Mentioned about 60x in the Bible, these birds represent more than 300 species of the family Columbidae, of which four species are native to Palestine.
All over the world, they have long been domesticated for food, as messengers and pets. 'Dove' (NIV) or 'turtledove' (NKJ) translates the Hebrew tur, while 'pigeons' or 'young pigeon' translates yona (cf., the prophet Jonah). In the NT they translate the Greek peristera. Taxonomically speaking there is little difference between the two. Some are identified as dove and others as pigeons only as a matter of convention.
It was a dove that brought back the fresh sprig of the olive tree that told Noah that the flood was finally subsiding (Gen 8:11) and, when the next one sent out did not return, Noah knew that it would soon be safe to come out of the ark. Levitical laws consider them clean and they stand in as sacrificial offerings for the lambs that the poor cannot afford (Lev 5:7).
©ALBERITH
050819lch