Dove
duv (tor, yonah; peristera; Latin Zenaedura carolinensis): A
bird of the family Columbidae. Doves and pigeons are so
closely related as to be spoken and written of as
synonymous, yet there is a distinction recognized from the
beginning of time. It was especially marked in Israel,
because doves migrated, but pigeons remained in their chosen
haunts all the year. Yet doves were the wild birds and were
only confined singly or in pairs as caged pets, or in order
to be available for sacrifice. Pigeons, without question,
were the first domesticated birds, the record of their
conquest by man extending if anything further back than
ducks, geese and swans. These two were the best known and
the most loved of all the myriads of birds of Israel. Doves
were given preference because they remained wild and were
more elusive. The thing that escapes us is usually a little
more attractive than the thing we have. Their loving natures
had been noted, their sleek beautiful plumage, their plump
bodies. They were the most precious of anything offered for
sacrifice. Their use is always specified in preference to
pigeons if only one bird was used; if both, the dove is
frequently mentioned first. Because of their docility when
caged, their use in sacrifice, and the religious
superstition concerning them, they were allowed to nest
unmolested and, according to species, flocked all over
Israel. The turtle-dove nested in gardens and vineyards, and
was almost as tame as the pigeons. The palm turtle-dove took
its name from its love of homing in palm trees, and sought
these afield, and in cities, even building near the temple
in Jerusalem. It also selected thorn and other trees. It has
a small body, about ten inches in length, covered with
bright chestnut-colored feathers, the neck dappled with
dark, lustrous feathers. The rock dove swarmed over,
through, and among the cliffs of mountains and the fissures
of caves and ravines. The collared turtle-dove was the
largest of the species. It remained permanently and homed in
the forests of Tabor and Gilead, around the Dead Sea, and
along the Jordan valley. This bird was darker than the
others and took its name from a clearly outlined collar of
dark feathers encircling the neck, and was especially sought
for caged pets on account of its size and beauty...
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-Sent out from the ark by Noah
Ge 8:8-11
-Domesticated
Isa 60:8
-Nests of
Jer 48:28
-Harmlessness of, typical of Christ's gentleness
Mt 10:16
-Sacrificial uses of
Ge 15:9
-Prescribed for purification
Of women
Le 12:6,8; Lu 2:24
Of Nazarites
Nu 6:10
Of lepers
Le 14:22
-Burnt offering of
Le 1:14-17
-Trespass offering of, for the impecunious
Le 5:7-10; 12:8
-Sin offering, for those who touched any dead body
Nu 6:10
-Market for, in the temple
Mt 21:12; Joh 2:14
-SYMBOLICAL
Of the Holy Spirit
Mt 3:16; Lu 3:22; Joh 1:32
See PIGEON
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The first menton of this bird occurs in Gen. 8. The dove's
rapidity of flight is alluded to in Ps 55:6 the beauty of its
plumage in Ps 68:13 its dwelling int he rocks and valleys in
Jer 48:28 and Ezek 7:16
its mournful voice in Isa 38:14; 59:11; Na 2:7 its
harmlessness in Mt 10:16 its simplicity in Ho 7:11 and its
amativeness in So 1:15; 2:14 Doves are kept in a domesticated
state in many parts of the East. In Persia pigeon-houses are
erected at a distance from the dwellings, for the purpose of
collecting the dung as manure. There is probably an allusion
to such a custom in Isa 60:8
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In their wild state doves generally build their nests in the
clefts of rocks, but when domesticated "dove-cots"
are prepared
for them (Cant. 2:14; Jer. 48:28; Isa. 60:8). The
dove was
placed on the standards of the Assyrians and
Babylonians in
honour, it is supposed, of Semiramis (Jer. 25:38;
Vulg.,
"fierceness of the dove;" comp. Jer. 46:16; 50:16).
Doves and
turtle-doves were the only birds that could be
offered in
sacrifice, as they were clean according to the
Mosaic law (Ge.
15:9; Lev. 5:7; 12:6; Luke 2:24). The dove was the
harbinger of
peace to Noah (Gen. 8:8, 10). It is often mentioned
as the
emblem of purity (Ps. 68:13). It is a symbol of the
Holy Spirit
(Gen. 1:2; Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John
1:32); also of
tender and devoted affection (Cant. 1:15; 2:14).
David in his
distress wished that he had the wings of a dove,
that he might
fly away and be at rest (Ps. 55:6-8). There is a
species of dove
found at Damascus "whose feathers, all except the
wings, are
literally as yellow as gold" (68:13).
