The ringing sound of silver signifies the sweetness of the word. Its colour is shining white. Truly, silver contains the shining whiteness of purity, as when a teacher preaches purity in his words and is pure within, loving the doctrine he teaches and revealing what he loves inwardly through his outward deeds. The holy words of the Lord are like silver, tested by fire. The words of the Lord are holy because they have not been corrupted by falsehood.
Silver tested by fire remains strong against onslaught.
The brilliance of silver on the feathers, therefore, is what is found on the tongues of those who preach - the soft allure of the word of God. The surface of the wings is suffused with the colour of sapphire, because the soul of a contemplative man takes on the appearance of heaven. But the sapphire colour of the wings is marked by traces of shining white, as the white of snow is tinged with sapphire. The mixture of snow-white and sapphire in the wings signifies purity of the flesh and the love of contemplation. Of the tail feathers of the dove The prophet refers to the tail feathers of the silver-covered dove and thereafter shows, in moral terms, that they refer to the end of a man's life on earth.