Owl

A large bird about 75 cm tall, with ear tufts and a deep hoot, that is considered ceremonially unclean in the Bible and feeds on small mammals and birds.

WEB-0193_eagle_owl
Bath ya‘anah

About Owl

Owls are birds that are active at night. They have large heads and big eyes that face forward. Their soft feathers help them fly without making noise. An owl’s body is small and light, about the size of a pigeon, but it looks bigger because of its thick feathers.

Owls live in quiet, dark places. In the Middle East, they often live in old temple ruins, pyramids, rock graves, and caves. These places include areas in Egypt and on both sides of the Jordan River in Israel. Owls usually stay away from places where people live.

Read full article
Go deeper
The animal itself Article

Habits, distribution, and how translators render the term across languages.

Key References

Leviticus 11:16

the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,

Deuteronomy 14:15

the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,

Isaiah 13:21

But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.

All Scripture References (8)

Leviticus (1)
Leviticus 11:16

the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,

Deuteronomy (1)
Deuteronomy 14:15

the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,

Job (1)
Job 30:29

I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of ostriches.

Isaiah (3)
Isaiah 13:21

But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.

Isaiah 34:13

Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches.

Isaiah 43:20

The beasts of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I provide water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people.

Jeremiah (1)
Jeremiah 50:39

So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there and ostriches will dwell there. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.

Micah (1)
Micah 1:8

Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich.