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Animals of the Bible
Dove
Hebrew yonah, tor (turtledove) · Greek peristera · rock doves and turtledoves
Two kinds of dove appear in the Bible. Rock doves, the wild ancestors of town pigeons, nest in the clefts of cliffs (Song of Songs 2:14), and people also kept them in dovecotes: many rock-cut dovecotes from the Hellenistic period have been found at Maresha in the Judean lowlands. Turtledoves migrate. They come back in spring, and their cooing was a sign that winter was over (Song of Songs 2:12; Jeremiah 8:7).
Noah’s dove came back with a fresh olive leaf, and a dove with an olive branch has since become a sign of peace far beyond the Bible. Doves and young pigeons were the offering of families who could not afford a lamb, as Mary and Joseph offered at the temple (Luke 2:24), so dove-sellers sat in the temple courts. The prophet’s name Jonah is Hebrew for “dove”. All four Gospels tell that at Jesus’ baptism the Spirit came down “like a dove”.
Key verses
Noah waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. And behold, the dove returned to him in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.But if she cannot afford a lamb, she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. Then the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”and to offer the sacrifice specified in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”To those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!”As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.Sources
Adapted and shortened from the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers · CC BY-SA 4.0 — Birds: Pigeon or Dove
Adapted from Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary: articles chosen, shortened and retold in our own words (history, nature and daily life only) and, in languages other than English, machine-translated. The original work by Tyndale House Publishers is available for free at tyndaleopenresources.com.
