The Sign of the Dove

I recently read the passage in Genesis concerning Noah and the sending out of the Dove:

Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; (Genesis 8:8 KJV)

Nothing new here, right? Well, as it happened, I was looking at the Hebrew bible rendition of this passage and when I saw the word for 'Dove', I immediately began to look for answers to the questions that arose in my mind. You see, the word for Dove in Hebrew is Jonah. So, I looked that one up, and, sure enough, Jonah is the same word as the prophet Jonah. It seemed like an odd coincidence. Then I thought of Jesus' words:

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: (Matt. 12:39)
If Jonas, or Jonah (in the Hebrew they are the same), is the sign given to the people in Jesus' day that Jesus is who he says he is, then they have apparently been given a sign with more than one dimension.

Again, my mind began searching for connections. Another scripture came to mind:

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: (Matt. 3:16)

Jesus was baptized by John. John, which in Greek, is the same name as Jonah in the Hebrew. Thus, we have John, (or dove) baptizing Jesus and the dove lighting upon him, both of which would have been a very powerful SIGN to the people who knew that language. They would have immediately recognized the connection between the two, just as easily as if I were to say to you: "Please leave the leaves behind. I am leaving!" You would think I was very clever (maybe) and that I was making a calculated play on words. This is precisely what it appears that Jesus has done.

In addition to this powerful witness of the dove, it's name and it's namesake, we have the oft-quoted purpose of the reference to Jonah being three days in the belly of the whale, as a sign of the three days that Christ would spend in the tomb. But when we realize that the name of Jonah would have been recognized by all as both John, and dove, it begins to look as though there is a veritable cloud of witnesses!



Then too, this reference to the dove from chabad.org, illustrates the understanding and association which the Jews have carried about the dove:

"Just like a dove once she meets her mate never leaves him for another… just as a dove whose fledglings are taken from her nest still doesn't abandon her nest…, so are the Jewish people faithful to G‑d."

According to the Jewish sages, the Jews have always associated themselves with the dove. So when Jesus says that they will receive no other sign than that one, it would have been a powerful image, and one that would have been difficult to ignore.

And this:

And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. (Luke 2: 22-24)
In the Hebrew, dove and pigeon are the same. I also noticed the similarity between Noah's dove and Jesus:

And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (Matt. 8:20)

Compared to this:

But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, (Genesis 8:9)

Consider that the word for 'head' in the first passage is this Greek word:

κεφαλή kephale {kef-al-ay'

and that the Hebrew word for the 'sole of her foot' is this:

l'khaf-rag'läH

They are surprisingly similar, though from different languages. However, the Greek translation often admits to using words from the Hebrew which were transliterated because they had no Greek equivalent. This appears to be the case with these two words.

Interestingly, the Greek word has only a probable meaning attached to it. However, in addition to the possible meaning of 'head', the Greek word also carries the possible meaning of cornerstone, or prominence, or supreme. The Hebrew word for the 'sole of her foot' also carries multiple meanings, some of which are: Power, cup, bowl, and hand (the first part of the word) and foot or step (the second part of the word). Thus we get a sort of general meaning from them both that might have to do with placing the seat of power, or a kingdom. Hence

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. (John 18:36)

The root word for 'dove' is: yayin

This Hebrew root word means wine, or vine, or the effervescence of wine, or the warm feeling you have when you drink wine. It is believed that this meaning for dove arose from the 'warm' courtship of doves and it's similarity to the feeling of warmth from the drinking of wine.

This hearkens back to another scripture:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:4,5)

The letters in Hebrew also have meaning individually as well as when combined to form a word. The Hebrew name of Jonah carries all the letters of the sacred name of Jehovah with the addition of the letter Nun. The meaning which this name conveys through it's letters is: Jehovah is Messiah. It is literally the SIGN of the Messiah.


Noah sent out a dove from the ark. God sent out his Son from heaven. The dove found no where to lay his foot. The Son of God found no where to lay his cornerstone. The dove went back to the ark for a time and then returned again to the earth, this time finding an olive branch. The Son of God has promised to return again, and what will he find?