partridge

Partridges have been hunted and trapped for millennia. In the land of Israel there are three common types of partridge which are still found today: the Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca (also known in the Middle East as the Chukar Alectoris chukar), the Black Francolin Francolinus francolinus, and the Sand Partridge Ammoperdix heyi. In modern Hebrew the sand partridge is still called qore’, but in biblical times all three types of partridge were probably referred to by this name. The name means “the caller”, a reference to the ringing crowing of the males, typically while standing on top of a rock.

Partridges were hunted with stones, slings, and throwing sticks, and were also caught in snares. In 1 Samuel 26:20 David likens himself to a partridge being hunted. This is a very apt simile, since he had been moving from one refuge to another, just as a partridge flies short distances from cover to cover when being chased. He had also been hiding in the same rocky hills that partridges inhabit near En Gedi.

In Sirach 11:30 there is reference to “a decoy partridge in a cage”. This refers to a practice still common in many parts of the world. A male partridge is captured and the caged bird is left in an area where it is known there are partridges, or it is taken from the cage and tethered to a bush by its leg. Grain is scattered around and slip noose snares are set. Toward sundown the captive partridge begins to call, and this attracts other partridges, which begin to feed on the grain and are snared. [See also decoy partridge.]

Partridge eggs were also an important part of the ancient diet, and many Bedouin tribes still collect these eggs regularly. Up until the twentieth century partridges of all three types were abundant throughout Palestine. Today they still exist but in much smaller numbers.

The three partridges mentioned above live in slightly different habitats. The rock partridge, as its name suggests, frequents rocky hill terrain. It is found all over Israel, where it makes good use of the broken terrain to remain hidden. The black francolin prefers denser vegetation in wadis or river valleys. The presence of both these partridges is usually known from their calls rather than from actual sightings of the birds. The sand partridge frequents the Judean Desert and can still be seen coming to drink at pools in wadis along the Dead Sea.

All three types of partridge, in spite of their different markings and the fact that the sand partridge is smaller than the other two, are typical of the partridge family. They live in small flocks called coveys, lay a great many eggs, and prefer to run when in danger, flying only when necessary. Even when they take flight they fly for only a short distance before dropping back to the ground. They also have the ability to squat absolutely still, almost in a trance. With their natural camouflage this ability usually means that the birds will not be seen even by someone passing very near them.

The rock partridge is about 35 centimeters (14 inches) in length and has striking white cheeks with a black band running from its brow, through its eyes, down its neck, and curving around its breast. It also has striking black and chestnut stripes on its flanks. Its back and wings are gray. The beak and legs are red. Both sexes look alike.
The black francolin is about the same size but has a slightly shorter tail. The male has a black breast and flanks. The female is a speckled brown.
The sand partridge is the color of the local sand and is about half the size of the other two types.

Partridges or their close relatives the button quails and pheasants are found all over the world, and finding a local equivalent should not prove difficult. In Asia the Bamboo Partridge Alectoris orientalis is found from Pakistan to China and down through Southeast Asia. In Australia the Brown Quail Coturnix australis and the Stubble Quail Coturnix pectoralis are probably the closest equivalents, rather than the mallee fowl or the scrub fowl, which are mound builders, a very specialized type of bird.
In Africa any of the francolins are a good equivalent. They are found all over Africa.

Rock partridge, Wikimedia Commons

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

In Newari it is translated as “pheasant” (source: Newari Back Translation).

complete verse (Jeremiah 17:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 17:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person who gets money in a deceitful way is like
    a bird that hatches eggs it did not lay.
    Those things will separate from that person when he is still young
    and it will be clear/seen later that he was indeed a fool.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A man who gained wealth by an evil way he is like a bird that lay on the egg that is not hers. Later on, in the midst of her living, her wealth will-disappear and it will-come-out that she is a fool.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I, Jeremiah, agree, because I know that people who become rich by doing things that are unjust
    are like birds that hatch eggs that they did not lay/stole from another nest.
    So, when those people have lived only half of the years that they expect to live, their wealth will disappear.
    Then other people will realize that those rich people have been foolish.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 17:11

This verse is in the form of a proverbial statement, but the meaning is not completely clear. One interpretation compares money gotten dishonestly with eggs stolen by a bird from the nest of other birds. When the young birds hatch, they will go to their real mother; and likewise money gained dishonestly will “fly away” from the person who got it. This is the source of Good News Translation “like a bird that hatches eggs it didn’t lay.” Another interpretation, however, is that just as the brooding female partridge does not hatch all of her eggs, so the person who has become rich dishonestly will lose his wealth. The translation of this could be “When a person becomes rich by dishonest means, it is like a partridge sitting on her eggs and some don’t hatch. In midlife that person will lose his wealth.”

The partridge is the rendering of many translations, though the exact species of bird is unknown. If partridges are not known in an area, translators can say “bird.”

In Hebrew the first part of the verse is somewhat compressed: “A partridge gathers and does not give birth.” The meaning may be as Good News Translation has expressed it, but it is equally possible to say “A partridge sits on her eggs without them hatching.” See the example above in the discussion on the meaning of the proverb.

To gain riches not by right is to gain them “dishonestly” (Good News Translation).

In the midst of his days they will leave him: In the midst of his days is “In the prime of life” (Good News Translation), “when he has lived only half his life,” or “when his life is only half over.” The they that will leave him are the riches.

At his end he will be a fool: The word fool occurs only here in Jeremiah; its most frequent occurrences are in Psalms (14.1; 39.8; 53.1; 74.18, where Revised Standard Version has “impious”) and Proverbs (17.7, 21; 30.22). Most translators express this line as “in the end he will prove to be a fool.”

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch restructures the verse considerably:

• Whoever gains riches dishonestly is like a bird that hatches eggs that are not its own and must watch as the young fly away: in the prime of life he must give up everything, and finally stand there with empty hands.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .