More Cuts

Following up on my recent post "A River of Blood" and Pauli's post "Cuts and Shortcuts" I just remembered something I meant to put in my "river" post and forgot, but it is important and can be self-encapsulated enough for another post. In Biblical Hebrew the idiom for making a covenant is that you "cut a covenant", using the Hebrew verb for cutting, "Karath". A primary instance of this is Yahweh's covenant with Abram in Genesis 15: 7-21. He has Abram bring a heifer 3 years old, a she goat 3 years old, a ram 3 years old, a turtledove and a young pigeon and cut all but the birds in half, the halves are placed "over against each other." Abram is put into a deep sleep and when night falls Yahweh passes between the halves. If I remember correctly this is the standard form of an ancient covenant; the two parties would pass together through the halves of religiously, sacrificially severed animals. Travis over at Sword of Gryffindor has provided some info and links to an interview that Rowling is conscious of the Christian underpinning of the books. If this is so, one must ask, what is the defining mark of Christianity? The New Covenant in the blood of Christ - "For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:28)