tinshemeth / barn owl

Owls are found worldwide except in the Antarctic and on some islands. They are active at night and are characterized by flat faces and short hooked beaks that they can open very wide. They swallow their prey whole and later regurgitate the undigested parts as small balls. They also have the ability to turn their heads more than 180 degrees.

There are two basic owl families, both of which are found in the land of Israel. One family is the Tytonidae, which are the Barn and Grass Owls. They have heart-shaped whitish faces, usually outlined by a dark line, and small dark eyes. The other family is the Strigidae, the typical owls. This family contains a large variety of species, all of which have large eyes that may vary in color from light brown through orange to yellow. This family includes the eared or horned owls, the fairly rare fishing owls, and owls that vary in size from the midget scops owl (less than 20 centimeters [8 inches]) through to the giant eagle owl (over 70 centimeters [28 inches]).

Eight species of owl are fairly common in the land of Israel. Most are very seldom seen by humans, but they are quite well known by their different and distinct calls. In biblical times the nights would have been much quieter than in most modern places, and the strange night sounds probably would have interested people, causing some speculation about what was making the sound. The different owls would thus probably have had different names even if people had never seen them. In fact it is unlikely that they would have been able to associate most of the calls with the owls that were seen.

The terms “barn owl,” “screech owl,” and “white owl” are alternative names for the same owl. There is a long tradition among both Jewish and Christian scholars of translating tinshemeth as “barn owl”. New English Bible and Revised English Bible follow Driver’s suggestion “little owl”, but this does not have as wide support among scholars as “barn owl,” which is also the modern Hebrew meaning of tinshemeth. The NRSVue rendering of “water hen” can be disregarded since it’s too vague a term to be useful.

The word tinshemeth actually occurs three times in the Bible. Twice the word probably refers to the barn owl, but the third occurrence is a reference to a type of lizard or chameleon.

The Barn Owl Tyto alba is one of the most widely distributed owls in the world, being common virtually everywhere but the Arctic and Antarctic regions and remote islands. It is a very pale color, light fawn or gray on the wings and back, and almost white on the chest and under the wings. It has small eyes, a large head for its size, and a very striking heart-shaped white facial disk outlined in brown. This facial disk consists of short bristle-like feathers that help the owl to sense very small sounds. Barn owls often roost in barns, deserted houses, caves, and tombs. They utter a variety of strange sounds, varying from the well-known drawn-out trembling screech, to various hissing, chirruping, and snoring sounds. The females are larger and more vocal than the males. These owls live mainly on rats, mice, and other small nocturnal creatures.

It is listed as an unclean bird and was associated with tombs and death.

This is one owl for which finding a local equivalent should not present any major problem. Failing all else, the phrase “white-faced owl” can be used, although strictly speaking, there is another smaller owl, not closely related to the barn owl, that has this English name.