The Enduring Symbolism of Doves
From ancient icon to biblical mainstay
In addition to its symbolism for the Holy Spirit, the dove was a popular Christian symbol before the cross rose to prominence in the fourth century. The dove continued to be used for various church implements throughout the Byzantine and medieval period, including the form of oil lamps and this 13th-century altar piece for holding the Eucharistic bread. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
Few symbols have a tradition as long and as rich as the dove. A particular favorite in art and iconography, the dove often represents some aspect of the divine, and its use has been shared, adapted and reinterpreted across cultures and millennia to suit changing belief systems. From the ancient world to modern times, this simple bird developed layer upon layer of meaning and interpretive significance, making it a complex and powerful addition to religious texts and visual representations.
In the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean world, the dove became an iconic symbol of the mother goddess. Small clay shrines from the Iron Age Levant depict doves perched atop the doorways of these mini-temples. On one example from Cyprus, the entire exterior of the goddess’s shrine is covered with dovecotes. The doves represented feminine fertility and procreation, and came to be well-recognized symbols of the Canaanite goddess Asherah and her counterpart Astarte, as well as her Phoenician and later Punic embodiment, Tanit. First-century B.C. coins from Ashkelon bore a dove, which represented both the goddess Tyche-Astarte and the city mint. In Rome and throughout the Empire, goddesses such as Venus and Fortunata could be seen depicted in statues with a dove resting in their hand or on their head.
There is strong evidence in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the archaeological record, that many ancient Israelites believed the goddess Asherah was the consort of their god Yahweh. Perhaps it is not so surprising, then, that the heirs of this Israelite religion incorporated the “feminine” symbol of the dove to represent the spirit of God (the word for “spirit,” ruach, is a feminine word in Hebrew). The Babylonian Talmud likens the hovering of God’s spirit in Genesis 1:2 to the hovering of a dove. Indeed, this same “hovering” language is used to describe God’s spirit in the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the New Testament.
 A dove and two bird-like female figures perch atop this clay house shrine from the Iron Age. The dove was widely recognized throughout the Ancient Near Eastern world as a symbol of the mother goddess Asherah and her counterparts Astarte and Tanit. Ardon Bar Hama |
 Dovecotes, or niches for doves, dot the exterior of this small clay house shrine from Cyprus, while the goddess beckons to devotees from within. Erich Lessing. |
But that is not the only allusion to a dove in the Hebrew Bible. The best-known example comes from the flood story of Genesis 6—9. In Genesis 8:8—12, after the ark has landed on the mountains of Ararat, Noah sends out a dove three times to see how far the flood waters have receded. The first time it found nothing and returned to the ark. The second time it brought back an olive leaf, so Noah could see that God’s punishment was over and life had begun again on the earth. (The image of a dove holding an olive branch continues to be a symbol of peace to this day.) The third time, the dove did not return, and Noah knew that it was safe to leave the ark. A similar flood story is told in parallel passages in the ancient Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. There, too, the hero (Utnapishtim) sends out a dove, which returns to the ship unable to find a perch. In fact, from Ancient Near Eastern records to nautical practices as recent as the 19th century, sailors the world over used doves and other birds to help them find and navigate toward land. So, while Noah made use of an ancient sailor’s trick, the dove came to represent a sign from God.
A white dove represents the “spirit of God” that hovered over the face of the deep (Genesis 1:2) in this, the first of the Creation mosaics at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Nuovo in Monreale, Italy. Photo by the Casa Editrice Mistretta, Palermo, Italy
Dove imagery is also utilized in several of the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible. The low, cooing sound of a dove served as mournful imagery to evoke the suffering of the people of Judah (see Isaiah 38:14, 59:11; Ezekiel 7:16 and others).
 A dove returns to Noah’s ark with an olive branch in its beak, a sign that life had returned to the earth after the great flood. Sailors throughout history have used birds to guide them to dry land. Pictured is a detail of a woodcut from the Nuremberg Bible. Credit: Victoria & Albert Picture Library. |
 The Epic of Gilgamesh, a Babylonian narrative that has several parallels in the early chapters of Genesis, tells the story of Utnapishtim, who (much like Noah) survived a flood that destroyed the earth and sent out a dove to try and find dry land. The British Museum |
But doves were more than just a soundtrack for a people who had fallen away from God; they were also an instrument of atonement. Several passages of the Torah (especially Leviticus) specify occasions that require the sacrifice of two doves (or young pigeons)—either as a guilt offering or to purify oneself after a period of ritual impurity (including the birth of a child). Several columbaria, or dovecotes, have been excavated in the City of David and the Jerusalem environs (by crawford). These towers were undoubtedly used to raise doves for sacrificial offerings, as well as for the meat and fertilizer they provided—a popular practice in the Hellenistic and Roman periods that continued into the modern period.
