Owl
A number of species of the owl are mentioned in the Bible, (Leviticus 11:17; 14:16; Isaiah 14:23; 34:15; Zephaniah 2:14) and in several other places the same Hebrew word is used where it is translated ostrich. (Job 30:29; Jeremiah 50:39) Some of these species were common in Palestine, and, as is well known, were often found inhabiting ruins. (Isaiah 34:11,13-15)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Owl
Owl oul (bath ha-ya`anah; Latin Ulula): The name of every nocturnal bird of prey of the Natural Order Striges. These birds range from the great horned owl of 2 feet in length, through many subdivisions to the little screech-owl of 5 inches. All are characterized by very large heads, many have ear tufts, all have large eyes surrounded by a disk of tiny, stiff, radiating feathers. The remainder of the plumage has no aftershaft. So these birds make the softest flight of any creature traveling on wing. A volume could be written on the eye of the owl, perhaps its most wonderful feature being in the power of the bird to enlarge the iris if it wishes more distinct vision. There is material for another on the prominent and peculiar auditory parts. With almost all owls the feet are so arranged that two toes can be turned forward and two back, thus reinforcing the grip of the bird by an extra toe and giving it unusual strength of foot. All are night-hunters, taking prey to be found at that time, of size according to the strength. The owl was very numerous in the caves, ruined temples and citie…
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Owl
Five Heb. words are translated ‘owl’ in AV. 1. ayn nz bath-hayya'dnah, RV ‘ostrich’ (see Nigut Hawk, OstRICH). 2. wy yanshiiph (Lv 1127, Dt 14"), ‘great ov ’; wp yanshdph (Is 34"), ‘owl,’ RVm ‘bittern.’ In all the LXX gives εἶβις and Vulg. isis. The passage in Isaiah gives a considerable list of creatures, some fabulous, others uncertain, but all supposed to suggest desolation and ruin. Yanshéph is one of these. It is a strong objection to the ibis that it is a swamp bird, hardly to be thought of in con- nexion with an accursed and forsaken ruin. Yet the same is true of the bittern, the cormorant, and the pelican (RV text and AV margin) in the same passage. We may therefore accept iis, in spite of this difficulty, or tr. the word ‘twilight bird,’ in allusion to its etymology,* leaving the question of species unsettled. This tr® would emphasize the esolation and evil omen, which it is the object of the writer to portray. 8. via kés. ere again we have a word occurrin ταῖν in the lists of unclean birds (Ly 11}7, Dt 14}5, AV and RV ‘little owl’), and in one other reference (Ps 1028 AV an…
Fausset's Bible Dictionary on Owl
Ostrich, the true rendering of bath hayanah. (See OSTRICH) Yanshowph; Lev 11:17, "the great owl." From a root, "twilight" (Bochart), or to puff the breath (Knobel). Deu 14:16; Isa 34:11. The horned owl, Bubo maximus, not as Septuagint the ibis, the sacred bird of Egypt. Maurer thinks the heron or crane, from nashaf "to blow," as it utters a sound like blowing a horn (Rev 18:2). Chaldee and Syriac support "owl." Kos; Lev 11:17, "the little owl." Athene meridionalis on coins of Athens: emblem of Minerva, common in Syria; grave, but not heavy. Psa 102:6, "I am like an owl in a ruin" (Syriac and Arabic versions), expressing his loneliness, surrounded by foes, with none to befriend. The Arabs call the owl "mother of ruins," um elcharab. The Hebrew means a "cup", perhaps alluding to its concave face, the eye at the bottom, the feathers radiating on each side of the beak outward; this appears especially in the Otus vulgaris, the "long-cared owl". Kippoz. Isa 34:15, "the great owl." But Gesenius "the arrow snake," or "the darting tree serpent"; related to the Arabic kipphaz. The context favo…
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