1 Samuel 17:44

17:44 The Philistine said to David, “Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!” ¹ 

Psalms 74:14

74:14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; ² 

you fed ³  him to the people who live along the coast. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 7:33

7:33 Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals to eat. ⁵  There will not be any survivors to scare them away.

Jeremiah 34:20

34:20 I will hand them over to their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals. ⁶ 

Revelation 19:17-18

19:17 Then ⁷  I saw one angel standing in ⁸  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: ⁹ 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet ¹⁰  of God,

19:18 to eat ¹¹  your fill ¹²  of the flesh of kings,

the flesh of generals, ¹³ 

the flesh of powerful people,

the flesh of horses and those who ride them,

and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, ¹⁴ 

and small and great!”

[17:44]  ¹ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss have “the earth” here, instead of the MT’s “the field.”

[74:14]  ² sn You crushed the heads of Leviathan. The imagery of vv. 13-14 originates in West Semitic mythology. The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon [Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַּנִין (tanin), translated “sea monster” in v. 13] vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling [Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן (’aqallaton), translated “squirming” in Isa 27:1] serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (note the use of the plural “heads” here and in v. 13). (See CTA 3.iii.38-39 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 50.) (2) “For all that you smote Leviathan the slippery [Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ (bariakh), translated “fast moving” in Isa 27:1] serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5.i.1-3 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 68.) In the myths Leviathan is a sea creature that symbolizes the destructive water of the sea and, in turn, the forces of chaos that threaten the established order. In the OT, the battle with the sea motif is applied to Yahweh’s victories over the forces of chaos at creation and in history (see Pss 74:13-14; 77:16-20; 89:9-10; Isa 51:9-10). Yahweh’s subjugation of the waters of chaos is related to his kingship (see Pss 29:3, 10; 93:3-4). Isa 27:1 applies imagery from Canaanite mythology to Yahweh’s eschatological victory over his enemies. Apocalyptic literature employs the imagery as well. The beasts of Dan 7 emerge from the sea, while Rev 13 speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea. Here in Ps 74:13-14 the primary referent is unclear. The psalmist may be describing God’s creation of the world (note vv. 16-17 and see Ps 89:9-12), when he brought order out of a watery mass, or the exodus (see Isa 51:9-10), when he created Israel by destroying the Egyptians in the waters of the sea.

[74:14]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite in this narrational context.

[74:14]  ⁴ sn You fed him to the people. This pictures the fragments of Leviathan’s dead corpse washing up on shore and being devoured by those who find them. If the exodus is in view, then it may allude to the bodies of the dead Egyptians which washed up on the shore of the Red Sea (see Exod 14:30).

[7:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.”

[34:20]  ⁶ sn See this same phrase in Jer 7:33; 16:4; 19:7.

[19:17]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ⁸ tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ⁹ tn On μεσουρανήματι (mesouranhmati) here see L&N 1.10: “high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.” The birds mentioned here are carrion birds like vultures, circling high overhead, and now being summoned to feast on the corpses.

[19:17]  ¹⁰ tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.

[19:18]  ¹¹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.

[19:18]  ¹² tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.

[19:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “chiliarchs”; normally a chiliarch was a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).

[19:18]  ¹⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.