A large bird of prey in the genus Aquila. In the Bible, people often confused eagles with vultures, so it is hard to know which bird is meant. Eagles have feathered heads, unlike vultures, but from far away they can look similar.
The Hebrew word translated “eagle” means “to tear with the beak.” It may have referred to all large birds of prey, including both eagles and vultures. Some verses that say “eagle” may actually mean griffon vulture (Hosea 8:1). Other verses likely mean a true eagle.
The Holy Land has several kinds of eagle. These include the imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) and the less common golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). Eagles are strong birds with wide wings. They move with both grace and power. Their hooked beaks are good for tearing and killing prey. Their short, strong legs and sharp claws (talons) can hold prey very tightly. Eagles hunt during the day.
Eagles in the BIble
In the Bible, the eagle is a picture of speed. The golden eagle can fly 5 to 7 kilometers (3 to 4 miles) in 10 minutes. This may explain comparisons in 2 Samuel 1:23; Jeremiah 4:13; 49:22; and Lamentations 4:19. Moses compared an enemy attack to an eagle’s sudden strike (Deuteronomy 28:49). Proverbs compares the eagle’s high flight to human ambition (Proverbs 23:4–5; compare Revelation 12:14).
Eagles were also symbols of powerful nations. Ezekiel compared King Nebuchadnezzar to an eagle (Ezekiel 17:3). In Babylonian and Assyrian art, an eagle often had the body of a man and the head of a bird. In Daniel 4:33, Nebuchadnezzar’s hair became like eagle’s feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws” during his time of madness.
Eagles build nests on high cliffs or in tall trees (Jeremeiah 49:16; compare Job 39:27–28; Obadiah 1:4). The female lays two or sometimes three eggs. Only the female sits on the eggs, but both parents feed the eaglets. Eagles care for their young and teach them to fly. Some people think Exodus 19:4 and Deuteronomy 32:11 describe an eagle carrying its young on its wings. However, there is little evidence that eagles do this.
Some eagles in captivity have lived more than 100 years. This may be why Psalm 103:5 speaks of the eagle whose youth is renewed. Bible writers often showed awe for the eagle’s power (Job 39:27–30; Proverbs 30:18–19). The eagle also appears in visions, such as Ezekiel’s living creature with an eagle’s face (Ezekiel 1:10) and John’s vision of a flying eagle (Revelation 4:7).