Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 15:9
Genesis 15:9. He said unto him, take me an heifer, &c.— i.e.. says Mede, offer unto me the following creatures; the only ones appointed to be offered under the Mosaic law; which strengthens their opinion (and I confess it is mine) who believe, that animals were divided into clean and unclean for sacrifice before the law, and that the whole apparatus of sacrifice was not then first instituted, but renewed and confirmed. It has much perplexed commentators to find out the reason, why these... read more
Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 15:9-11
"And he said unto him, Take me a heifer three years old, and a she-goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other: but the birds divided he not. And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away."The function of the slaughtered animals here was not that of a sacrifice, but of the ratification (confirmation) of a covenant. The ritual... read more