ELTB Bad Birds

ELTB Bad Birds of the Bible [∞]

Eat Learn This Book

Bob Jones

2ndBook c 2023 Discussion

God wants everyone to know him. He teaches about himself through all things that have been created. Observing the things themselves does not teach us, but we learn from his word in what he has said about the things. Looking at air does not teach us much because it is invisible. But the word ruwach רוח means both 'spirit' and 'wind'. Then God tells us that the Spirit is like the wind; though it is invisible, we see the work it does. Eating is a symbol for learning. The birds we are not supposed to eat represent things God doesn't want us to learn. 'eat' אכל akal also means 'true אכ teaching ל' and 'smite the אכ teaching ל' Bad birds (flying things) We are taught which behaviors to avoid by the list of flying things. fowls ‘owph עוף - fly [2].

The behaviors that Adam observed when naming the bird may be still present in their behavior today. Eagle The eagle represents those who forget God. Perhaps Adam saw the lone eagle on high, looking down on all and thought to himself, "That bird thinks he is a god". When we forget God, we sometimes think we can make our own rules. eagle nesher נשר - forget נש the revelation ר. Ossifrage The ossifrage eats almost only bones. Adam watching one tear his food apart and breaking the bones would have been quite a sight. He named the ossifrage 'divide'. We should avoid those things which simply cause division and with doctrines different from the Bible. ossifrage perec פרס - divide

Osprey The Hebrew word for 'osprey' has the word 'goat' within it. The goat, representing the flesh, is not of the spirit, and so should be avoided. osprey ‘ozniyah עזניה - the goat עז hears זנ God's will י and doesn't understand ה. The goat represents the flesh. Vulture Though the vulture is known for eating dead things; the Hebrew name for the vulture is 'cause to wander in ignorance'. Jesus confronted some religious leaders who would not accept his teaching, and they also would not allow others to learn from Jesus as they tried to disrupt him while teaching. They caused others to wander in ignorance. vulture da’ah דאה - cause to wander אד in ignorance ה.

Kites Kites have the ability to ride the wind in an almost endless search. Did it look to Adam as if they were futile in their search? "Where?" is a question of the heathen [12] and the flesh [13]. The kite represents the doubters. kite ‘ayah איה - rhetorical 'Where?' [14] One who doubts? Raven The word 'oreb' ערב means: blind, naked, mix. Which meaning matches the raven behavior that Adam saw? We can only guess. When ravens are hatched "They are altricial; blind, featherless and helpless" . They also form loose flocks, only congregating to roost and they play with other animals. [15] Perhaps this is the 'mixing' that Adam saw. Blind is a metaphor for not understanding. Naked (featherless) is a metaphor for the flesh or sin being exposed. God is Holy [16] and he is Love [17]. Since no man has seen the Father except the Son [18], no one can adequately explain God but the Son. The laws prohibiting mixing, are part of the play or parable of the law to teach that we cannot mix law and grace, holiness and love, but must wait until we see it properly mixed on the cross. raven ‘oreb ערב - mix [19] Mixing is a metaphor for improperly representing holiness and love together. We confuse them. Only Christ on the cross perfectly represents the nature of the Father.

Owl 'Owl' mens 'why' and 'shovel. The shovel is an implement in the temple to move ashes from the altar. The burnt offering represents Christ's total devotion to his Father. Christ laid down his own life. The scoffer does not understand 'Why'. owl bath ya‘anah בת יענה - daughter בת of why יענ . Night hawk Perhaps Adam saw the Night Hawk hunting when he gave him the name 'must do violence'. God hates those who love to do violence [20]. The night hawk is a symbol of those. night hawk tachmac תחמס - imperative ת of violence חמס

Cuckows Some cuckows nest on the ground in shrubs so they represent some who are of the flesh. Their name can mean 'shrub death'. Adam may have named them because of that. But the word also means emaciated, or wasted away. By word play, the cuckow could be called 'emaciated'. Those who are spiritually dying are not a good source for spiritual teaching. Jesus used the word 'dead' to refer to those who are spiritually dead [21] cuckow shachaph שחף - emaciate, waste away, shrub death [22] Hawk There are many instances in the riddles where referring to the death of Christ is a 'bad' thing, where referring to his resurrection is the 'good' thing. An example is that of the 'shibboleth' [23] Those who referred to a single grain [24], were put to death, but those who referred to a whole ear or stream [25], lived. The word 'hawk' refers to his death. hawk nets נץ - the son of man נ killed on the cross ץ

