Leviticus 11:13-19

Clean and Unclean Birds

11:13 “‘These you are to detest from among the birds – they must not be eaten, because they are detestable: ¹  the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 11:14 the kite, the buzzard of any kind, ²  11:15 every kind of crow, ³  11:16 the eagle owl, ⁴  the short-eared owl, the long-eared owl, the hawk of any kind, 11:17 the little owl, the cormorant, the screech owl, 11:18 the white owl, the scops owl, the osprey, 11:19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

Isaiah 13:20-22

13:20 No one will live there again;

no one will ever reside there again. ⁵ 

No bedouin ⁶  will camp ⁷  there,

no shepherds will rest their flocks ⁸  there.

13:21 Wild animals will rest there,

the ruined ⁹  houses will be full of hyenas. ¹⁰ 

Ostriches will live there,

wild goats will skip among the ruins. ¹¹ 

13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,

jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. ¹² 

Her time is almost up, ¹³ 

her days will not be prolonged. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 14:23

14:23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals ¹⁵ 

and covered with pools of stagnant water.

I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” ¹⁶ 

says the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 21:8

21:8 Then the guard ¹⁷  cries out:

“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, ¹⁸ 

I stand all day long;

at my post

I am stationed every night.

Isaiah 34:11-15

34:11 Owls and wild animals ¹⁹  will live there, ²⁰ 

all kinds of wild birds ²¹  will settle in it.

The Lord ²²  will stretch out over her

the measuring line of ruin

and the plumb line ²³  of destruction. ²⁴ 

34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom

and all her officials will disappear. ²⁵ 

34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;

thickets and weeds will grow ²⁶  in her fortified cities.

Jackals will settle there;

ostriches will live there. ²⁷ 

34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; ²⁸ 

wild goats will bleat to one another. ²⁹ 

Yes, nocturnal animals ³⁰  will rest there

and make for themselves a nest. ³¹ 

34:15 Owls ³²  will make nests and lay eggs ³³  there;

they will hatch them and protect them. ³⁴ 

Yes, hawks ³⁵  will gather there,

each with its mate.

Jeremiah 50:39-40

50:39 Therefore desert creatures and jackals will live there.

Ostriches ³⁶  will dwell in it too. ³⁷ 

But no people will ever live there again.

No one will dwell there for all time to come. ³⁸ 

50:40 I will destroy Babylonia just like I did

Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns.

No one will live there. ³⁹ 

No human being will settle in it,”

says the Lord. ⁴⁰ 

Jeremiah 51:37

51:37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins.

Jackals will make their home there. ⁴¹ 

It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn,

a place where no one lives. ⁴² 

Mark 5:3-5

5:3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 5:4 For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, ⁴³  but ⁴⁴  he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5:5 Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

Luke 8:27-28

8:27 As ⁴⁵  Jesus ⁴⁶  stepped ashore, ⁴⁷  a certain man from the town ⁴⁸  met him who was possessed by demons. ⁴⁹  For a long time this man ⁵⁰  had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among ⁵¹  the tombs. 8:28 When he saw ⁵²  Jesus, he cried out, fell ⁵³  down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, “Leave me alone, ⁵⁴  Jesus, Son of the Most High ⁵⁵  God! I beg you, do not torment ⁵⁶  me!”

[11:13]  ¹ tn For zoological remarks on the following list of birds see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:662-64; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 159-60.

[11:14]  ² tn Heb “and the buzzard to its kind” (see also vv. 16 and 19 for the same expression “of any kind”).

[11:15]  ³ tn Heb “every crow to its kind.” Many English versions (e.g., KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) render this as “raven.”

[11:16]  ⁴ tn Literally, “the daughter of the wasteland.” Various proposals for the species of bird referred to here include “owl” (KJV), “horned owl” (NIV, NCV), and “ostrich” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

[13:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “she will not be inhabited forever, and she will not be dwelt in to generation and generation (i.e., forever).” The Lord declares that Babylon, personified as a woman, will not be inhabited. In other words, her people will be destroyed and the Chaldean empire will come to a permanent end.

[13:20]  ⁶ tn Or “Arab” (NAB, NASB, NIV); cf. CEV, NLT “nomads.”

[13:20]  ⁷ tn יַהֵל (yahel) is probably a corrupted form of יֶאֱהַל (ye’ehal). See GKC 186 §68.k.

[13:20]  ⁸ tn The words “their flocks” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text does not supply the object here, but see Jer 33:12.

[13:21]  ⁹ tn The word “ruined” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[13:21]  ¹⁰ tn The precise referent of this word in uncertain. See HALOT 29 s.v. *אֹחַ. Various English versions translate as “owls” (e.g., NAB, NASB), “wild dogs” (NCV); “jackals” (NIV); “howling creatures” (NRSV, NLT).

[13:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will skip there.”

