word signifying the young of pigeons and eagles. See Deu 32:11. It is worthy of remark, that every animal allowed or commanded to be sacrificed under the Mosaic law is to be found in this list.
This site's exposition
a heifer, a goat, and a ram
on Genesis 15:9-11
The heifer, the goat, the ram, the turtledove and the pigeon are the whole list the law will allow for sacrifice. The animals are cut in two, which is how a binding agreement was made in that world. The Hebrew idiom for making a covenant is to cut one.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Here also, in fine, a symbol was given, consisting of these animals: a heifer, a she-goat, a ram and two birds, a turtledove and pigeon, that he might know that the things which he had not doubted should come to pass were to happen in accordance with this symbol. The heifer may be a sign that the people should be put under the law, the she-goat that the same people were to become sinful, the ram that they should reign. Perhaps these animals are said to be of three years old for this reason: that there are three remarkable divisions of time, from Adam to Noah, and from him to Abraham, and from him to David. David, on the rejection of Saul, was first established by the will of the Lord in the kingdom of the Israelite nation. In this third division, which extends from Abraham to David, people grew up as if passing through the third age of life. Or perhaps it may be that they had some other more suitable meaning. Still I have no doubt whatever that spiritual things were prefigured by them as well as by the turtledove and pigeon.
Therefore the heifer, the she-goat and the ram of three years, as also the turtledove and the pigeon, presented a type of all nations. They were described as of three years, because all the nations were to believe in the mystery of the Trinity.
The Medieval Church1 voice
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.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
God appointed that each of the beasts used for his 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. We do not read that God gave Abram particular directions how to manage these, knowing that he was well versed in the custom of sacrifices.
And he said unto him, take me an heifer of three years old,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But God ensures both to him; and that which made these two, the promised seed and the promised land, comforts indeed to this great believer was that they were both typical of those two invaluable blessings, Christ and heaven; and so, we have reason to think, Abram eyed them. God's Covenant with Abram.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
This he did in order that He make the covenant with him, to pass between these parts. He thereby alluded to Abraham that all sacrifices of cattle and fowl will be from these species since the gozeil (young pigeon) mentioned here. In Verse 9 above.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֗יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| קְחָ֥ה | kechah | bring ! | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לִי֙ | li | to <the> me | ||
| עֶגְלָ֣ה | ʾeglah | a heifer | H5697 → | |
| מְשֻׁלֶּ֔שֶׁת | meshuleshet | three years old | H8027 → | 9 times |
| וְעֵ֥ז | veez | and a goat | H5795 → | 74 times |
| מְשֻׁלֶּ֖שֶׁת | meshuleshet | three years old | H8027 → | 9 times |
| וְאַ֣יִל | veayil | and a ram | H352 → | 187 times |
| מְשֻׁלָּ֑שׁ | meshulash | three years old | H8027 → | 9 times |
| וְתֹ֖ר | vetor | and a turtle-dove | H8449 → | |
| וְגוֹזָֽל׃ | vegozal | and a young pigeon | H1469 → |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֗יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
קְחָ֥הbring !
kechahH3947 →966 times
לִי֙to <the> me
li
עֶגְלָ֣הa heifer
ʾeglahH5697 →
מְשֻׁלֶּ֔שֶׁתthree years old
meshuleshetH8027 →9 times
וְעֵ֥זand a goat
veezH5795 →74 times
מְשֻׁלֶּ֖שֶׁתthree years old
meshuleshetH8027 →9 times
וְאַ֣יִלand a ram
veayilH352 →187 times
מְשֻׁלָּ֑שׁthree years old
meshulashH8027 →9 times
וְתֹ֖רand a turtle-dove
vetorH8449 →
וְגוֹזָֽל׃and a young pigeon
vegozalH1469 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 2:24and to offer the sacrifice specified in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
it leads to
- Leviticus 12:6–8
When the days of her purification are complete, whether for a son or for a daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb…
- Leviticus 12:2
“Say to the Israelites, ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be unclean for seven days, as she is during the days of her menstruation.
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- Leviticus 12:6–8
Through
Leviticus 3:1“If one’s offering is a peace offering and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he must present it without blemish before the LORD.
it leads to
- Leviticus 1:3
If one’s offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the…
- Numbers 6:14
and he is to present an offering to the LORD of an unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, an unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, and an unblemished ram as…
- 1 John 1:3
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
- Leviticus 1:3
Through
Leviticus 14:22and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he can afford, one to be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 7:16
The survivors will escape and live in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valley, each for his own iniquity.
- Ezekiel 7:16
Through
Leviticus 14:30Then he must sacrifice the turtledoves or young pigeons, whichever he can afford,
it leads to
- Leviticus 14:22
and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he can afford, one to be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.
- Leviticus 14:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies36
On this chapter
- Abraham
- The Armor of God
- Caleb
- Chaldea
- Fear Not: How Often Scripture Says It
- Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism
Show the next 6 titles
Show the next 6 titles
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 16.24; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 82.1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.