Little owl 'Owl' means 'cup'. The cup symbolizes the will of God for the cross which has great things and terrible things. Perhaps Adam saw an owl nesting in hole in a tree and named him 'cup' since it looked like he was siting in a cup. Since the cup is a mixture of judgement and love, it is unclean as other mixtures. We are not to mix them. Only Christ could express them in unity. little owl kowc כוס - cup [27] cup כוס - Son of God כ made clear ו by his finished work ס Cormorant The cormorant is an aquatic bird. It has webbed feet and swims under the water. It eats the fish which are swimming in the water. This is like the lobster that preys on the fish. When it dives into the water it looks as it been cast out of the heavens. Adam named the cormorant 'cast out'. Those who have been cast out are not a good source for teaching. [28] The cormorant represents those under such judgement. cormorant shalak שלך - cast out [29]

Great owl 'Darkness' is a positive from God's perspective, or a negative from our perspective. It expresses God's love and mercy from his; if we are in sin, and haven't been destroyed, we are receiving his mercy. We may also say that being in darkness is being in sin and presuming upon God's mercy. The Great Owl represents those in the dark who should not be our teachers [32]. great owl yanshuwph ינשׁוף - I י in the dark נשׁוף. The one who is in the dark is sinning and presuming upon the grace of God. Swan The swan, as a large bird, is not subject to being killed in large numbers by natural predators. Their numbers can swell until they are destructive to an environment. Those who are destructive should not be a source for our learning [33]. swan tanshemeth תנשׁמת - from beginning to end תת it destroys נשׁמ [34]

Pelican Perhaps Adam watched a pelican scoop up his meal, and then vomit up the shell and rocks. He named it 'vomit after' Vomit, like spit is a symbol of rejection. Those who reject the word should not be teachers of the word. pelican qa’ath קאת - vomit קא after ת. Gier eagle The name contains the Hebrew root 'to love'. The birds are mated and seldom separated. This maybe part of what Adam saw, but if this was all, we would have difficulty understanding why it is an unclean bird. The gier eagle eats almost nothing but carrion. The name actually means 'not understanding love'. Though they are together in the appearance of love, they eat nothing but dead things. Paul teaches that if we don't have love, our faith, generosity, and sacrifices mean nothing [35] [36]. gier eagle haracham הרחם - not understanding ה love רחם.

Stork Storks are primarily carnivorous eating reptiles, small mammals, insects, fish, amphibians and other small invertebrates. It is perhaps this devoring of living things that Adam observed when he named the stork "not understanding holiness and mercy". These are the attributes of God, so he named it "Not understanding God". The main purpose of God is to teach us that He is Holy [37]; He alone is God. He also teaches that He is Love [38]. The Hebrew word for 'stork' means not understanding either 'holy' or 'mercy'. stork chaciydah החסידה - not understanding ה*ה holiness , mercy חסיד [39] Heron When the heron hunts, it stand very still in the water looking for it's prey. When it sees something, it moves it's head back and forth to get the targeting range through the water. Perhaps Adam named it 'yearning undulation' for this behavior. Once it had that name, by word-play it became 'her anger'. Jesus said that if we were angry, we were guilty of murder [40] . Perhaps the wild headdress of the heron made it look angry to Adam. heron ‘anaphah אנפה - anger [41] of her ה.

Lapwing The lapwing is known for the irregular pattern of beating it's wings. God commanded Moses to strike the rock for water the first time. The second time he told him to speak to it, but Moses struck it (an irregular beating?) and forfeited the privilege of entering into the promised land. [42] lapwing duwkiyphath דוכיפת - beat דוכ [43] the mystery פ plan י which was finished ת. Bat As mentioned previously, the Bible does not say the bat is a bird. It says that it is a 'flying thing'. 'Bird' is a poor translation. Bats are known for their irregular flight patterns. The name of the bat suggests one who wanders from the path or deviates from God's will. These should not be our teachers. bat ‘atalleph עטלף - turn aside עטף from the teaching ל.

Summary All of these birds were named by Adam because of the behaviors he observed. By the riddle they become representative of behaviors we don't want for ourselves. When God looks at us, he does not see our behaviors. He sees the work of Christ and gives us a new name or reputation based on that of Jesus.