Discovery BoxGenesis 15:10 
Context15:10 So Abram 1 took all these for him and then cut them in two 2 and placed each half opposite the other, 3 but he did not cut the birds in half.
Genesis 15:17
Context15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 4 passed between the animal parts. 5
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “in the middle.”
3 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
sn For discussion of this ritual see G. F. Hasel, “The Meaning of the Animal Rite in Genesis 15,” JSOT 19 (1981): 61-78.
4 sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).
5 tn Heb “these pieces.”
