Sparrow
Related to Hebrew tsipor, imitation of the sound made by it, "tzip" (Psa 84:3. (See BIRD) Lev 14:4-7 margin.) On the meaning of the rite in cleansing leper's, one tsippor killed, the other dipped in its blood and let loose alive, Cowper writes: "Dipped in his fellow's blood, The living bird went free; The type, well understood, Expressed the sinner's plea; Described a guilty soul enlarged, And by a Saviour's death discharged."
Its commonness gives point to Jesus' remark, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ... one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. Fear ye not therefore ye are of more value than many sparrows" (Mat 10:29; Mat 10:31; Luk 12:6-7). There are one hundred different species of the passerine order in Palestine.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Sparrow
Sparrow spar'-o (tsippor; strouthion; Latin passer): A small bird of the Fringillidae family. The Hebrew tsippor seems to have been a generic name under which were placed all small birds that frequented houses and gardens. The word occurs about 40 times in the Bible, and is indiscriminately translated "bird" "fowl" or "sparrow." Our translators have used the word "sparrow" where they felt that this bird best filled the requirements of the texts. Sparrows are small brown and gray birds of friendly habit that swarm over the northern part of Palestine, and West of the Sea of Galilee, where the hills, plains and fertile fields are scattered over with villages. They build in the vineyards, orchards and bushes of the walled gardens surrounding houses, on the ground or in nooks and crannies of vine-covered walls. They live on seeds, small green buds and tiny insects and worms. Some members of the family sing musically; all are great chatterers when about the business of life. Repeatedly they are mentioned by Bible writers, but most of the references lose force as applying to the bird family…
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Sparrow
There is only one pas.snge where the context makes it reasonably certain that the house sparrow is intended by tippOr (Ps 84* [LXX (npovdlov], where AV and VOL. IV. — 39 RV both tr. 'sparrow).' The ' pppSr alone upon a housetop' (Ps 102' [LXX pvKTiKopa^]) may also be this biro. It is true that this is one of the most gregarious of birds, and that it is usually seen in large Hocks, Hitting from branch to branch, and from the ground to tlie roofs of houses and stables. Hut it ha])peiis soinetinies that a single bird perches alone on a hrandi or on the roof. The tact of its generally sociable habits would make this the more phenomenal and illustrative of the loneliness of the psalmist. The attempt to identify it with the blue thrush Petrocossi////ius cynnciis, Boie, is strained. If it does not refer to a solitary house sparrow, it is probably intended to indicate any small solitary bird. In addition to the above two pa.ssages, RV tr. zippdr ' si)arrow,' in Pr 26' [LXX 6pi'(a], unhapjiily, for the sparrow never wanders. Elsewhere in the 40 or more passages where it occurs, both Eng. VSS…
Smith's Bible Dictionary on Sparrow
(Heb. tzippor, from a root signifying to “chirp” or “twitter,” which appears to be a phonetic representation of the call-note of any passerine (sparrow-like) bird). This Hebrew word occurs upwards of forty times in the Old Testament. In all passages except two it is rendered by the Authorized Version indifferently “bird” or “fowl.” and denotes any small bird, both of the sparrow-like species and such as the starling, chaffinch, greenfinch, linnet, goldfinch, corn-bunting, pipits, blackbird, song-thrush, etc. In (Psalms 84:3) and Psal 102:7 It is rendered “sparrow.” The Greek stauthion (Authorized Version “sparrow”) occurs twice in the New Testament, (Matthew 10:29; Luke 12:6,7) (The birds above mentioned are found in great numbers in Palestine and are of very little value, selling for the merest trifle and are thus strikingly used by our Saviour, (Matthew 10:20) as an illustration of our Father’s care for his children.—ED.) The blue thrush (Petrocossyphus cyaneus) is probably the bird to which the psalmist alludes in (Proverbs 102:7) as “the sparrow that sitteth alone upon the house-…
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia