Leviticus 11 · Verse 16

Leviticus 11:16

And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
Leviticus 11:16, King James Version

Leviticus 11:16 in other translations

BSBthe ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,
WEBthe horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,
ASVand the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kind,
YLTand the owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after its kind,
DARBYand the female ostrich and the male ostrich, and the sea-gull, and the hawk, after its kind;
BBEAnd the ostrich and the night-hawk and the sea-hawk, and birds of that sort;
WebsterAnd the owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

What does Leviticus 11:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 11:13-19

13-19. these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls--All birds of prey are particularly ranked in the class unclean; all those which feed on flesh and carrion. No less than twenty species of birds, all probably then known, are mentioned under this category, and the inference follows that all which are not mentioned were allowed; that is, fowls which subsist on vegetable substances. From our…

Read the full comment on Leviticus 11:13-19 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 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 Lev 26:16; Deu 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Leviticus 11:16 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאֵת֙ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
בַּ֣תbat[the] daughter ofH1323
הַֽיַּעֲנָ֔הhai.ya.'a.Nahthe ostrichH3284
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַתַּחְמָ֖סha.tach.Masthe screech owlH8464
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַשָּׁ֑חַףha.Sha.chafthe gullH7828
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַנֵּ֖ץha.Netzthe falconH5322
לְמִינֵֽהוּ\׃le.mi.Ne.huto kind itsH4327

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Leviticus 11:16

  • 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, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

  • John 3:19-21

    And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

  • Ephesians 2:2-3

    Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

  • 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: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:5-7

    Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

  • Deuteronomy 14:15-18

    And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant, And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

  • Psalms 102:6

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

  • Ephesians 4:18-19

    Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

  • Isaiah 34:11-15

    But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. …

  • Ephesians 5:7-11

    Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. …

  • 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, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
De 14:15-18; Ps 102:6; Isa 13:21,22; 34:11-15; Joh 3:19-21
Eph 2:2,3; 4:18,19; 5:7-11; Php 3:18,19; 1Th 5:5-7; Re 18:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Leviticus 11:15

    Every raven after his kind;

  • Leviticus 11:16

    And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

  • Leviticus 11:17

    And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

Read all of Leviticus 11

Leviticus 11:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El avestruz, y la lechuza, y el laro, y el gavilán según su especie,
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et l’autruche femelle, et l’autruche mâle, et la mouette, et l’épervier, selon son espèce;
German
Elberfelder 1871		und die Straußhenne und den Straußhahn und die Seemöve und den Habicht nach seiner Art,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		struthionem, et noctuam, et larum, et accipitrem juxta genus suum: