Sand Partridge (see Partridge).
Source: [Anon-Animals]
Category Archives: Alphabetical
Cuckoo
Cuckoo.
Cuckoos are insect-eating migratory birds that appear in Israel during the summer. Scholars feel that the Hebrew word was incorrectly rendered cuckow in the KJV. There is no obvious reason why the cuckoo would be considered an unclean bird (Lev. 11:16; Deut. 14:15). The NKJV translates “seagull.”
Source: [Anon-Animals] Continue reading
Ossifrage
Ossifrage (see Vulture).
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Black Vulture
Black Vulture (see Osprey).
Source: [Anon-Animals]
Bird
* Bird. — No other classification of birds than into clean and unclean is given. The Jews, before the Babylonian captivity, had no domestic fowls except pigeons . Although many birds are mentioned, there occur few allusions to their habits. Their instinct of migration, the snaring or netting them, and the caging of song birds are referred to.
* Bird, Dyed. — So does the English version, Jer. 12:9, wrongly interpret the Hebrew ‘áyit. which means beast of prey, sometimes also bird of prey.
* Bird, Singing. — This singing bird of Soph., ii, 14, according to the D.V., owes its origin to a mistranslation of the original, which most probably should be read: “And their voice shall sing at the window”; unless by a mistake of some scribe, the word qôl, voice, has been substituted for the name of some particular bird.
* Birds, Speckled, Hebrew çãbhûá’ (Jeremiah 12:9). A much discussed translation. The interpretation of the English versions, however meaningless it may seem to some, is supported by the Targum, the Syriac, and St. Jerome. In spite of these authorities many modern scholars prefer to use the word hyena, given by the Septuagint and confirmed by Ecclesiasticus, xiii, 22 as well as by the Arabic (dábúh) and rabbinical Hebrew (çebhôá’), names of the hyena.
Source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_animals_in_the_Bible]
Bat
A bat is a four footed beast of the ravenous sort. Each foot has five toes, and the forefeet are connected with a membrane, and expand into a sort of wing. Its mouth is like that of quadruped, not like a bird, and it is covered with hair. It gives birth to live young, not eggs, and resembles greatly a mouse. The female gives milk to its young, and these young cling to her chest. During winter bats cover themselves with their wings and hang in dry, dark places. In summer they do likewise in the day, and they hunt for food at night catching moths and insects. They cannot be tamed.
The largest bats are in Brazil, Madagascar, and Maldives, and will suck the blood of people who sleep with their skin revealed, and leave them bleeding to death.
Imagery of Bats. Bats are unclean under the law, and they represent people who are fearful, unbelieving, ignorant, and hypocritically wicked. They delight in old ruinous houses Isa 2:20.
Some take the Hebrew Hatalaph (swallow) in Lev 11:19; Deu 14:19 for a bat.
Source: [DCox] Continue reading
Wasp
Wasp.
These overgrown relatives of bees are known for their painful sting. Wasps are common throughout the Holy Land. Hornets are a large species of wasp. So savage were these insects when disturbed that Egyptian soldiers used hornets as a symbol of their military might. When the people of Israel were marching toward the Promised Land, God promised He would send hornets before them to drive the Canaanites out of the land (Ex. 23:28). Ancient writers claim that entire tribes were sometimes driven out of a country by wasps or hornets.
Source: [Anon-Animals]
Spider
Spider.
Hundreds of different species of spiders are found in the Holy Land. A spider’s skill at spinning threads into a web is one of nature’s miracles. The fragile web of a spider is used to demonstrate the folly of placing confidence in something other than the stable, dependable God (Job 8:14).
Spiders trap their victims in their webs and dissolve them with pre-digestive juices so they can be eaten. Oil on the spider’s body keeps it from being entangled in its own web.
Source: [Anon-Animals]
Snail
Snail.
These are small, slow-crawling animals with a soft body protected by a coiled shell. They move with wave-like motions of their single foot, secreting a slime as they go to make their travel easier. The psalmist may have had this peculiar motion in mind when he spoke of the snail “which melts away as it goes” (Ps. 58:8).
The snail_ in (Leviticus 11:30) (KJV ) is probably a skink, a type of sand lizard.
Source: [Anon-Animals] Continue reading
Flea
Flea.
Fleas flourished in the sand and dust of the Holy Land. Classified as parasites, these tiny insects attach themselves to a body and suck blood from their host. Fleas have no wings, but they do have strong legs and can jump several inches at one leap. The flea that lives on man is tiny, but it can be very irritating. David described himself as a mere flea being pursued by a king (1 Sam. 24:14; 26:20). He may have seemed insignificant, but he irritated King Saul.
Source: [Anon-Animals]