Flying things
Flying things
Eat [Learn] This Book – Bad Birds
Le 11:13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls [flying things]; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, 14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; 15 Every raven after his kind; 16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, 17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, 18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, 19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
Just as in “Eat [Learn] This Book' where animals represented good and bad teachers, or things we wished to learn or not learn, these 'flying things' represent things we don't want to learn.
Adam named the birds because of the behaviors he saw them do. When Jesus gives you a new name, he gives it to you based on the new way you live after learning about him.
We know that the air where these things fly represents the spirit, because the Hebrew word is the same for both. These birds will teach us about bad attitudes that we should not learn.
Eagle
Sometimes people look down on others to make themselves feel important,
Perhaps Adam saw the lone eagle on high, looking down on all and thought to himself, "That bird thinks he is very important and has forgotten God".
eagle nesher נשׁר - forget נש the revelation ר.
Ossifrage
This bird is known as the 'bone-breaker'. It is a ferocious predator. It represents those people who tear down others and make them feel bad. Adam called it the bird that tears apart the pure.
ossifrage perec פרס - divide [8], pure [9]. It is a symbol of tearing apart the pure.
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.
The osprey leaves the air/spirit in order to pluck fish from the water/word. He uses the Word of God to destroy people.
ospray ‘ozniyah עזניה - the goat עז hears זנ God's will י and doesn't understand ה. The goat represents the flesh. [10]
Vulture Beside the behavior of eating dead things, the vulture represents those who cause others to wander in ignorance. Perhaps Adam observed the movement of the wings that looked like they were shrugging their shoulders to say, "I dunno." 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. [11] vulture da’ah דאה - cause to wander אד in ignorance ה.
Kites Maybe Adam saw the kites riding the wind almost endlessly looking like they were searching. He named them,"Where?" This 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 has many meanings: blind, naked, mix. When ravens are hatched "They are 'altricial'; blind, featherless and helpless" . 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. Mixing is a symbol for confusing Holiness and Love. 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 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 The owl is a riddle as well. The name sounds like 'daughter pay attention' or 'daughter of Jonah'. The owl has very wide eyes as if it is studying you closely. Jonah was one who had to be told to pay attention. God had a large fish swallow him just to get his attention He did not want to obey God. owl bath ya‘anah בת יענה - daughter בת of pay attention יענ not understanding ה.
Night hawk I'm not sure what Adam saw a Night Hawk doing. It is a nighttime predator, so 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. 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] The pronunciation of the word was used to tell enemies from friends. Those who referred to a single grain [24] by saying 'sibboleth', were enemies, but those who referred to a whole ear or stream [25], were friends. The sibboleth refers to a singe grain or ear of corn that gets buried in the ground to be planted. It speaks of Christ's death.. Shibboleth refers to many ears, or a flowing stream. In his resurrection, he is fruitful, and he teaches the word (symb9olized by the water).
We should teach about the resurrection of Jesus, not just his death.
The word 'hawk' refers to his death. hawk nets נץ - the son of man נ killed on the cross ץ
Little owl 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. This is a difficult riddle because the symbol of the cup has not been understood. Here are the clues: It is full of wrath and blessings. Jesus didn't want his cup but took it It is the opposite of 'hedge' [26] cup כוס - Son of God כ made clear ו by his finished work ס The cup is the cross. The hedge protects and hides something. The opposite cup is the exposure of wrath as it is poured out or the display of blessing as it overflows. The cross is both. This is important because the little owl is called the cup כןס. But 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]
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 difficult riddle because we usually use a secondary metaphor which appears to be opposite the primary metaphor. It's not, when properly explained. It is complicated by the false teaching within the church that the great duality on earth is between good and evil. It's not. Evil is not equal but opposite of good. Here are the clues: God lived in darkness before he created light When he created the universe, it was dark Light is opposite darkness If your eye is evil your body is filled with darkness Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. Evaluating the clues: God never lived in evil. Before creation there was love between the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. When he created the universe it was good, not evil. Love is the opposite of Holiness If you are evil you are presuming upon God's love. When you have been made holy, do not presume upon grace. When God created, he covered his creation in love. [30] [31] Darkness is a metaphor that can be expressed in a positive from God's perspective, or a negative from our perspective. It expresses God's love and mercy. If we are in sin, and haven't been destroyed, we are receiving his mercy. So 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 Some commentators notice the Hebrew root 'to love' in the name of this bird. They surmise it comes from the fact that the birds are mated and seldom separated. This maybe part of what he 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 devouring 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 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.
