The cut-animal rite and the river of Egypt: background in Genesis 15
Says Abram “split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other” (Gen 15:10; וַיְבַתֵּר אֹתָם בַּתָּוֶךְ); “a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses” (15:17; עָבַר בֵּין הַגְּזָרִים הָאֵלֶּה); the Lord “cut a covenant” (כָּרַת יְהוָה אֶת־אַבְרָם בְּרִית), giving the land “from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates” (15:18; מִנְּהַר מִצְרַיִם).
Calvin thinks it “probable that he followed the ancient rite in forming covenants”, and “ratified by a solemn rite”. Keil sees “the custom, prevalent in many ancient nations, of slaughtering animals when concluding a covenant”. Driver writes, “The ritual is no doubt that by which a solemn covenant was actually ratified in ancient Israel”; Skinner, that “its prevalence in antiquity is proved by many analogies in classical and other writers”. On the river, Keil holds that “of Egypt is the Nile, and not the brook”; Driver, “This can be only the Nile”; Skinner, that it “must be the Nile”; the Jerusalem Targum reads “from Nilos of Mizraim”. Augustine instead reads “a small one which separates Egypt from Palestine”. These are their readings.
Uncertain Jeremiah speaks of “the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces” (Jer 34:18). How far Gen 15 matches that or other ancient custom, and which river is meant, are open; no ancient Near Eastern text is cited, and no dependence is claimed.
Claims
- SaysGen 15:10, 17–18: Abram cut the animals in two and laid the halves opposite each other; a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the pieces; that day the Lord cut a covenant with Abram, giving his offspring the land from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates.
- UncertainHow far the rite of Gen 15 matches the rite of Jer 34:18 or other ancient covenant custom, and whether the river of Egypt is the Nile or a smaller stream, are open; no ancient Near Eastern text is cited and no dependence is claimed.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 15:10, 15:17–18; Jer 34:18
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 15:10, 15:17–18
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain Calvin, Genesis 1 (King, CTS 1847), on Gen 15:9–18, p. 413 (leaf n422), p. 420 (leaf n429); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Keil–Delitzsch, Pentateuch 1 public domain Keil, Pentateuch vol. 1 (Clark, Martin trans., 1868), on Gen 15:9–18, p. 214 (leaf n217), p. 217 (leaf n220); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain Driver, Genesis (Westminster, 1904), on Gen 15:17–18, p. 178 (leaf n279); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain Skinner, Genesis (ICC, 1910), on Gen 15:9–18, p. 283 (leaf n384); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Etheridge public domain Etheridge, vol. 1 (1862), Targum of Palestine (Pseudo-Jonathan) and Jerusalem Targum on Gen 15:18, p. 204 (leaf n216); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain Civ. 16.24 (trans. Dods, NPNF¹ 2; CCEL npnf102.iv.XVI.24), p. 325 (leaf n348); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
2026-11-12
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