Discovery BoxGenesis 15:8-11 
Context15:8 But 1 Abram 2 said, “O sovereign Lord, 3 by what 4 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 5 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram 6 took all these for him and then cut them in two 7 and placed each half opposite the other, 8 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
1 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
4 tn Or “how.”
5 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “in the middle.”
8 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.
