Deuteronomy 14:12

12 Now these [are] the ones you shall not eat {any of them}: the eagle and the vulture and the short-toed eagle,

Deuteronomy 14:12 Meaning and Commentary

Ver. 12-18. But these are they of which they shall not eat
Jarchi observes, that the unclean birds are particularly mentioned, to teach that the clean sort are more than the unclean, and therefore the particulars of the fewest are given: these are all the same names as in ( Leviticus 11:13-19 ) , excepting one, "the glede", ( Deuteronomy 14:13 ) which is a kind of kite or puttock; the Jerusalem Targum renders it the vulture, and the Targum of Jonathan the white "dayetha" or vulture; and Aristotle says F17 there are two sorts of vultures, the one small and whiter, the other larger and of many forms or colours; in Hebrew its name here is "raah", and is thought to be the same with "daah" in ( Leviticus 11:14 ) there translated the "vulture", which has its name there from flying, and here from seeing, for which it is remarkable; see ( Job 28:7 ) and the letters (d) and (r) are pretty much alike, and are sometimes changed, but there is another here, in ( Deuteronomy 14:13 ) mentioned, the "dayah", which is not mentioned in ( Leviticus 11:1-47 ) , though some think it the same with the "ayah", rendered both here and there the "kite"; perhaps it means another sort of vulture, the black vulture, as the Targum of Jonathan.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 Hist. Animal. l. 8. c. 3.

Deuteronomy 14:12 In-Context

10 But {anything that does not have} fins and scales, you may not eat, [for] it [is] unclean for you.
11 "All [of] [the] birds [that] [are] clean you may eat.
12 Now these [are] the ones you shall not eat {any of them}: the eagle and the vulture and the short-toed eagle,
13 and the red kite and the black kite or {any kind of falcon},
14 and any [kind] of crow according to its kind,

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Literally "from them"
  • [b]. This list of birds is difficult to translate since the terms are not definitely known: e.g., some translations render the last bird as a "buzzard" (NASV); other translations give different names for all three: griffon vulture, black vulture, bearded vulture (NEB)
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.