the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,
Parallel translations
- WEB the horned owl, the screech owl, and the gull, any kind of hawk,
- KJV And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
- NKJV the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind;
- NASB the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, and the hawk in its kind,
- NLT the eagle owl, the short-eared owl, the seagull, hawks of all kinds,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The horned owl, screech owl, gull, and hawks are forbidden. The list of unclean birds continues.
Overview
These birds, largely nocturnal hunters and scavengers, fit the pattern of creatures linked to death and desolation. Precise modern identification of each Hebrew name is uncertain, but the categories are clear enough for obedience. The enumeration kept Israel's holiness concrete and constant, pointing beyond ritual to the heart-purity God works through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 13:21–22But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.
- Phil 3:18–19For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
- Eph 5:7–11Therefore do not be partakers with them.
- John 3:19–21And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
- Eph 2:2–3in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
- Deut 14:15–18the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,
- Ps 102:6I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.
- 1 Th 5:5–7For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
- Eph 4:18–19They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.
- Rev 18:2And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.
- Isa 34:11–15The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 11:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.