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Abstract

The biblical Nesher נֶשֶׁר is the Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus). Both the biblical Nesher and ornithological Griffon are known for their ‘bald’ head, enormous wingspan, effortless flight, cliff nesting, devoted nurturing, rapid descent, and group feasting on carrion. From biblical times until the industrial age, Griffons have been ubiquitous in the Middle East but absent in northern Europe or the Americas. However, eagles commonly resided in northern Europe but are uncommon residents or pass-through migrants in the Middle East. Through millennia, when northern Europeans sought translations for biblical plant and animal names, they sometimes replaced Middle Eastern meanings with recognizable northern European ones. So the Nesher became known as the eagle to many northern Europeans and North Americans. However, recent Hebrew-speaking ornithologists concur that the Nesher is the Griffon. This distinction becomes important when gleaning nuances from biblical metaphors, clarifying kosher dietary regulations, and discerning genealogical connections among raptors.

Keywords

bird raptors Griffon Vulture Israeli fauna Leviticus Nesher ornithology

1. Introduction

Leviticus 11.13 and Deuteronomy 14.12 admonish Hebrews to not eat the Nesher נֶשֶׁר because it is unclean. What bird is the Nesher? And what can Hebrews not eat? Among all the unclean birds listed in these dietary laws, the Nesher appears first, so this bird must have been very important. Moreover, the Bible offers more depictions of Nesher traits than for any other wild animal, other than perhaps the lion.

The objective of this paper is to compare these Nesher traits to those of several raptors that are chronicled in the ornithological literature, so as to identify which raptor the Nesher is.

From among 28 biblical passages, we learn that the Nesher (a) is ‘bald’, (b) lives and nests in the crags of cliffs at great height, (c) eats dead carcasses, (d) congregates in large groups to devour these carcasses, (e) devotedly cares for its chicks, (f) has broad powerful wings and long feathers, which can metaphorically carry individuals to safety, (g) can effortlessly soar toward heaven and the stars, (h) comes quickly from afar upon prey in large uproarious groups, (i) is portrayed as a portent of doom and desolation, and (j) is often presented as exhibiting all these traits in the plural: as Nesherim נְשָׁרִים (Talshir 2012: 50–52; Dor 1964, 1997: 93–94; Aharoni 1938, 1938a, 1923: 74–76; Tristram 1865, 1885, 1898: 172–79). Moreover, with this many biblical passages pertaining to it, (k) the Nesher is surely important, common, prominent, beneficial, inspirational, majestic, awesome, doom-portending, and well recognized by the initial Hebrew authors and readers (Talshir 2012: 50–52). These traits render the Nesher a captivating illustration for sweeping imagery and paradoxical metaphors. On the one hand, Isa. 40.31 proclaims, ‘Those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had the wings of Nesherim; they run without growing weary’ (NET), whereas Habakkuk 1.8 warns ‘A stampede of galloping horses thunders out of nowhere. They descend like the Nesher circling in on carrion’ (The Message).

So what bird is the Nesher? This question becomes confounded when considering the context of the Hebrew people’s sojourns through several millennia. The Hebrew clan began with Abraham and the patriarchs. Then the Hebrews lived in Egypt and bondage for 400 years. Then they migrated with Moses to Israel where they remained for about 1½ millennia—with an interim forced exile to Babylonia for about 70 years. Then, following the Roman destruction and plunder of Jerusalem in AD 70, the remnant of Hebrew peoples dispersed to Europe, Africa, and Asia (the diaspora). Following that dispersion, only a trickle of Hebrews returned to the Holy Land until the 20^th Century. In Europe and these far-flung lands, the Hebrews encountered plants and animals that were frequently distinct from those that had flourished in their biblical-era habitats of Israel and the Middle East. Thus, to these dispersed people, the identity of several important Middle Eastern plants and animals became unknown, and some biblical Hebrew word meanings became displaced by plants and animals that were indigenous to northern Europe and these distant lands. One such displaced Hebrew word meaning is for the Nesher, which was recognized as the Griffon Vulture in biblical times but became known as the eagle by many Bible readers in northern Europe.

Tristram (1865) reported:

We have נֶשֶׁר ‘Nesher’ (Arabic نسر ‘Nisser’ [or ‘Nasr’]), rendered ‘Eagle’ in our [KJV] version [of the Bible]; but unquestionably in the ancient Hebrew, as in the modern Arabic, [Nesher is] the name of the Griffon-Vulture—the most majestic of birds in action and appearance. … The expression ‘who enlargeth thy baldness as a Nesher’, evidently applies only to the Griffon.

To place this linguistic history in context, we recognize that whereas Griffon Vultures were ubiquitous and abundant in biblical Hebrew regions, Griffons have had no presence in northern Europe. In contrast, although Israel, Egypt, and the Middle East host about eleven eagle species, none of these species exhibit more than a third of the biblical traits of the Nesher found in the Middle East. For example, only one small eagle has commonly nested in Israel—the Short-tailed Snake Eagle. Most other eagles breed in far northern Eurasia and winter in Africa. These others only quickly migrate through Israel, Egypt, and the Middle East. Several of the migrating eagle species rarely stop even to eat or drink. So the writers of the Hebrew Bible could not have observed eagles displaying their nesting behavior nor many of the other traits that are biblically attributed to the Nesher.

