King James Bible
And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

American Standard Version
and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the seamew, and the hawk after its kind,

Young's Literal Translation
and the owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after its kind,

Leviticus 11:16 Additional Translations
Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

The owl - בת היענה bath haiyaanah, the daughter of vociferation, the female ostrich, probably so called from the noise they make. "In the lonesome part of the night," says Dr. Shaw, "the ostriches frequently make a very doleful and hideous noise, sometimes resembling the roar of the lion; at other times, the hoarser voice of the bull or ox." He adds, "I have heard them groan as if in the deepest agonies." - Travels, 4th edition, p. 455. The ostrich is a very unclean animal, and eats its own ordure as soon as it voids it, and of this Dr. Shaw observes, (see above), it is remarkably fond! This is a sufficient reason, were others wanting, why such a fowl should be reputed to be unclean, and its use as an article of diet prohibited.

The night hawk - תחמס tachmas, from חמס chamas, to force away, act violently and unjustly; supposed by Bochart and Scheuchzer to signify the male ostrich, from its cruelty towards its young; (see Job 39:13-18); but others, with more reason, suppose it to be the bird described by Hasselquist, which he calls the strix Orientalis, or Oriental owl. "It is of the size of the common owl, living in the ruins and old deserted houses of Egypt and Syria; and sometimes in inhabited houses. The Arabs in Egypt call it Massasa, the Syrians Bana. It is very ravenous in Syria, and in the evenings, if the windows be left open, it flies into the house and kills infants, unless they are carefully watched; wherefore the women are much afraid of it." - Travels, p. 196. If this is the fowl intended, this is a sufficient reason why it should be considered an abomination.

The cuckoo - שחף shachaph, supposed rather to mean the sea mew; called shachaph, from שחפת shachepheth, a wasting distemper, or atrophy, (mentioned Leviticus 26:16; Deuteronomy 28:22), because its body is the leanest, in proportion to its bones and feathers, of most other birds, always appearing as if under the influence of a wasting distemper. A fowl which, from its natural constitution or manner of life, is incapable of becoming plump or fleshy, must always be unwholesome; and this is reason sufficient why such should be prohibited.

And the hawk - נץ nets, from the root נצה natsah, to shoot forth or spring forward, because of the rapidity and length of its flight, the hawk being remarkable for both. As this is a bird of prey, it is forbidden, and all others of its kind.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Deuteronomy 14:15-18 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind...

Psalm 102:6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.

Isaiah 13:21,22 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there...

Isaiah 34:11-15 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it...

John 3:19-21 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light...

Ephesians 2:2,3 Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air...

Ephesians 4:18,19 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them...

Ephesians 5:7-11 Be not you therefore partakers with them...

Philippians 3:18,19 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ...

1 Thessalonians 5:5-7 You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness...

Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils...

Leviticus 11:16 Parallel Commentaries
Birds Cuckoo Cuckow Female Gull Hawk Horned Kind Kinds Male Night Nighthawk Night-Hawk Ostrich Owl Screech Sea Sea-Hawk Sea-Mew SortBirds Cuckoo Cuckow Female Gull Hawk Horned Kind Kinds Male Night Nighthawk Night-Hawk Ostrich Owl Screech Sea Sea-Hawk Sea-Mew SortTHE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica®.

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