A seagull is a strong seabird that often eats food it finds rather than hunts (family Laridae).
Several kinds of gulls live along the seacoast of the Holy Land. They usually have gray backs, white heads and undersides, and black wing tips. Their thin bills curve downward at the tip.
Seagulls can be 20 to 76 centimeters (8 to 30 inches) long. Many kinds travel far during migration. They are excellent fliers and can swim easily because of their webbed feet. Their calls sound like a loud scream or squawk.
In nesting season, many gulls gather together to make nests on cliffs, trees, or any place they find. Both the male and female sit on the eggs and care for the chicks.
Because gulls will eat almost anything, they are listed as ritually unclean birds (Leviticus 11:16; Deuteronomy 14:15). In some Bible translations, the term “sea mew” is used for a common European gull. Some scholars think these verses may refer instead to an owl or a cuckoo.
See also Birds; Cuckoo, Cuckow.
Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Discussion:
All modern English translations, except NEB and REB (which follow Driver’s suggestion), render shachaf as “seagull” or “gull", and this reflects the overwhelming consensus among scholars. This is also the meaning in modern Hebrew, while the tern (a relative of the gull) is called shechafit ("little gull").
It is likely that in biblical times this word referred to all seabirds with long narrow wings, including gulls, terns, skuas, coursers, shearwaters, and others. There are at least twelve common species of this family of birds found in Israel, along the coastal areas and on Lake Galilee. The most common are the Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus, the Herring Gull Larus argentatus, the Common Tern Sterna hirundo, and the Little Tern Sterna albifrons.
Description:
Seagulls, as their name suggests, are seabirds, living on the coasts of seas and lakes. Some of their relatives, the terns and skimmers, are also found on the great rivers of the world, such as the Amazon, Nile, Zambezi, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Murray, and Mississippi. Some are even found on smaller rivers and ponds. Gulls are bigger than terns and have heavier beaks, with some species having a noticeable hook at the tip.
Most of the birds in this family are white with gray or black backs and upper wing surfaces. They have long flexible wings. They feed on fish or plankton, usually settling on the water to feed. Some dive into the water for their food, and many are also shoreline scavengers, eating dead fish, crabs, and shellfish. They typically follow fishing boats to eat scraps or discarded fish.
Special significance or symbolism:
They are listed among the unclean birds.
Translation:
Since gulls and terns are found worldwide near the sea or any other significant body of water, a local name will not be difficult to find in such areas. Both of the terns mentioned above occur worldwide, migrating from one hemisphere to the other. The black-headed gull is found in Europe and Africa. In drier or mountainous inland parts of the world where neither gulls or terns are known, a phrase such as “seabird” can be used.
Animals in the Bible © United Bible Societies. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.