Eagle
e'-g'-l (nesher; aetos; Latin aquila): A bird of the genus
aquila of the family falconidae. The Hebrew nesher, meaning
"to tear with the beak," is almost invariably translated
"eagle," throughout the Bible; yet many of the most
important references compel the admission that the bird to
which they applied was a vulture. There were many large
birds and carrion eaters flocking over Israel, attracted by
the offal from animals slaughtered for tribal feasts and
continuous sacrifice. The eagle family could not be
separated from the vultures by their habit of feeding, for
they ate the offal from slaughter as well as the vultures.
One distinction always holds good. Eagles never flock. They
select the tallest trees of the forest, the topmost crag of
the mountain, and pairs live in solitude, hunting and
feeding singly, whenever possible carrying their prey to the
nest so that the young may gain strength and experience by
tearing at it and feeding themselves. The vultures are
friendly, and collect and feed in flocks. So wherever it is
recorded that a "flock came down on a carcass," there may
have been an eagle or two in it, but the body of it were
vultures. Because they came in such close contact with birds
of prey, the natives came nearer dividing them into families
than any birds. Of perhaps a half-dozen, they recognized
three eagles, they knew three vultures, four or five
falcons, and several kites; but almost every Biblical
reference is translated "eagle," no matter how evident the
text makes it that the bird was a vulture. For example, Mic
1:16: "Make thee bald, and cut off thy hair for the children
of thy delight: enlarge thy baldness as the eagle (m
"vulture"); for they are gone into captivity from thee."
This is a reference to the custom of shaving the head when
in mourning, but as Israel knew no bald eagle, the text
could refer only to the bare head and neck of the griffon
vulture. The eagles were, when hunger-driven, birds of prey;
the vultures, carrion feeders only. There was a golden eagle
(the osprey of the King James Version), not very common,
distinguished by its tan-colored head; the imperial eagle,
more numerous and easily identified by a dark head and white
shoulders; a spotted eagle; a tawny eagle, much more common
and readily distinguished by its plumage; and the short-toed
eagle, most common of all...
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-Forbidden as food
Le 11:13; De 14:12
-The swift flight of
De 28:49; Job 9:26; Pr 30:19; Jer 4:13; 49:22; La
4:19
-The nest of
De 32:11; Job 39:27-30; Jer 49:16
-Carries her young upon her wings
Ex 19:4; De 32:11
-The long life of
Ps 103:5
-The molting of
Mic 1:16
-Gier-eagle
Le 11:18
-FIGURATIVE
Ex 19:4; De 32:11; Jer 48:40; Ho 8:1
-SYMBOLICAL
Eze 1:10; 10:14; 17:3; Da 7:4; Re 4:7; 12:14
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(Heb. nesher, i.e. a tearer with the beak). At least four
distinct kinds of eagles have been observed in Israel, viz.,
the golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, the spotted eagle, Aquila
naevia, the imperial eagle, Aquila heliaca, and the very
common Circaetos gallicus. The Hebrew nesher may stand for any
of these different species, though perhaps more particular
reference to the golden and imperial eagles and the griffon
vulture may be intended. The passage in Micah, Mic 1:16
"enlarge thy baldness as the eagle," may refer to the griffon
vulture, Vultur fulvus, in which case the simile is peculiarly
appropriate, for the whole head and neck of this bird are
destitute of true feathers. The "eagles" of Mt 24:28; Lu 17:37
may include the Vultur fulvus and Neophron percnopterus;
though, as eagles frequently prey upon dead bodies, there is
no necessity to restrict the Greek word to the Vulturidae. The
figure of an eagle is now and has long been a favorite
military ensign. The Persians so employed it; a fact which
illustrates the passage in Isa 46:11 The same bird was
similarly employed by the Assyrians and the Romans.
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(Herb. nesher; properly the griffon vulture or great
vulture, so
called from its tearing its prey with its beak),
referred to for
its swiftness of flight (Deut. 28:49; 2 Sam. 1:23),
its mounting
high in the air (Job 39:27), its strength (Ps.
103:5), its
setting its nest in high places (Jer. 49:16), and
its power of
vision (Job 39:27-30).
This "ravenous bird" is a symbol of those nations
whom God
employs and sends forth to do a work of destruction,
sweeping
away whatever is decaying and putrescent (Matt.
24:28; Isa.
46:11; Ezek. 39:4; Deut. 28:49; Jer. 4:13; 48:40).
It is said
that the eagle sheds his feathers in the beginning
of spring,
and with fresh plumage assumes the appearance of
youth. To this,
allusion is made in Ps. 103:5 and Isa. 40:31. God's
care over
his people is likened to that of the eagle in
training its young
to fly (Ex. 19:4; Deut. 32:11, 12). An interesting
illustration
is thus recorded by Sir Humphry Davy:, "I once saw a
very
interesting sight above the crags of Ben Nevis. Two
parent
eagles were teaching their offspring, two young
birds, the
maneuvers of flight. They began by rising from the
top of the
mountain in the eye of the sun. It was about mid-
day, and bright
for the climate. They at first made small circles,
and the young
birds imitated them. They paused on their wings,
waiting till
they had made their flight, and then took a second
and larger
gyration, always rising toward the sun, and
enlarging their
circle of flight so as to make a gradually ascending
spiral. The
young ones still and slowly followed, apparently
flying better
as they mounted; and they continued this sublime
exercise,
always rising till they became mere points in the
air, and the
young ones were lost, and afterwards their parents,
to our
aching sight." (See Isa. 40:31.)...
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Nesher. Leviticus 11:13. The golden eagle (W. Drake). The
griffon vulture; the Arab nisr is plainly the Hebrew nesher.
In Micah 1:16, "make thee bald (shaving the head betokening
mourning) ... enlarge thy baldness as the nesher," the griffon
vulture must be meant; for it is "bald," which the eagle is
not. "A majestic and royal bird, the largest and most powerful
seen in Israel, far surpassing the eagle in size and power"
(Tristram). The Egyptians ranked it as first among birds. The
da'ah (Leviticus 11:14) is not "the vulture" but the black
kite. The Hebrew qaarach is to make bald the back of the head,
very applicable to the griffon vulture's head and neck, which
are destitute of true feathers. The golden eagle; the spotted,
common in the rocky regions; the imperial; and the Circaeros
gallicus (short-toed eagle), living on reptiles only: Israel
Exploration Quarterly Statement, October, 1876), are all found
in Israel...
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As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of
a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they
four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also
had the face of an eagle.
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And every one had four faces: the first face [was] the face of
a cherub, and the second face [was] the face of a man, and the
third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
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Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, [and] the pride of thine
heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that
holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy
nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence,
saith the LORD.
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Eagle. - So is generally rendered the Hebrew, néshér, but there is a doubt as to whether the eagle or some kind of vulture is intended. It seems even probable that the Hebrews did not distinguish very carefully these different large birds of prey, and that all are spoken of as though they were of one kind. Anyway, four species of eagles are known to live in Israel: aquila chrysœtos, aquila nœvia, aquila heliaca, and circœtos gallicus. Many allusions are made to the eagle in the Bible: its inhabiting the dizziest cliffs for nesting, its keen sight, its habit of congregating to feed on the slain, its swiftness, its longevity, its remarkable care in training its young, are often referred to (see in particular Job 39:27-30). When the relations of Israel with their neighbours became more frequent, the eagle became, under the pen of the Jewish prophets and poets, an emblem first of the Assyrian, then of the Babylonian, and finally of the Persian kings.
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