Columbaria, or dovecotes, have been discovered in archaeological excavations in Jerusalem and throughout the Holy Land. The scarce remains of the tower on the left show a few rows of niches still standing in the City of David, whereas the underground dovecotes such as the one on the right, from Luzit, have been remarkably well preserved. Doves and pigeons were raised for their meat, and their droppings were collected for fertilizer, but they also played an important role in Temple sacrifice. Boaz Zissu
The atoning quality of doves led to comparisons in the Talmud and the Targums with Isaac and Israel. According to these extra-Biblical sources, just as a dove stretches out its neck, so too did Isaac prepare to be sacrificed to God, and later Israel took on this stance to atone for the sins of other nations.
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Thus, by the time of Jesus, the dove was already rich with symbolism and many interpretations—as a representation of Israel, atoning sacrifice, suffering, a sign from God, fertility and the spirit of God. All these meanings and more were incorporated into the Christian use of dove iconography.
Doves appear in the New Testament at scenes associated with Jesus’ birth, baptism and just before his death. The Gospel of Luke says that Mary and Joseph sacrificed two doves at the Temple following the birth of Jesus, as was prescribed in the law mentioned above (Luke 2:24). Yet in the Gospel of John, Jesus angrily drives out all of the merchants from the Temple, including “those who sold doves” to worshipers there (John 2:16).
 During Benjamin Mazar’s excavations at the southwest corner of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, he recovered a stone bowl that bore the inscription korban (“sacrifice”), as well as finely scratched drawings of two upside-down (dead) birds. The bowl was probably intended for devout Jews to bring their offering of two doves or pigeons to the Temple for sacrifice, as commanded in the Books of Leviticus and Numbers. Erich Lessing |
 The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove during his baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist. Variations of this scene are told in all four of the Gospels and, as shown here in a 14th-century Byzantine mosaic from the Baptistery in the Church of San Marco in Venice, the dove became the quintessential symbol for the Holy Spirit, especially in representations of the Trinity. Alinari/Art Resource, NY |
But perhaps the most familiar dove imagery from the New Testament is recounted in all four of the Gospels (though in varying forms) at the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. After Jesus came up out of the water, the [Holy] Spirit [of God] came from heaven and descended on him “like a dove” (see Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32). The baptism story built on the pre-existing symbol of the dove as God’s spirit (and its many other meanings) and firmly entrenched it as the preferred representation of the Holy Spirit—especially in later artistic depictions of the Trinity.
In Renaissance art, a dove became a standard element in the formulaic Annunciation scene, representing the Holy Spirit about to merge with the Virgin Mary. Doves were also shown flying into the mouths of prophets in Christian art as a sign of God’s spirit and divine authority. Even contemporary pop artist Andy Warhol used a (much more commercial) image of a Dove to represent the Holy Spirit in his, The Last Supper (Dove).
 “The Word” enters Mary via rays of light emanating from a dove (representing the Holy Spirit) in this detail from Fra Filippo Lippi’s Annunciation scene, now in the National Gallery in London. National Gallery, London |
 This strange juxtaposition of modern brand labels and a classic Last Supper scene in Andy Warhol’s The Last Supper (Dove) nonetheless has hidden religious meaning. The dove hovers over Jesus’ head, representing the Holy Spirit, while the GE logo represents God the Father by recalling their famous slogan, “We bring good things to light.” © 1996 The Andy Warhol Foundation, Inc./Artists Rights Society, NY |
Another source associates a dove with the beginning of Jesus’ life. According to the second-century Protoevangelium of James, when the Temple priests were trying to choose a husband for Mary, a dove flew out of Joseph’s rod and landed on his head, marking him as the one selected by God. In fairytales throughout the world, birds have often been used to signify the “chosen one,” the true king or even the divine.
Before the cross gained prominence in the fourth century, the second-century church father Clement of Alexandria urged early Christians to use the dove or a fish as a symbol to identify themselves and each other as followers of Jesus. Archaeologists have recovered oil lamps and Eucharistic vessels in the shape of doves from Christian churches throughout the Holy Land.
