Topic
Falcon
3 passages cited, from 2 classic reference works.
These works date from 1896–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Leviticus 11:14ISBE · Nave A carnivorous bird (R. V.)
And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
- Deuteronomy 14:13ISBE · Nave A carnivorous bird (R. V.)
And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
- Job 28:7ISBE
There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 3 references
fo'-k'-n, fol'-k'-n, fal'-kun: The Hebrews did not know the word. Their bird corresponding to our falcon, in all probability, was one of the smaller kestrels covered by the word nets, which seemed to cover all lesser birds of prey that we include in the hawk family. That some of our many divisions of species were known to them is indicated by the phrase "after its kind." The word occurs in the Revised Version (British and American) in Job 28:7, to translation 'ayyah, Greek gups (compare Le 11:14; De 14:13):
"That path no bird of prey knoweth,
Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it."
This substitutes "falcon" for "vulture" in the King James Version. The change weakens the force of the lines. All ornithologists know that eagles, vultures and the large hawks have such range of vision that they at once descend from heights at which we cannot see them to take prey on earth or food placed to tempt them. The falcons and sparrow hawks are small members of the family, some of which feed on little birds, some on insects. They are not celebrated for greater range of vision than other birds of the same location and feeding habits. The strength of these lines lay in the fact that if the path to the mine were so well concealed that the piercing eye of the vulture failed to find it, then it was perfectly hidden indeed.
Gene Stratton-Porter
In the topical indexes
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.