A gray-brown owl with eyes that look like spectacles, often found in wooded areas.
About Tawny Owl
As with most of the owls, there is no complete agreement among the versions. It would appear at first that “screech owl” has strong support as the translation of yanshuf. However, this is misleading. The next Hebrew name on the list of unclean birds in LEV 11:18 and DEU 13:16 is tinshemeth, which NIV renders “white owl” and NAB “barn owl". In fact both white owl and barn owl are simply alternate names for the screech owl, which these two versions have included earlier in the list. They have thus actually listed the same owl twice. Among Jewish scholars the translation of tinshemet as barn owl has a long history, and in modern Hebrew this is the name of the barn owl. (See further discussion of tinshemet at Tinshemeth). Thus it seems best to translate yanshuf in some other way.
Key References
the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,
the little owl, the great owl, the white owl,
The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.
All Scripture References (3)
Leviticus (1)
the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,
Deuteronomy (1)
the little owl, the great owl, the white owl,
Isaiah (1)
The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.