Since ancient times the dove was used to identify and represent the divine. It then helped countless peoples to envision and understand the many aspects of a God who could not be embodied by an idol or statue. It continues to be a favorite way to show the hand and presence of God in the world and remains one of our most enduring symbols.
Dorothy Resig Willette, formerly the managing editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, is a contributing editor at the Biblical Archaeology Society.
Read more in Bible History Daily:
The Animals Went in Two by Two, According to Babylonian Ark Tablet
This Bible History Daily article was originally published on October 1, 2013.
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A lot of Christians misread about the Holy Spirit coming down like a dove or as a dove. When using the word like or as one is using a simile. John was comparing the Spirit to a dove not saying the Holy Spirit looks like one. Jewish encyclopedia states that dove is a simile for female beauty. https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5296-dove
Dang it. I meant to say “like” or “as”.
I am trying to secure permission to use the Gen 1:2 image of the dove descending on the waters from the Cathedral Maria Nuovo in Monreale, Italy, for a book project on Christianity and water. Does anyone know how to contact the right person/organization for such permission? Thanks.
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The dove represents the Holy Spirit at the judaism of the second temple as a sacrifice of a pure bird at the altar; it was the sacrifice of the poorest people that can’t efford to give a cattle res.
So the dove image represents the predilection of the Perfect Breath for the excluded people, and that agrees in Luke 4: 16-21 and Isaiah 61:1-2 :
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.(KJV)
So whithout reject the others interpretations,I think that is the most successful.
Timeline 12,000 yrs blah blah blah is wrong not biblically correct,but I found much of what you shared very on point and interesting.Thank you for sharring but please don’t help confuse the world more with timeine lies.Peace
My yard is filled with doves. We feed them and they coo and waltz. They perform beautiful patterns on the branches of the trees, they flutter down like leaves and rise up in a mass, they circle the air and return and they fill my heart with joy. Without intellectual knowledge of the symbolism of doves, these intelligent and peaceful beings have communicated the Spirit in my yard every day. Now I know intellectually what they have spoken to my heart.
I was hoping to find the ancient middle eastern (particularly Hebrew) meaning of dove’s eyes, especially as stated in the Song of Solomon. Could you include this in your blog?
Beautiful, I wish someone would release a thousand Doves as a sign of zPeace
[…] #thankadove is born. Be a friend of the show and do likewise. […]
Doves had nothing to do with the Hebraic beliefs or religion. The “goddess dove” was an account borrowed from the Hebrews, and “deified.” The later pagan sect after the Messiah added the dove to the texts in a “deities position” when the earliest record make no mention of a dove.
[…] [1] http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/the-enduring-symbo… […]
[…] The Enduring Symbolism of Doves – Biblical Archaeology … – In addition to its symbolism for the Holy Spirit, the dove was a popular Christian symbol before the cross rose to prominence in the fourth century…. […]
[…] A very brief interview with the sculptor only sort-of clears things up. He refers to the sculptures’ embodiment of “Plato’s transcendental doctrine: kindness, truth, beauty.” I’m not sure what Plato he read, but I always thought that was Keats. And to symbolize it with a dove, rather than the Athenian owl, seems a bit Christianizing (or maybe just Near Eastern?). […]
[…] to Dorothy Willette, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/the-enduring-symbo…, “There is strong evidence in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the archaeological record, that […]
Oh and I love your link and the post! Thank you for having it and thanks for letting me post! Many Blessings to all!
Today is July 25, 2014. Last month, June 23rd, a couple of mourning doves appeared on the ledge of my patio. Now, my living room is facing my patio so I can sit on my sofa and watch them. From day one they worked together, he flying away bringing back whatever she needed to build a nest. She, Angel, I call her, would sit there just mending things together (so beautifully), and stare at me. I don’t know quite what day the eggs hatched, but around July 15, a beautiful green beetle; that has been following me ever since the birds moved in, flew up to my bedroom window buzzing so loud my left ear starting hurting. I went to look at my little angels and daddy dove, Adam, I call him, was sitting on the nest and then two little heads popped up. OMG! They were so big within the next coupe of days, that they were spreading their wings. On July 22nd, I went out and they were gone. But not far, on the 23rd while walking my dog, two little doves were just walking in front of me,(I knew it was them) I said something and they flew upon a gate but stayed around on the mailbox roof. Later the parent doves were flying with one of them and chased him on me ledge, where he stayed for a little while. Today one flew from tree and in front on me. I keep finding feathers from them and other birds. I hope they stay around forever. Now this darn Beetle is another story! lol
I was laying in my hammock the other day, while reading “God came near” And I just felt son peaceful and happy. My eyes grew heavy and I decided to rest them for a moment but I was still awake. Suddenly as I closed my eyes I saw a dove. It was a flash, but it reminded me of the dove from Noah’s Ark, with the olive branch. I felt such a sweet peace and I know that it was from God as I am so very close to him and seeking him wholheartedly. But Id love to hear if anyone else has had such an experience.
