sparrow

While the Greek word strouthion is certainly the name for the sparrow, the Hebrew tsippor is actually an inclusive word that refers to sparrow-sized birds in general. These small birds, especially sparrows, were caught in nets and traps and were an important part of the diet of poor people.

There are three types of sparrow that are common in Israel, the House Sparrow Passer domesticus, the Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis, and the Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus. All three are small speckled brown birds. Additional small birds that abound around towns and settlements are members of the bunting, finch, and tit families. Sparrows in particular are usually found in fairly large numbers roosting and nesting together. All are seed eaters and live mainly on grass seeds and grain.

Sparrows were considered clean birds and were associated with the poor.

Sparrows or sparrow-like small birds are found all over the world. Finding a local word is not usually difficult. The reference to “a lonely bird on the housetop” in Psalms 102:7 takes on additional meaning if the sparrow was intended, since it is a bird that is seldom seen alone. It would then indicate the psalmist’s sense of loneliness at being separated from those with whom he belongs.

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

complete verse (Deuteronomy 4:17)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 4:17:

  • Kupsabiny: “an animal or a bird,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “or of an animal on land or of a bird that flies in the sky.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “either animal who walks or flies,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “or that resembles any animal or any bird” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 4:17 - 4:18

All living beings are here grouped under four headings (see Gen 1.26). Good News Translation has kept the essential information by translating “animal or bird, reptile or fish” (also Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Bible en français courant). Some translations may prefer to use a fuller form, in keeping with the Hebrew style. Whatever is used, it should sound natural in that language.

Any beast that is on the earth: “any land animal.”

Any winged bird that flies in the air: “any [wild] bird.”

Anything that creeps on the ground: “any reptile or insect,” “any of the smaller animals or insects.”

Any fish that is in the water under the earth: this corresponds to the Hebrew concept of the universe as consisting of three parts: the heavens, the earth, and the water under the earth (see 5.8). This water under the earth was the vast subterranean ocean under the surface of the earth, not the lakes and seas on the surface of the earth. A literal translation here will require a note explaining what is meant by this strange phrase.

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 .