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Its peculiar peaceful and gentle habit its often referred to
in
Scripture. A pair was offered in sacrifice by Mary
at her
purification (Luke 2:24). The pigeon and the turtle-
dove were
the only birds permitted to be offered in sacrifice
(Lev. 1:14;
5:7; 14:22; 15:14, 29, etc.). The Latin name of this
bird,
_turtur_, is derived from its note, and is a
repetition of the
Hebrew name _tor_. Three species are found in
Israel, (1) the
turtle-dove (Turtur auritus), (2) the collared
turtle (T.
risorius), and (3) the palm turtle (T.
Senegalensis). But it is
to the first of these species which the various
passages of
Scripture refer. It is a migratory bird (Jer. 8:7;
Cant. 2:11,
12). "Search the glades and valleys, even by sultry
Jordan, at
the end of March, and not a turtle-dove is to be
seen. Return in
the second week of April, and clouds of doves are
feeding on the
clovers of the plain. They overspread the whole face
of the
land." "Immediately on its arrival it pours forth
from every
garden, grove, and wooded hill its melancholy yet
soothing ditty
unceasingly from early dawn till sunset. It is from
its
plaintive and continuous note, doubtless, that
David, pouring
forth his heart's sorrow to God, compares himself to
a
turtle-dove" (Ps. 74:19).
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Emblem of peace (Genesis 8:7-12). After God's wrath for sin
had been executed upon the earth, the dove was thrice sent
forth; at the first sending she found no rest for the sole
of her foot until she put herself in Noah's (or "comforter")
hand, and was drawn into the ark; on the second trip, she
brought back the olive leaf, the earnest of the restored
earth; on the third trip, she was able to roam at large, no
longer needing the ark's shelter. As the raven messenger
"going forth to and fro," alighting on but never entering
into the ark, symbolizes the unbelieving that have "no
peace," "like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest" (Isaiah
57:20-21): so the dove, in its threefold embassy, represents
respectively the first return of the soul to its rest, the
loving hand of Jesus; its subsequent reception of the
dovelike spirit, the earnest of the final inheritance
(Ephesians 1:13-14); and its actual entrance finally on the
new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21), where there will
be no need of the arklike church to separate between the
world and God's people, between the saved and unsaved, where
all shall be safe and blessed forever and the church shall
be co-extensive with the world...
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tor; Latin, tur-tur, from imitation of its cooing note.
Abraham's offering (Genesis 15:9) with a young pigeon (gozal).
A pair was the poor man's substitute for the lamb or kid, as
trespass, sin, or burnt offering (Leviticus 12:6); so the
Virgin mother for her purification, through poverty (Luke
2:24; 2 Corinthians 8:9). Also in the case of a Nazarite
accidentally defiled by a dead body (Numbers 6:10). Owing to
its being migratory and timid, the turtle was never
domesticated as the pigeon; but being numerous, and building
its nest in gardens, it afforded its young as an easy prey to
those who did not own even pigeons. The palm dove, Turtur
Aegyptiacus, probably supplied the sacrifices in Israel's
desert journey, for its nests abound in palms on oases. Its
habit of pairing for life, and its love to its mate, made it a
symbol of purity and so a suitable offering...
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O my dove, [that art] in the clefts of the rock, in the secret
[places] of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me
hear thy voice; for sweet [is] thy voice, and thy countenance
[is] comely.
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O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the
rock, and be like the dove [that] maketh her nest in the sides
of the hole's mouth.
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I sleep, but my heart waketh: [it is] the voice of my beloved
that knocketh, [saying], Open to me, my sister, my love, my
dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, [and] my
locks with the drops of the night.
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Dove (Hebr., yônah). - Though distinguishing it from tôr, the turtle-dove, the Jews were perfectly aware of their natural affinity and speak of them together. The dove is mentioned in the Bible oftener than any other bird (over 50 times); this comes both from the great number of doves flocking in Israel, and of the favour they enjoy among the people. The dove is first spoken of in the record of the flood (Genesis 8:8-12); later on we see that Abraham offered up some in sacrifice, which would indicate that the dove was very early domesticated. In fact several allusions are made to dove-cotes, with their "windows" or latticed openings. But in olden times as well as now, besides the legions of pigeons that swarm around the villages, there were many more rock-doves, "doves of the valleys", as they are occasionally termed (Ezekiel 7:16; Song of Songs 2:14; Jeremiah 48:28), that filled the echoes of the mountain gorges with the rustling of their wings. The metallic lustre of their plumage, the swiftness of their flight, their habit of sweeping around in flocks, their plaintive coo, are often alluded to by the different sacred writers. The dark eye of the dove, encircled by a line of bright red skin, is also mentioned; its gentleness and innocence made it the type of trust and love, and, most naturally, its name was one of the most familiar terms of endearment. Jesus spoke of the dove as a symbol of simplicity; the sum of its perfections made it a fitting emblem for the Holy Spirit.
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