Deuteronomy 14:18 — Word Study
WLCוְהַ֣חֲסִידָ֔ה וְהָאֲנָפָ֖ה לְמִינָ֑הּ וְהַדּוּכִיפַ֖ת וְהָעֲטַלֵּֽף׃
BSAthe storkchăçîydâh any kindmîyn of heronʼănâphâh [possibly a heron, an unclean bird] the hoopoedûwkîyphath [or lapwing, an unclean bird] or the batʻăṭallêph [a small flying mammal, considered unclean]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְהַ֣חֲסִידָ֔ה | and the stork | Conjunction, particle, noun common feminine singular absolute |
| וְהָאֲנָפָ֖ה | and the heron | Conjunction, particle, noun common feminine singular absolute |
| לְמִינָ֑הּ | to kind its | Preposition, noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| וְהַדּוּכִיפַ֖ת | and the hoopoe | Conjunction, particle, noun common feminine singular absolute |
| וְהָעֲטַלֵּֽף׃ | and the bat | Conjunction, particle, noun common masculine singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, or the bat. |
| KJV | And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. |
| ASV | and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat. |
| YLT | and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the lapwing, and the bat; |
| WEB | the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. |
| BBE | The stork and the heron and birds of that sort, and the hoopoe and the bat. |
Where they part company is in the rendering of specific terms, but the general agreement on the list of unclean animals is clear.
The structure is straightforward, presenting a list of unclean animals in a clear and concise manner.
2 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Deuteronomy 14:18
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Dietary Laws in Deuteronomygenerated
Deuteronomy 14:18 lists various birds and a mammal that the Israelites were forbidden to eat. This passage is part of a larger section that details clean and unclean animals, emphasizing the importance of dietary purity as part of the covenant community's identity. Such laws served to distinguish the Israelites from surrounding nations and to promote holiness in their practices.
Cross References
The Key Word — חֲסִידָה, ve.Ha.cha.si.Dahgenerated
The word חֲסִידָה (cha.si.dah) refers to the stork, a bird known for its nurturing behavior. It is a feminine noun, indicating its role as a maternal figure in nature. The stork is mentioned in the context of dietary laws as an unclean bird, highlighting its symbolic significance in biblical literature.
This word is derived from a root that emphasizes kindness and maternal care, suggesting that while the stork is recognized for its loyalty to its young, it is still classified as unclean in the dietary laws of the Israelites.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The verse consists of a series of noun phrases connected by conjunctions, with the main focus being on the names of the unclean animals. The structure emphasizes the list format, which is typical in legal texts, allowing for clarity in the dietary prohibitions.
Each noun phrase identifies a specific animal, with the conjunctions linking them together to form a comprehensive list of what is considered unclean.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, the word for stork is rendered as πελεκᾶνα, which suggests a direct translation that maintains the identification of the bird. This choice reflects the translators' intent to preserve the meaning of the original Hebrew.
The other terms follow suit, indicating a consistent understanding of these animals as unclean, reinforcing the dietary laws established in the Hebrew text.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Deuteronomy 14:18 provides a list of birds and a mammal that are considered unclean for the Israelites. These include the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. This verse is part of the dietary laws that guide the people in what they can eat, emphasizing the importance of purity in their community.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Being unclean means that these animals are prohibited for consumption according to the dietary laws given to the Israelites, which were intended to set them apart as a holy people.
The stork is noted for its nurturing behavior, but despite this, it is classified as unclean, illustrating that not all creatures that exhibit positive traits are permissible for food.
Dietary laws serve to maintain the identity and holiness of the Israelite community, distinguishing them from other nations and reinforcing their covenant relationship with God.
While the specific dietary laws may not apply to all modern readers, they can still offer insights into the importance of holiness and obedience to God's commands.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What do you think the significance of dietary laws was for the Israelites?
- How can understanding these unclean animals help us reflect on our own choices today?
- In what ways can we apply the principle of holiness in our lives, similar to the dietary laws?
- How does the nurturing behavior of the stork challenge our understanding of what is clean and unclean?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Deuteronomy 14:18 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. The lapwing - the upupu or hoopoe, a beautiful bird, but of the most unclean habits.
Read Robert Jamieson on Deuteronomy 14 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges18. stork] ḥ ?asξdah. Tristram (111): white stork, ciconia alba; an unclean feeder (on offal, etc.), its flesh is rank. heron] ’anaphah. Tristram (109): the common heron, ardea cinerea: an edible bird, in Europe once highly prized at table; but feeding on, besides fish, many unclean land animals, snakes, rats, etc. hoopoe] dukiphath, A. V. lapwing. Tristram (89): hoopoe, upupa epops. bat] ‘aṭ ?alleph (cp. ἀττέλαβος, a kind of locust in N. Africa, Herod, iv. 172). In Palestine it haunts caverns and (as in Egypt) sepulchres. There is no doubt that the cheeping and muttering attributed to the dead (Isaiah 7) was derived from the sound made by the crowds of this animal when disturbed in…
Read Cambridge on Deuteronomy 14 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, or the bat.
the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.
the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, or the bat.
the stork, the heron after its species, the hoopoe, the bat,
Tyndale line
And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
The storke also, and the heron in his kinde, nor the lapwing, nor the backe.
