Covenant of the Pieces

(1) Some time later, the word of יהוה came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram/I am a shield to you/Your reward shall be very great.” (2) But Abram said, “O lord יהוה, what can You give me, seeing that I shall die childless, and the one in charge of my household is Dammesek Eliezer!” (3) Abram said further, “Since You have granted me no offspring, my steward will be my heir.” (4) The word of יהוה came to him in reply, “That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be your heir.” (5) [Then in the vision, God] took him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them”—continuing, “So shall your offspring be.” (6) And he put his trust in יהוה, who reckoned it to his merit. (7) Then [God] said to him, “I am יהוה who brought you out...to assign this land to you as a possession.” (8) And he said, “O lord יהוה, how shall I know that I am to possess it?” (9) Came the reply, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young bird.” (10) He brought all these and cut them in two, placing each half opposite the other; but he did not cut up the bird. (11) Birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. (12) As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great dark dread descended upon him. (13) And [God] said to Abram, “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years; (14) but I will execute judgment on the nation they shall serve, and in the end they shall go free with great wealth. (15) As for you, You shall go to your ancestors in peace; You shall be buried at a ripe old age. (16) And they shall return here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (17) When the sun set and it was very dark, there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch which passed between those pieces. (18) On that day יהוה made a covenant with Abram: “To your offspring I assign this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates— (19) the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, (20) the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, (21) the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Rabbi Eliezer said: The Holy One, blessed be He, showed to our father Abraham (at the covenant) between the pieces the four kingdoms, their dominion and their downfall, as it is said, "And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old" (Gen. 15:9). "An heifer of three years old" (ibid.) refers to the kingdom of Edom, which is like the heifer of a sheep. "And a she-goat of three years old" (ibid.) refers to the kingdom of Greece, as it is said, "And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly" (Dan. 8:8). "And a ram of three years old" (Gen. 15:9); this is the kingdom of Media and Persia, as it is said, "And the ram which thou sawest that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia" (Dan. 8:20). "And a turtle-dove" (Gen. 15:9); this refers to the sons of Ishmael. This expression is not to be understood in the literal meaning of Tôr (turtle-dove), but in the Aramaic language, in which Tôr means Ox, for when the male ox is harnessed to the female, they will open and break all the valleys, even as it says (about) "the fourth beast" (Dan. 7:19). "And a young pigeon" (Gen. 15:9); this refers to the Israelites, who are compared || to a young pigeon, as it is said, "O my dove, thou art in the clefts of the rock" (Cant. 2:14). For thy voice is pleasant in prayer, and thy appearance is beautiful in good deeds. "And a young pigeon" (Gen. 15:9); this refers to the Israelites, who are compared to a young pigeon: "My dove, my perfect (one), is (but) one" (Cant. 6:9).

"And all the people saw": the sounds of sounds and the flames of flames. How many sounds were there and how many flames were there? The intent is that each heard according to his power (to absorb what he experienced), viz. (Psalms 29:4) "the voice of Adonai in power, the voice of Adonai in majesty." Variantly: "And all the people saw": to apprise us of the exalted state of Israel. When they all stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, as soon as they heard the pronouncement, they assimilated it. As it is written (Devarim 32:10) "God encircled him; he invested him (with understanding). As soon as they heard the pronouncement, they assimilated it. R. Eliezer says: to apprise us of the exalted state of Israel.

When the sun set and it was very dark (Genesis 16:17), _______. Here is the smoking oven and the torch; Shimon son of Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: 4 things were made apparent to him: Gehinom, [non-Jewish] royalty, the giving of Torah and the Tabernacle. He said to him: at all times that your children are immersed in two of them, they are dismissing two of them. Every time they are learning about two of them, they are being judged by two of them. He said to him: in which do you want your children to go down, in gehinom or in royalty? Rabbi Haninah son of Pappa said: Abraham chose for himself the kingship. Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Idi and Rabbi Hamma bar Hanina said: Abraham chose for himself gehinom, and the Holy Blessed One chose for him kingship, as it is written (Deut 32:30) "if not, for these rocks have bought you," this is Abraham. "And God closed it in." Teaches that the Holy Blessed One agreed to these things.

And here is the smoking oven and the torch of fire. That the people of the world were judged in gehinom, that it is written: "So says Adonai, that which is a light for him in Zion, and an oven for him in Jerusaelm." (Isaiah 31:9)

Another idea on and torch of fire: This is the salvation of Israel, as it is written, "And her salvation like a flaming torch." (Isaiah 62:1)

That which went between these pieces. At the moment that Israel was saved, the people of the world went down to ​​​​​​​gehinom.