Monthly Archives: September 2008

Birds of the Bible – Vulture

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But these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, (Deu 14:12 NKJV)
And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; (Lev 11:14 KJV)

Job 28 tells of the wealth of earth that is hidden and must be mined; Gold, silver, brass, iron, precious stones such as sapphires, and gold dust. It is buried where the eyes of the birds mentioned have never seen them.

There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: (Job 28:7 KJV)

Black Vulture from Wikipedia

Black Vulture from Wikipedia

So, let’s find out some about the vulture. Vultures are good-sized birds that eat carrion (dead things). They help keep our country side clean of things that have died or been attacked by other birds or mammals. I think they are ugly looking, but what makes them look that way is the lack of feathers around the face. This helps them eat without messing up their feathers and having them soaked with blood and other dead stuff. The Lord made them the way they are and given them the task mentioned. I imagine the Lord does not consider them ugly.

In the New World we have the Andean Condor, Black Vulture, California Condor(the larges in North America-47″ with a 10′ wingspan), Greater Yellow Headed Vulture, King Vulture, Lesser Yellow Headed Vulture, and the Turkey Vulture. In the Old World Vulture family we get the African White-backed, Asian White-backed, Bearded, Cape Giffon, Cinereous, Egyptian, Eurasian Griffon, Himalayan Griffon, Hooded, Lappet Faced, Long Billed, Palm Nut, Red-headed, Ruppells Griffon, and White Headed Vultures.

A good reference to these Vultures is at these websites:

Nave’s Topical Bible – Vultures

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Birds of the Bible – Hawk Migration

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Red-tailed Hawk by Ray

Red-tailed Hawk by Ray

Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the South? (Job 39:26 KJV)

Through God’s wisdom (omniscience), the Hawks He created have a built-in instinct to fly south for the winter and how to accomplish that feat. There is much studied and observed about this phenomenon. People watch them as they fly over by the hundreds and thousands.  Wings on the Wind has a very good article about how they ride the thermals or catch updrafts to carry them along on their journey. Right now, between August and December is the Fall migration time.

The verse quoted at the top is found in a set of questions started in Job 38:

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. (Job 38:1-3 KJV)

Some other interesting translations of Job 39:26 are:
“Is it through your knowledge that the hawk takes his flight, stretching out his wings to the south?” (BBE)
“Did you teach hawks to fly south for the winter?” (CEV)
“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south?” (ESV)
“Does your understanding make a bird of prey fly and spread its wings toward the south?” (GW)
“Was it through your know how that the hawk learned to fly, soaring effortlessly on thermal updrafts?” (MSG)
“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, Stretching his wings toward the south?” (NASB)

When we think we have “all the answers” to life’s questions and are feeling like we do not need God our Creator or a relationship with Him; read Job 38-42. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev 4:11 KJV)
The Creator’s Gift of Intelligence

Information about Hawk Migration:

Red-tailed Hawk by Ray's Wildlife

Red-tailed Hawk by Ray

Wings on the Wind
Hawk Migration Association of NA
Hawk Migration Chart

Places to View:
Blue Ridge Parkway

 

Birds of the Bible – Nighthawk II

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Last week after I published Nighthawk I, I started looking for more photos and videos to supplement the article. I kept running into other usages of the word “nighthawk.” So, here is more on the topic.

In the two references: Lev 11:16, Deu 14:15 See Nighthawk the word nighthawk is from “H8464 – תּחמס
tachmâs (takh-mawce’) is from H2554; a species of unclean bird (from its violence), perhaps an owl: – night hawk.”

Tachmas cannot be identified with any certainty. Here is how it is interpreted:

Great Horned Owl by Phil Kwong Galleries

Great Horned Owl by Phil Kwong Galleries

night-hawk – ASV, BBE, JPS, YLT
nighthawk – ESV, GW, MSG, Webster
night hawk – KJV, RV
nighthauke – KJV 1611
nyght Crowe – Bishops
night crowe – Geneva
female ostrich and the male ostrich – Darby
short-eared owl – HCSB, NKJV
great owl – LITV, MKJV
screech owl – WEB, NRSV, NIV

Needless to say, this “has caused great controversies among commentators. Some scholars of the Hebrew language have thought that the male ostrich was signified by tachmas, the word bath-haya’anah being supposed by them to signify the female ostrich. It is hardly probable, however, that the sacred writer should have mentioned separately the sexes of the same species, and we must therefore look for some other interpretation.

Going to the opposite extreme of size, some scholars have translated tachmas as Swallow. This again is not a very probable rendering, as the swallow would be too small a bird to be specially named in the prohibitory list. ‘I’he balance of probability seems, to lie between two interpretations – namely, that which considers the word tachmas to signify the Night-hawk, and that which translates it as Owl. For both of these interpretations much is to be said, and it cannot be denied that of the two the latter is perhaps preferable. If so, the White or Barn Owl is probably the particular species to which reference is made.

However, many commentators think that the Night-hawk or Nightjar is the bird which is signified by the word tachmas, and as owls seem to have been signified by alternative words, the rendering of the Authorized Version seems an acceptable translation. Moreover, the Jewish Bible follows the same translation, and renders tachmas as Night-hawk, but affixes the mark of doubt. ” (From The Nightjar or Night Hawk in the Bible on Wonder of Birds website)

I said all of that to say, I don’t know for any certainty which bird it is. Therefore, I am adding pictures of the other birds mentioned beside the ones I posted last week. Only the Lord know for certain which birds were indicated. I’ll leave it at that.