crow / raven

There is no disagreement about the meaning of these words. The Hebrew ‘orev and the two Greek words are general names given to any member of the crow family. This includes any of the three types of raven, two types of crow, and the rook, which are found in Israel. Of these the Brown-necked Raven Corvus ruficolllis, the Fan-tailed Raven Corvus rhipidurus, and the Hooded Crow Corvus corone cornix are common residents. The Common Raven Corvus corax is resident but not as common in modern Israel as it must have been in ancient times. The remaining types of crow found in Israel are visiting migrants that do not stay long.

Crows and ravens are large black birds with thick strong beaks, and fairly short legs. They are highly intelligent and seem to enjoy flying. Often if there is a good thermal current of air, they will soar around in circles, riding the thermal and calling. Some varieties will congregate in great numbers in these thermals and circle around together. On sunny windy days they will sometimes spread their wings and ride the wind, not going anywhere, sometimes even anchoring themselves by hanging on to the end of a branch with one foot. They eat almost anything, including grain, fruit, insects, lizards, frogs, eggs, nestlings, and the meat of dead animals. When the raven released by Noah failed to return to the ark, this was a sign that some land had emerged from the flood and that the raven had found food, probably the carcasses of the people and creatures drowned in the flood.

Crows and ravens build their nests out of twigs and grass in the forks of trees or on ledges on cliffs. The nests are quite large and untidy. Ravens tend to keep to the rocky hills and are found near Galilee, the Judean Desert, the Dead Sea coast, the Negev, and the escarpment bordering the Aravah Rift Valley.

Ravens are unclean birds and are associated in biblical culture with death. They are thus symbols of the devastation resulting from war. They are also singled out as fed by God (Job 38:41). Even though they are unclean and have some horrible habits, they are not forgotten by God. Thus they are also a symbol of God’s kindness. Finally, for the inhabitants of Israel there was nothing blacker than the raven, which in fact is usually glossy as well as black.

Crows and ravens are very widespread around the world. Some types are not all black, but black and white, black and gray, or black and brown. In all there over one hundred species distributed throughout the world. They are usually found in mountainous areas or near towns, but seldom in dense rain forest. In Africa south of the Sahara, the Pied Crow Corvus albus is the most common, but in the mountains of eastern and southern Africa the larger White-necked Raven Corvus albicollis is also found. A relative of the Middle Eastern hooded crow, called the Australian Raven Corvus coronoides, is found in most parts of Australia. The House Crow Corvus splendens, which was originally indigenous to India, has now spread to countries as far away as Australia and South Africa.

In most parts of the world, therefore, except in those rain forest areas that have no towns, there will be local crows or ravens.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

In Lingala it is translated in all cases as “pied crow” (see here ) because ravens are unknown in the area where Lingala speakers traditionally live. (Source: Sigurd F. Westberg in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 117ff. )

complete verse (Deuteronomy 14:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 14:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “crows/ravens of various kinds” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “all kinds of ravens,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But never to eat the eagles, ravens, birds that eat the corpse of man or dead-animal, hawks, owls, birds-of-prey, birds that grab/pounce/swoop-down fishes, a-sort-of-white-herons, storks and bats.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “all kinds of crows,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 14:11-18

Eagle: this bird is quite common in the Old Testament.

Vulture: see also Lev 11.18; Psa 102.6; Pro 30.17; Lam 4.19; Hos 8.1; Zeph 2.14.

Osprey: New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “black vulture.” See also Lev 11.13.

For the birds in verse 12 Revised English Bible has “griffon-vulture, black vulture, bearded vulture.”

In verse 13 the translations go their various ways: New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and Bible en français courant have three different kinds of birds instead of the two in Revised Standard Version. This is due to a problem in the Hebrew text, which does have three separate words. S.R. Driver and others maintain that the first word (raʾah) is a mistake; it is not found elsewhere in the Bible, and the third word (daʾyah) is a correction of the first one. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, however, has three birds, “the kite, the falcon, and the buzzard”; and New International Version has “the red kite, the black kite, the falcon.”

Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends that two birds be listed, “the black kite and the red kite”; translators should feel free to follow the Revised Standard Version wording, the buzzard, the kite, after their kinds, if this is appropriate in their language.

Buzzard: this bird does not appear elsewhere in the Old Testament.

Kite: see also Lev 11.14; Isa 34.15.

After their kinds: this means “of all varieties,” “of every kind there is.”

For raven in verse 14 Revised English Bible has “every kind of crow,” and Good News Translation has simply “crows.” See also Gen 8.7; Lev 11.15; 1 Kgs 17.4, 6; Psa 147.9; Pro 30.17; Job 38.41; Song 5.11; Isa 34.11; Zeph 2.14.

For the first three birds in verse 15, New International Version has “horned owl, screech owl, gull”; Revised English Bible has “desert owl, short-eared owl, long-eared owl”; and New Jerusalem Bible has for the second and third birds “screech owl, seagull.”

Ostrich: see also Lev 11.16; Job 30.29; 39.13; Isa 13.21; 34.13; 43.20; Jer 50.39; Lam 4.3; Micah 1.8.

Night hawk: see also Lev 11.16.

Sea gull: see also Lev 11.16.

Hawk: see Lev 11.18; Job 39.26; Isa 34.11.

For the three birds in verse 16, Revised English Bible has “tawny owl, screech owl, little owl”; New Jerusalem Bible has “owl, barn owl, ibis”; for the third bird New International Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh have “white owl.”

The terms little owl and great owl do not appear elsewhere in the Old Testament; “owl” is found in Lev 11.17; Psa 102.6; Isa 34.11, 15; Zeph 2.14.

Water hen: see also Lev 11.18. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “white owl.”

As suggested above, it may be necessary in certain languages to combine all the birds in this verse as “all kinds of owls.”

Translations differ widely in the identification of the three birds in verse 17. For pelican New Revised Standard Version and New International Version have “desert owl,” and Revised English Bible “horned owl”; for carrion vulture New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “bustard,” New Jerusalem Bible “white vulture,” and Revised English Bible and New International Version “osprey”; for cormorant Revised English Bible has “fisher owl.”

Pelican: see Lev 11.18.

Carrion vulture appears nowhere else in the Old Testament.

Cormorant appears also in Lev 11.17.

The translations being cited all agree on the four birds of verse 18, with the exception of Revised English Bible, which instead of heron has “cormorant.” (Of course the bat is not a bird, but it was considered one by the Hebrews.)

Stork: see also Lev 11.19; Psa 104.17; Jer 8.7; Zech 5.9.

Heron … hoopoe … bat: see also Lev 11.19.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .