The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 288

EXPOSITION. Ver. 7.-And he (Jehovah, or tl1c Word of Genesis, and supposed by Michaelis to hava the Lord) said unto him (after the act of been taken by Moses from the ancient docu- faith on the part of the patriarch, and the ment from which he transcribed this portion act of imputation or justification on the part of his work The word is afterwards found of God, and in explication of the exact na- in Cant. ii. 17, and Jer. xxxiv. 18) them in ture of that relationship which had been the midst,--,µfoa (LXX.) ; in equa.l parts constituted between them by the spiritual. (Onkclos)-and laid each piece one age.inst tr>1nsaction so described), I am the Lord tha.t another : but the birds. divided he not. So brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldeea afterwards in the Mosaic legisla.tion (Lcvit. (ride eh. xi. 2S), to give thee this land to i. 7). Wordsworth detects in the non-divid- inherit (or, to possess) it. ing of the birds an emblem of "the Holy Yer. 8.-And he said, Lord God {A<Wnai Spirit, the Spirit of peace a.nd love, which is .Tehovah; Tide ver. 2), whereby shall I know a. Spirit of unity," a.nll of "Christ's humnn tha.t I sha.11 inherit it 1 Not the language spirit, which was not divisible." Kalisch, ul' doubt, though slight misgivings are not with more probability, recognises as tho incompatible with faith (cf. Judges vi. 17; rea.son of their not being divided the fac~ :! Kings XL 8; Luke i 34), and questioning that such division was not required, both wiih God "is rather a :proot of faith than a fowls being regarded as one part of the sacri- sign of incredulity" (Calvin); but of desire fice only, and each, as the ha.If, being placed for a sign in confirmation of the grant opposite the other. Wordsworth numbers ( Luther), either for the strengthening of his seven parts in the sacrifice, and sees a symbol uwn faith (Chrysostom, Augustine, Keil, of completeness a.nd finality, the number 'Speaker's Co=ent:i.ry '), or for the sake of seven being the root of shaba, to swear his posterity (J archi, Michll,€lis), or for some (Gesenius, p. 802) ; Kalisch reckons four, intimation as to the time and mode of taking which he regards as "denoting perfection, but 11ossession (Morphy). Rosenmiiller conceives rather the external perfection of form than the question put in Abram's mouth to be the internal one of the mind," and pointing only a device of the narrator's to lead up to '' to the perfect possession of the Holy Land." the subject following. The ritual here described is the same wl1ich Ver. 9.-And he said unto him, Take me was afterwards observed among the Hebrews (literally, for me, i. e. for my use in sa~rifice) in the formation of covenants (cf. eh. xxxiv. a.n heiier of three yea.re old. So nghtly 18), and appears to have extensively pre- (LXX., Syriac, Samaritan, .Arabic, Josephus, vailed among heathen nations (cf. 'Iliad,' Bo chart, Rosenmiiller, Keil); not three heifers b. 124, "opK1a 7r111rd raµo,,r,,;;" am! the (Onkelos, J archl, Kime hi, et aJ,ii). And a she Latin phra.se, "fredus icere "). goat of three years old, a.nd a ra.m of three Ver. 11.-And when the fowls-literally, years old. These offerings, afterwards prc- and the bird of pi·ey, a collective singular scri bed by the law (Exod. xxix. 15; Num. with the article, as in eh. xiv. 13, symbolis- xv. 27 ; xiL 2; Deut. =i. 3), were three in ing the Egyptians and other adversaries of number, and of three years ea.eh, to symbolise Israel, a.s in Ezek. xvii. 3, 7, 12; xxxix. 4, him who was, and is, and is to come (Words- 17; Rev. xix. 17, 18 (Knobel, Rosenmiiller, worth) ; perhaps rather to indicate the per- Lango, Keil, Kalisch), which may be regarded fection of the victim in respect of maturity as probable if the divided victims represented (Murphy). Cf. Ganymede's offering (in 'Lu- Israel in affliction, which is doubtful (vide cian's Dialogues') of a three years old ram supra). It does not appear necessary to for a ransom. And a turtle-dove, and a attach a.ny special significance to the descent young pigeon-also prescribed by the law of the vultures, which aro alwnys attracted (Levit. i. 14; Luke ii 24). towards carrion, and the introduction ol Ver.10.-And he took unto himRll these, which here completes the naturalness of the and divided (a word occuning only here in scene-came down upon the carcases (the <lH. XV. 7-21.] 'rHE BOOK OF GENESIS. 221