What Does Leviticus 11:14 Mean?
And the vulture, and the kite after his kind,
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 vulture, and the kite after his kind;THE KEY
The Hebrew word translated “vulture” may carry the verb “to fly or swoop,” giving the bird’s name a motion the English hides.
THE MEANING
As you read, the verse names the vulture and kite as distinct kinds of birds. The wording keeps each creature particular within its kind.
THE ROOT
דָּאָה
da'ah
GROWS FROM
דאה
To fly swiftly or swoop.
The bird identified as דָּאָה (da’ah; a bird of prey, translated “vulture”) is uncertain, and its connection to דאה (da’ah; to fly or swoop) is commonly proposed rather than certain. If that link holds, the Hebrew name carries the bird’s motion within it, a layer the English species name does not show.
ALSO GROWS
yid'eh: Flies or swoops, as an eagle.
יִדְאֶה
Deuteronomy uses this form for an eagle’s flight, showing the same root as an action.
wayyede: And he flew or swooped.
וַיֵּדֶא
Psalm 18 uses this form for flight on the wings of the wind, extending the root beyond a bird’s name.
THE PATTERN
The Hebrew root associated with a bird’s name also describes swift flight.
The LORD shall lift up a nation against you from far, from the edge of the earth, as the eagle swoops; a nation whose tongue you shall not understand;He rides upon a cherub and flies; he glides upon the wings of the breath.THE THREAD
He rides upon a cherub and flies; he glides upon the wings of the breath.Psalm 18:10 uses וַיֵּדֶא (wayyede; and he flew or swooped), a form of the same root associated with דָּאָה (da’ah; the bird translated “vulture”). The shared root lets the bird’s name carry the motion of flight into view.
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