What Does Deuteronomy 14:17 Mean?
And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,THE KEY
The Hebrew name translated “gier eagle” echoes the root for compassion inside an otherwise opaque bird-name.
THE MEANING
The verse names the pelican, the gier eagle, and the cormorant as distinct creatures. The Hebrew name behind “gier eagle” is commonly linked to the root for compassion, so a word of tenderness remains audible within the list.
THE ROOT
רָחָמָה
raḥāmāh
GROWS FROM
רחם
r-ḥ-m
to show tender compassion; to have mercy
“gier eagle” in this verse is raḥāmāh. The bird-name is commonly connected with רחם (r-ḥ-m), “to show compassion.” The verse gives no explanation of the name, but the shared root lets tenderness echo inside a species-name that English leaves opaque.
ALSO GROWS
reḥem: womb
רֶחֶם
Isaiah 49:15 places this root’s womb-image beside a verb for compassion, making bodily tenderness part of its reach.
raḥamim: compassion, mercies
רַחֲמִים
This noun names compassion directly, exposing the relational sense echoed in the bird-name.
THE PATTERN
A single Hebrew root can place compassion inside a creature-name, a person’s name, and words for tenderness.
Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she would not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even they may forget, but I will not forget you.As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those in awe of him.Say to your brothers, Ammi, my people; and to your sisters, Ruhamah, the one shown compassion.THE THREAD
Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she would not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even they may forget, but I will not forget you.Isaiah uses this root for a mother’s tenderness toward her child, letting the compassion echoed in the bird-name emerge as a relationship. The connection gives the unfamiliar species-name a tenderness its English label does not show.
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