[13:22]  ¹² tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “wild dogs will yip among his widows, and jackals in the palaces of pleasure.” The verb “yip” is supplied in the second line; it does double duty in the parallel structure. “His widows” makes little sense in this context; many emend the form (אַלְמנוֹתָיו, ’almnotayv) to the graphically similar אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ (’armÿnoteha, “her fortresses”), a reading that is assumed in the present translation. The use of “widows” may represent an intentional wordplay on “fortresses,” indicating that the fortresses are like dejected widows (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:308, n. 1).

[13:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “near to come is her time.”

[13:22]  ¹⁴ sn When was the prophecy of Babylon’s fall fulfilled? Some argue that the prophecy was fulfilled in 689 b.c. when the Assyrians under Sennacherib sacked and desecrated the city (this event is alluded to in 23:13). This may have been an initial phase in the fulfillment of the prophecy, but the reference to the involvement of the Medes (v. 17) and the suggestion that Babylon’s demise will bring about the restoration of Israel (14:1-2) indicate that the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians in 538 b.c. is the primary focus of the prophecy. (After all, the Lord did reveal to Isaiah that the Chaldeans [not the Assyrians] would someday conquer Jerusalem and take the people into exile [see 39:5-7].) However, the vivid picture of destruction in vv. 15-22 raises a problem. The Medes and Persians did not destroy the city; in fact Cyrus’ takeover of Babylon, though preceded by a military campaign, was relatively peaceful and even welcomed by some Babylonian religious officials. How then does one explain the prophecy’s description of the city’s violent fall? As noted above, the events of 689 b.c. and 538 b.c. may have been merged in the prophecy. However, it is more likely that the language is stylized and exaggerated for rhetorical effect. See Isa 34:11-15; Jer 50:39-40 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); 51:36-37 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); Zeph 2:13-15; the extra-biblical Sefire treaty curses; and Ashurbanipal’s description of the destruction of Elam in his royal annals. In other words, the events of 538 b.c. essentially, though not necessarily literally, fulfill the prophecy.

[14:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will make her into a possession of wild animals.” It is uncertain what type of animal קִפֹּד (qippod) refers to. Some suggest a rodent (cf. NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”), others an owl (cf, NAB, NIV, TEV).

[14:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”

[21:8]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text has, “the lion,” but this makes little sense here. אַרְיֵה (’aryeh, “lion”) is probably a corruption of an original הָרֹאֶה (haro’eh, “the one who sees”), i.e., the guard mentioned previously in v. 6.

[21:8]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay). Some translations take this to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV), while others take it to refer to the guard’s human master (“my lord”; cf. NIV, NLT).

[34:11]  ¹⁹ tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).

[34:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).

[34:11]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.

[34:11]  ²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ²³ tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.

[34:11]  ²⁴ sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.

[34:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”

[34:13]  ²⁶ tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:13]  ²⁷ tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsa^a) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)

[34:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”

[34:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”

[34:14]  ³⁰ tn The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”

[34:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”

[34:15]  ³² tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.

[34:15]  ³³ tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.

[34:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”

[34:15]  ³⁵ tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.

[50:39]  ³⁶ tn The identification of this bird has been called into question by G. R. Driver, “Birds in the Old Testament,” PEQ 87 (1955): 137-38. He refers to this bird as an owl. That identification, however, is not reflected in any of the lexicons including the most recent, which still gives “ostrich” (HALOT 402 s.v. יַעֲנָה) as does W. S. McCullough, “Ostrich,” IDB 3:611. REB, NIV, NCV, and God’s Word all identify this bird as “owl/desert owl.”

[50:39]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Therefore desert creatures will live with jackals and ostriches will live in it.”

[50:39]  ³⁸ tn Heb “It will never again be inhabited nor dwelt in unto generation and generation.” For the meaning of this last phrase compare the usage in Ps 100:5 and Isaiah 13:20. Since the first half of the verse has spoken of animals living there, it is necessary to add “people” and turn the passive verbs into active ones.

[50:40]  ³⁹ tn Heb “‘Like [when] God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns,’ oracle of the Lord, ‘no man will live there.’” The Lord is speaking so the first person has been substituted for “God.” The sentence has again been broken up to better conform with contemporary English style.

[50:40]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:37]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.” Compare 9:11.

[51:37]  ⁴² tn Heb “without an inhabitant.”

[5:4]  ⁴³ tn Grk “he had often been bound with chains and shackles.” “Shackles” could also be translated “fetters”; they were chains for the feet.

[5:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:27]  ⁴⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:27]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:27]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “stepped out on land.”

[8:27]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “city.”

[8:27]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “who had demons.”

[8:27]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the demon-possessed man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:27]  ⁵¹ tn Or “in.”

[8:28]  ⁵² tn Grk “And seeing.” The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:28]  ⁵³ tn Grk “and fell,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[8:28]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “What to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί (ti emoi kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12; 2 Chr 35:21; 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13; Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave me alone….”

[8:28]  ⁵⁵ sn On the title Most High see Luke 1:35.

[8:28]  ⁵⁶ sn The demons’ plea “do not torment me” is a recognition of Jesus’ inherent authority over evil forces. The request is that Jesus not bother them. There was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.