Christian Pure

What Does the Dove Represent in the Bible? The Holy Spirit Dove and the Christian Dove

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • In the Bible the dove stands above all for the Holy Spirit, who came down on Jesus at his baptism “like a dove” (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32).
  • Noah’s dove brought back “an olive leaf pluckt off”, the sign that the flood was over, and so the dove became a sign of peace and a new start (Genesis 8:11).
  • The Gospels do not say why the Spirit appeared as a dove; Tertullian saw in it “the creature (the emblem) of simplicity and innocence,” and Augustine a call to peace among Christians.
  • Turtledoves or young pigeons were the offering the law allowed the poor, and Mary and Joseph offered “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” for Jesus (Luke 2:24).
  • Jesus told his apostles to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
  • Christian art used the dove for the peace of the dead on early tombs, for the Holy Spirit in scenes of Christ’s baptism, and as a vessel for the Eucharist, like the Limoges dove of about 1215–35 in the Metropolitan Museum.
  • The peace dove we know today comes from the lithograph Picasso made for the 1949 peace congress in Paris, and it drew on Noah’s dove.

The dove represents above all the Holy Spirit, who came down on Jesus “like a dove” at his baptism. In the Bible it also stands for peace and a new start, because a dove brought Noah an olive leaf. Scripture also uses it for innocence, love, mourning and homecoming, and Christian art kept it as the Spirit’s sign. The two great doves of Scripture are both looking for a place to land. Noah’s dove went out over the flood and…

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Bibliography (Click to show)
  • The Holy Bible, King James Version: Genesis 1:2; 8:6–12; Leviticus 1:14; 5:7; 12:6–8; Psalm 55:6; 74:19; Song of Solomon 1:15; 2:12; 2:14; 5:2; Isaiah 38:1, 9, 14; 59:11; 60:8; Ezekiel 7:16; Hosea 7:11; 11:11; Matthew 3:16–17; 10:16; 21:12; Mark 1:10; Luke 2:22–24; 3:22; John 1:32; 2:16; Acts 2:3; 1 Peter 3:20–21, via BibleGateway.
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 694–701, “Symbols of the Holy Spirit,” vatican.va.
  • The Symbol of Faith (Nicene Creed), Orthodox Church in America, oca.org.
  • Tertullian, On Baptism, chapter 8, translated by S. Thelwall, Ante-Nicene Fathers vol. 3, New Advent.
  • Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on the Gospel of John, Tractate 6, translated by John Gibb, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 7, New Advent.
  • Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah 15a, Soncino translation, ed. I. Epstein, halakhah.com.
  • Emil G. Hirsch and I. M. Casanowicz, “Dove,” The Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 4 (1903), jewishencyclopedia.com.
  • Strong’s Hebrew 3124, Yonah (Jonah), with the Brown-Driver-Briggs entry, Bible Hub.
  • Arthur Barnes, “Dove,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 5 (1909), New Advent.
  • Eucharistic Dove, Limoges, about 1215–35, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190.344, metmuseum.org.
  • Piero della Francesca, The Baptism of Christ, probably about 1437–1445, The National Gallery, London, NG665, nationalgallery.org.uk.
  • “Jo-Jo La Colombe,” Paix et Liberté poster, 1951–52, catalogue note on Picasso’s 1949 dove, Victoria and Albert Museum, O106153, collections.vam.ac.uk.
  • Pablo Picasso, The Dove, 1949, lithograph, Museu Picasso, Barcelona, MPB 70.106, museupicassobcn.cat.

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