The 15th chapter of the book Genesis is amazing; So cryptic, evocative and mysterious what with the details that the author chose to include. It's therefore always been one of my favorites. The fact that carrion birds fell upon the carcasses, and that Avram had to chase them away seems so insignificant next to the real focus of the chapter; Yahweh's promises to Avram. Why divert our attention to this? And why did Avram start feeling such dread as the sun was setting? It all feels so ominous, and the sense I get as I read is that I am watching these events unfold in slow motion, as we are meant to be on the edge of our seats wondering, with baited breath, what's about to happen.
And the chapter doesn't disappoint.
In the traditional version, after Yahweh asks Avram to bring him the animals, Avram takes it upon himself to kill the animals, and to set up their carcasses on opposite sides of the road. When the "smoking furnace and fiery torch" pass through, the symbolism is amazing; Yahweh is in effect saying, "May I be killed and torn up like these carcasses should I not fulfill that which I promise today!" (See Jeremiah 34, for a context that brings this idea out explicitly.) This demonstration is the answer to Avram's question- How will I know that what you say will actually happen? (Yahweh passing through the split carcasses could be said to be Yahweh's version of kids these days saying, Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye!)
However, note that Yahweh never asks Avram to kill, and to arrange the corpses this way. Avram assumed this should be so; And in the traditional version, he seems to be right.
Here, we present a retelling, in which Avram does not take it upon himself to kill, but does only that which he is asked to do; Bring the animals forth!
A brief commentary follows.
The word-of-Yahweh came to Avram:
I am Yahweh! Who took you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as an estate!
As I took you from Ur, so too I shall take your seed from a strange land not their own. They shall be enslaved, and oppressed for four hundred years. But as for the nation that shall enslave them, I shall judge, and afterwards they will leave with abundant wealth! And you shall join your fathers in peace; You will be buried in a ripe, old age. And the fourth generation shall return here!
Then Avram said,
"My Lord, Yahweh! How do I know that this shall come to pass, and this shall be mine, and even the estate of my seed?"
So He said to him,
Take for me a heifer 3 years old, a goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a dove and a pigeon!
So he took these to Him and split them up; The heifer and goat on one side, the ram and the dove and the pigeon on the other, each one facing his fellow. And birds of prey came down, but Avram chased them away.
And the sun was setting, and a deep slumber fell upon Avram; and Look! A great, dark dread was falling upon him!
And He said to Avram,
Indeed, you shall know. Here are my witnesses, to the right and to the left. They were pursued, and your seed shall be pursued. But just as you shielded them, so too shall I shield you, and your seed, forever and ever.
Then the sun set, and there was a great gloom; And Look! A smoking oven and fiery torch passed between the animals as they looked on. And on that day, in front of witnesses, Yahweh made this oath to Avram, saying:
To your seed I shall give this land; From the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates! And on that day, these witnesses shall come forth; Beasts of the land, and foul of the heavens. And they shall declare that on that day, in the eyes of heaven and earth, Yahweh stood in their midst and made this oath. I am Yahweh!
And Avram trusted in Yahweh, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Commentary
In both this and the traditional version, Yahweh wants animals brought forth. And in both cases, it is because they will be used somehow to demonstrate to Avram that Yahweh's promises will surely come to pass.
While in the traditional version, they will be killed and their bodies mutilated- something no Compassionate-God would ever demand- in this version, they are summoned as witnesses, representing heaven and earth. As they look on, Yahweh passes between them and makes his oath, taking on the form of a smoking furnace and fiery torch (foreshadowing the form He would take during the Great Exodus that he foretells here). Should Yahweh fail to redeem the seed of Avram, Avram will hold Yahweh accountable, with these representatives of heaven and earth coming forth to serve as his witnesses.
Another change; In the traditional version, Avram chases away carrion birds, who are hoping to pick at the carcasses of those whom he killed. But in this version, it is birds of prey, thinking they have an easy meal in the doves and pigeons. The significance of Avram shielding them and chasing away the predators is that Yahweh promises to similarly shield Avram, as well as his seed, forever.
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