Strictly literal
and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the lapwing, and the bat;
and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
And the stork, and the heron after his kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
You must not eat the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.
From the Latin
The bittern, and the charadrion, every one in their kind: the hoop also and the bat.
Simplified
storks, any kind of heron, hoopoe, or bats.
The stork and the heron and birds of that sort, and the hoopoe and the bat.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the identification of the stork, heron, hoopoe, and bat as unclean. The Samaritan Pentateuch differs slightly, introducing the term דגיפת (hoopoe) and including object markers, but the essence of the dietary laws remains consistent across these texts.
וְהַ֣חֲסִידָ֔ה וְהָאֲנָפָ֖ה לְמִינָ֑הּ וְהַדּוּכִיפַ֖ת וְהָעֲטַלֵּֽף׃
5 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ואת החסידה והאנפה למינה ואת הדגיפת ואת העטלף
4 words differ from the Masoretic Text: את (
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Deuteronomy 14:18
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
חֲסִידָה (chaciydah) refers to a stork, noted for its kindness and affection towards its young. It is a feminine form derived from the root word for a kind or maternal bird. The entries consistently highlight its association with nurturing behavior.
חֲסִידָה n.f. stork (so called as kind and affectionate to its young)
base
H2624 חֲסִידָה stork (so called as kind and affectionate to its young)
2624 chaciydah khas-ee-daw'
feminine of 2623; the kind (maternal) bird, i.e. a stork:--X
feather, stork.
see HEBREW for 02623
חֲסִידָה (cha.si.dah) — stork.
stork
Conj | Art | N-fs — Conjunction · particle · noun common feminine singular absoluteHC/Td/Ncfsa
stork (chacidhah; variously rendered in the Septuagint: Le 11:19, erodios; De 14:18, pelekan; Job 39:13, hasida (transliteration of Hebrew); Zec 5:9, (epops; Latin Ciconia alba): A large wading bird of the family Ardeidae, related to crane, ibis, heron and bittern. The stork on wing is a bird of exquisite beauty. The primary, secondary and a few of the tertiary wing feathers are black, the remainder, also the head, neck, and back and under parts white, the bill and legs red. When a perching white bird suddenly unfolds these wonderful wings, having at times a sweep of 7 ft., and sails away, it makes a very imposing picture. Zechariah in a vision saw a woman having the wings…
Stork
Heb. hasidah, meaning “kindness,” indicating thus the character of the bird, which is noted for its affection for its young. It is in the list of birds forbidden to be eaten by the Levitical law (Lev. 11:19; Deut. 14:18). It is like the crane, but larger in size. Two species are found in Palestine, the white, which are dispersed in pairs over the whole country; and the black, which live in marshy places and in great flocks. They migrate to Palestine periodically (about the 22nd of March). Jeremiah alludes to this (Jer. 8:7). At the appointed time they return with unerring sagacity to their old haunts, and re-occupy their old nests. “There is a well-authenticated account of the devotion of a stork which, at the burning of…
(Heb. chasidah), a large bird of passage of the heron family. The of the largest and most conspicuous of land birds, standing nearly four feet high, the jet black of its wings and its bright red beak and legs contrasting finely with the pure white of its plumage. (Zechariah 6:9) In the neighborhood of man it devours readily all kinds of offal and garbage. For this reason, doubtless it is placed in the list of unclean birds by the Mosaic law. (Leviticus 11:19; 14:18) The range of the white stork extends over the whole of Europe, except the British isles, where it is now a rare visitant, and over northern Africa and Asia as far at least as Burmah. The black stork (Ciconia nigra , Linn.), though less abundant in places, is scarcely less widely distributed, but has a more easterly…
Its Hebrew name signifies kindness or mercy, and its Greek name natural affection, probably because of the tenderness which it is said to manifest towards its parents-never, as is reported, forsaking them, but feeding and defending them in their decrepitude. In modern times, parent storks are known to have perished in the effort to rescue their young from flames; and it has been a popular, but perhaps ill-founded opinion, that in their migratory flights, the leader of the flock when fatigued is partially supported by others as he falls into the rear. In Jer 8:7, allusion is made to the unerring instinct of the stork as a bird of passage, and perhaps to its lofty flight: "the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times." Moses places it among unclean birds, Le 11:19
אֲנָפָה (anaphah) refers to an unclean bird, possibly a heron or parrot, noted for its irascibility. The word is derived from another term, אֲנָפָה is primarily associated with the classification of birds in the Old Testament.
אֲנָפָה n.f. an unclean bird
base
H601 אֲנָפָה an unclean bird
601 'anaphah an-aw-faw'
from 599; an unclean bird, perhaps the parrot (from its
irascibility):--heron.
see HEBREW for 0599
אֲנָפָה (a.na.phah) — heron.
