Over the last 150 years, many ancient extrabiblical texts have been discovered that help students of the Bible better understand its historical context and content.[11] From these sources it is clear that covenant-making rituals were a common practice for hundreds of years among different cultures and societies who spoke many languages.[12] To provide an overview of animal slaughter in these rites, selected examples will be grouped according to two time periods—the second and first millennia BC.[13] These periods are approximately equivalent to the time from the birth of Abram to King David’s reign and from King David’s reign to the birth of Christ.[14] Second millennium BC covenants. Two of the earliest extrabiblical texts describing the