Eagle (Hastings' Dictionary)

The Arab, retains the same name, in a modi6ed form, nisr, enbstituting sin for sMn. This term is used by the Arabs for the vxiltures, of which there are four species in the Holy Land. (1) Gypcetus barbatus, Cuv., the lammergeier, the o-j^ peres of the Hebrews, AV ossifrage, Arab, 'aniik. (2) Gyps fvlxms, Sav., the griHbn. (3) Neophron percnoptertus, L., the Egyptian \'nltnre, called in Arab, raham or dejdj- Fir'aun, Pharaoh's hen. It is the gier eagle of AV, not of RV. (4) Vultur monachus, L. It is also used for the true eagles, of which there are eight species in the Holy Land. (1) Aquila ehrysietus, L., the ospray of AV, which is the golden eagle, n-ysj 'ozniyydh. (2) A. heliaca, Sar., the imperial eagle. (3) A. clanga, Pall.', the greater spotted eagle, and perhaps .(4 . poT/iartmi, Brehra, the lesser spotted eagle, of^ which, however, only one specimen has been noted. (4) A. rapax, Temm., the tawny eagle. (5) A. pcnnata, Gmel. (6) A. Nipnlensis, Hodges, the steppe eagle. (7) A. bonelli, Temm. (8) Circcetus Gallicus, Gmel., the short-toed eagle. The last is easily recognized by its large flat head, its huge golden eyes, and brightly spotted breast. Its short toes and tarsi are covered with tesselated scales to protect it from the serpents on which it preys. It is the most abundant of the eagle tribe in Palestine. All the above birds are included by the Arabs nnder the generic term nisr= nesher, even those which have also specific names, as the ossifrage, the ospray, and the Egyptian vulture. They agree in swiftness of flight (Dt 28* etc), in soaring high into the air (Pr 23" 30'», Is 40"), in making their nests in high trees or inaccessible rocks (Job 39-'"', Jer 49"), and in keenness of vision (Job 39^). The expression 'enlarge thy baldness as the eagle' (Mic 1'), refers to the griflon, which has its head and neck free from feathers. The references to feeding on the slain (Job 39", Mt 24^) are not to be understood of vultures alone, as eagles also will feed on dead animals if they find them. But it is especially ajiplicable to the griflon and Pharaoh's hen. Tiierelore in such pa.<i.sages (cf. Pr 30", Mt 24®) the allusion is generic. The 'ravenous bird from the East' (Is 46") describes Cyrus, prob- ably in allusion to the fact that the griffon was the emblem of Persia, and embroidered on its standard. This emblem in various forms has been copied by the Romans, Russians, Austrians, Ger- mans, and by the United States. The renewal of the youth of the eagle (Ps 103') is an allusion to its longenty, which sometimes reaches a hundred years. The eagle is one of the ' living creatures ' of Ezk 1">, Rev 4'. It has been adopted as an emblem of St. John (in Ireneens of St. Mark), owing to his insight into the divine char- acter, and his power of looking at the divine glory. The ' bearing on eagles' wings ' (Ex 19*) is clearly metaphorical, and does not refer to any habit of the eagle. 'The passage in Dt 32" 'As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, bearetn them on her wings,' is explained by the preceding verse, which reads, ' He found him m a desert land, and in the waste, howling wilderness ; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye ' ; and in the followmg verse, ' So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.' The allusion is to the fostering care of the eagles for their young, and the pains they take to lure them from the nest and teach them to fly. These are well-known facts. It would be no wise difficult for an observer to fancy, in their evolutions, that the old birds actually bore up the younger ones in the air, as well as fluttered over them. G. E. Post.