1) an unclean bird
1a) perhaps an heron
Conj | Art | N-fs — Conjunction · particle · noun common feminine singular absoluteHC/Td/Ncfsa
her'-un ('anaphah; charadrios; Latin Ardea cinerea): Herons are mentioned only in the abomination lists of Le 11:19 (margin "ibis") and De 14:18. They are near relatives of crane, stork, ibis and bittern. These birds, blue, white or brown, swarmed in Europe and wintered around Merom, along the Jordan, at the headwaters of the Jabbok and along its marshy bed in the dry season. Herons of Southern Africa that summered in the Holy Land loved to nest on the banks of Merom, and raise their young among the bulrushes, papyrus, reeds and water grasses, although it is their usual habit to build in large trees. The white herons were small, the blue, larger, and the brown, close to the same size. The blue were 3 1/2 ft. in length, and had a 5-ft. sweep. The beak, neck and legs constituted…
Heron
(Lev. 11:19; Deut. 14:18), ranked among the unclean birds. The Hebrew name is ’anaphah, and indicates that the bird so named is remarkable for its angry disposition. “The herons are wading-birds, peculiarly irritable, remarkable for their voracity, frequenting marshes and oozy rivers, and spread over the regions of the East.” The Ardea russeta, or little golden egret, is the commonest species in Asia.
(Leviticus 11:19; 14:18) a common large, wading, unclean bird. Nearly all of the species known in English ornithology are found in the vicinity of Palestine. Canon Cook and others think the bird intended is the plover (Charadrius aedicnemus), a greedy, thick kneed, high-flying migratory bird, very common in the East, on the banks of rivers and shores of lakes. --ED.
מִין (miyn) means 'kind' or 'species,' primarily referring to types or categories, often in relation to animals. It is derived from a root meaning to portion out. The term is consistently used across lexicons without significant disagreement.
[מִין] n.[m.] kind, species
base
H4327 מִין kind, species
4327 miyn meen
from an unused root meaning to portion out; a sort, i.e.
species:--kind. Compare 4480.
see HEBREW for 04480
מִין (min) — kind.
kind, sometimes a species (usually of animals)
Prep | N-ms | Suff — Preposition · noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHR/Ncmsc/Sp3fs
דּוּכִיפַת (duwkiyphath) refers to an unclean bird, likely the hoopoe or possibly the grouse. The entries suggest uncertainty about its exact identification, but they consistently highlight its status as an unclean bird.
דּוּכִיפַת n.f. an unclean bird, perh. hoopoe
base
H1744 דּוּכִיפַת an unclean bird, perh. hoopoe
1744 duwkiyphath doo-kee-fath'
of uncertain derivation; the hoopoe or else the
grouse:--lapwing.
דּוּכִיפַת (du.khi.phat) — hoopoe.
unclean bird (probably hoopoe)
Conj | Art | N-fs — Conjunction · particle · noun common feminine singular absoluteHC/Td/Ncfsa
hoo'-po; -poo (dukhiphath; epops; Latin Upupa epops): One of the peculiar and famous birds of Palestine, having a curved bill and beautiful plumage. It is about the size of a thrush. Its back is a rich cinnamon color, its head golden buff with a crest of feathers of gold, banded with white and tipped with black, that gradually lengthen as they cover the head until, when folded, they lie in lines of black and white, and, when erect, each feather shows its exquisite marking. Its wings and tail are black banded with white and buff. It nests in holes and hollow trees. All ornithologists agree that it is a "nasty, filthy bird" in its feeding and breeding habits. The nest, being paid no attention by the elders, soon becomes soiled and evil smelling. The bird is mentioned only in the lists of abomination (Le 11:19; and
The Hebrew word עֲטַלֵּף (*'atalleph*) means 'bat.' Its derivation is uncertain, and it is consistently defined across lexicons as referring to the animal. There are no significant disagreements among the entries.
עֲטַלֵּף n.[m.] bat
base
H5847 עֲטַלֵּף bat
5847 `atalleph at-al-lafe'
of uncertain derivation; a bat:--bat.
עֲטַלֵּף (a.tal.leph) — bat.
bat
Conj | Art | N-ms — Conjunction · particle · noun common masculine singular absoluteHC/Td/Ncmsa
(`aTaleph; Le 11:19; De 14:18; Isa 2:20): Bats are the most widely distributed of mammals, reaching even the oceanic islands, and modern science has revealed the existence of an astonishing number of species, nearly twenty being recorded from Palestine. These include both fruit-eating and insect-eating bats, the latter being the smaller. It has not always been realized that they are mammals, and so it is not surprising that they should be mentioned at the end of the list of unclean birds in Le 11:19 and De 14:18. It may, however, be significant that they are at the end of the list and not in the middle of it. The…
Bat
The Hebrew word (atalleph’) so rendered (Lev. 11:19; Deut. 14:18) implies “flying in the dark.” The bat is reckoned among the birds in the list of unclean animals. To cast idols to the “moles and to the bats” means to carry them into dark caverns or desolate places to which these animals resort (Isa. 2:20), i.e., to consign them to desolation or ruin.
(Leviticus 11:19; 14:18) Many travellers have noticed the immense numbers of bats that are found in caverns in the East, and Mr. Layard said that on the occasion of a visit to a cavern these noisome beasts compelled him to retreat.