DOVES
Were clean according to the Mosaic ritual, and were offered in sacrifice, especially by the poor, Genesis 15:9; Leviticus 5:7; Leviticus 1:12; Luke 2:24. Several kinds of doves or pigeons frequented the Holy Land; and the immense flocks of them sometimes witnessed illustrate a passage in Isaiah 60:8. They are symbols of simplicity, innocence, and fidelity, Hosea 7:11; Matthew 10:16. The dove was the chosen harbinger of God’s returning favor after the flood, Genesis 1:8-22, and was honored as an emblem of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 3:16. See TURTLEDOVE.