[…] as recent as the 19th century, sailors the world over used doves, ravens, and other birds to help them find and navigate toward land. A raven will fly directly toward land, so it’s line of flight can be used as a guide. Doves […]
[…] as recent as the 19th century, sailors the world over used doves, ravens, and other birds to help them find and navigate toward land. A raven will fly directly toward land, so it’s line of flight can be used as a guide. Doves […]
Doves were the offerings of the poorest people of Israel,maybe symbolizes the Holy Spirit and the predilection and alliance of the God’s people.
[…] as recent as the 19th century, sailors the world over used doves, ravens, and other birds to help them find and navigate toward land. A raven will fly directly toward land, so it’s line of flight can be used as a guide. Doves […]
[…] as recent as the 19th century, sailors the world over used doves, ravens, and other birds to help them find and navigate toward land. A raven will fly directly toward land, so it’s line of flight can be used as a guide. Doves […]
[…] as recent as the 19th century, sailors the world over used doves, ravens, and other birds to help them find and navigate toward land. A raven will fly directly toward land, so it's line of flight can be used as a guide. Doves have a […]
Rumour has it that the dove has 9 main feathers on its wings ,similarly 9 fruits of the Spirit and 9 gifts of the Spirit and 5 main feathers in the tail ,similarly 5 types of pastors ,apostles ,prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers Ephesians 4:11
[…] as a building of an ark, a fixation of animals in a ark, a alighting of a ark on a mountain, and a sending onward of birds to see either a waters had receded prove utterly clearly that a Genesis inundate story is closely […]
[…] of an ark, the placing of animals in the ark, the landing of the ark on a mountain, and the sending forth of birds to see whether the waters had receded indicate quite clearly that the Genesis flood story is […]
[…] end of God baptizing the world with water to destroy the evil in it. According to Jewish tradition, the sacrifice of two doves was done either as a guilt offering or to purify oneself after a period …. This ritual would make the association of purifying oneself with the dove and baptism is also a […]
Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular post! It’s the little changes
which will make the greatest changes. Thanks a lot
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Ionnes, meaning ‘the dove’, was the Greek word for the constellations Aquarius, the Water bearer and associated constellation Aquila the Eagle. According to 5th century astronomer Manilius, the twelve signs of the zodiac each belonged to one of the twelve gods of Olympus, and Aquarius belonged to the queen of the gods, the Greek Hera, or Roman Juno. So, yes, the dove was the symbol of the mother goddess, or queen of the gods.
As for the above interesting entry from Alfredo,
In Hebrew, yônâh (yo-naw’) is dove. It probably comes from the same root as yayin (yah’-yin) = “from an unused root meaning to effervesce; wine (as fermented); by implication intoxication: – banqueting, wine, wine [-bibber].” Thus, in Acts they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4) making them act as if they were mestoō (mes-to’-o), greek for intoxicated (Acts 2:13)
This would make good sense. Greek Ionnes = Hebrew yonah, since i,j, and y are the same letter in ancient Hebrew. And since Aquarius is famously holding a cup, and is the cup bearer for the gods in legend, yes, banqueting, wine and fermentation would be all associated with this.
You said: “There is strong evidence in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the archaeological record, that many ancient Israelites believed the goddess Asherah was the consort of their god Yahweh.” Where would I be able to find evidence that supports this idea? Thanks.
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[…] http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/the-enduring-symbo… […]
Very enjoyable article. Thank you.
[…] symbolism, the dove was a feminine symbol often associated with fertility and the spirit of God (Biblical Archaeology). I found this gem of information most interesting as the fifteenth chapter of Genesis is all about […]
Hi
Thank you for this wonderful information, it was quite helpful. Long story short … I was out on my morning walk, and was taking this quiet moment to pray and talk to God about some issues me and my family are facing. Upon me returning home I was praising God and thanking him, because I know my heart is fixed, trusting in his word. I looked in front of me was a dove, just crossing my path. I knew it was a sign from God. His promise.