Genesis 15:9-10

15:9 The Lord ¹  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 ²  took all these for him and then cut them in two ³  and placed each half opposite the other, ⁴  but he did not cut the birds in half.

Genesis 15:17

15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch ⁵  passed between the animal parts. ⁶ 

[15:9]  ¹ tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:10]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:10]  ³ tn Heb “in the middle.”

[15:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”

[15:17]  ³ 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).

[15:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “these pieces.”