Specifically, the Golden Eagle is well known in both northern Europe and North America, so it has captured the imaginations and metaphors of those Bible readers who reside in these northern regions. But the Golden Eagle has rarely bred in Israel, northeast Egypt, the Sinai, and ancient Babylon. So the Golden Eagle’s breeding habits and several other traits would have been unrecognized by most Hebrew authors and readers, and it thus is an unlikely candidate for a biblical writer’s metaphors.

We submit that a proper translation should be both zoologically accurate and culturally relevant to the readers. While employing limited vocabulary, biblical metaphors provide Hebrew writers with vivid and often precise imagery for their prophecies and narratives. Accurate translation is required to allow the modern reader to discern the subtle nuances presented in these Nesher metaphors.

In the biblical Hebrew culture, the Nesher has been ubiquitous. The Nesher has been perceived as majestic, with its huge wings and graceful soaring. It has also been viewed as beneficial in quickly consuming carrion before the corpses could rot and spread disease. The Nesher is also awesome as a portent of death, yet merciful in waiting for an animal to die before ingesting it (Talshir 2012: 55). As we will see below, these traits match the Griffon Vulture.

2. Griffon Vulture (Gyps Fulvus) character traits, behavior, and habitat

The Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) is a huge raptor with its awesome nine foot wing span, which equals that of the awe-inspiring condors of the Americas. Since much of the New World and northern European populace is unfamiliar with the Griffon Vulture, we will discuss this impressive raptor at some length, while referring to it as the ‘Griffon’ for short. The characteristics that distinguish the Griffon from the eagles will be emphasized, as these two are the most common translation choices for the word Nesher.

The Griffon’s major food source is the carrion of large mammals. When Griffons spot dead animals from afar, hundreds of these massive raptors can swoop down on the carrion within minutes of detecting it. The Griffon’s habitat range spans from Spain to Greece, to the Middle East, then to Bhutan. They nest and roost on dauntingly inaccessible cliffs. The Griffons’ nesting colonies and rookeries can host hundreds of Griffons. A mating pair breeds one offspring per year, which they both devotedly incubate, feed, brood, protect, and shade. They continue nurturing the fledglings until six to seven months beyond birth. The Griffons exhibit a gregarious social intelligence, which appears to include rudimentary communication with one another. The Griffons soar effortlessly on thermal updrafts for hours on end, while searching for carrion with their phenomenally keen eyesight. The Griffon picks up cues regarding the presence of carrion from other Griffons, which results in a congregation of Griffons descending quickly upon corpses. All these traits are also biblically attributed to the Nesher.

2.1. Griffon geographical distribution and habitat: Current and historical

The European Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus, Nesher) appears in a broad geographic region that spans mountainous terrain, cliff-lined canyons, and semi-desert ecosystems throughout much of Spain, southern France, Greece, Crete, Cyprus, West Africa, East Africa, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Georgia, Armenia, southwest Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, northwest India, Nepal and Bhutan (eBird; Jonsson 1992: 126; Botha et al. 2017). However, Griffons are rare or non-existent in northern France, Germany, Poland, England, Russia, North America, and South America, where important Bible translations have been produced. Worldwide, the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International (2023) record the current population at 80,000 to 900,000 Griffons (lower estimate per Botha et al. 2017). Spain alone hosts 96,000 to 122,000 Griffons (Del Moral and Molina 2018).

In recent decades, several hundred Griffons have resided in Israel, particularly in the Golan Heights, Judean Desert, and the Negev (Shirihai, Dovrat, and Christie 1996: 93–94; Shirihai et al. 2000: 71–73; Slotta-Bachmayr et al. 2004: 58–60; Bahat et al. 2001). This number had diminished to 113 Griffon individuals as of 2015, per Choresh et al. (2019). However, the Griffon population in pre-industrial Israel was much larger.

In the 19th century, the Griffon features in the important early cataloguing of birds undertaken by Henry Baker Tristam. Tristram was an ornithologist and minister who spent years chronicling the birds he found in many remote regions of the world. These surveys included nearly a year of extended excursions within Palestine. He collected more than 20,000 natural specimens, mostly of birds. Tristram (1865, 1885, 1898) recognized the Nesher as the Griffon. Tristram (1898: 176) observed that:

The number of Griffons in every part of Palestine is amazing, and they are found at all seasons of the year. I do not think I ever surveyed a landscape without its being enlivened by the circling of a party of Griffons. . . . From a single vantage point, I once counted 120 Griffons.

(Tristram then lists about eight cliff-sided gorges that hosted Griffons)

… But the most populous of all were the “griffonries” in the stupendous cliffs of Wadi Hamam [just west of the Sea of Galilee] … with 1000 foot perpendicular cliffs, honeycombed by a multitude of caverns, holes, and narrow passages … among which a celebrated band of rebels for years had defiantly held at bay all the power of Herod and the Romans.”

Aharoni also recognized the Nesher as the Griffon. Aharoni (1923:73–76) writes:

Since time immemorial, the Nesher-Griffon has resided in the very high and lofty mountains, which are in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee, …

then he lists numerous mountainous and cliff regions in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria that host the Nesher-Griffons):

… in the crevices of the many cliffs there … Although they choose to inhabit the mountains, they will also soar through the valleys and steppes which are between the mountains to scan them in search of carrion.

Dor also recognized the Nesher as the Griffon. Per Dor (1997: 93–94), ‘Griffons were plentiful in Israel until the 1950s, when poisoning of Jackals caused death to the Griffons who ate tainted jackal carcasses’.

Talshir (2012: 51) recognized that ‘it is highly likely that the Nesher in the Bible indicates vulture’.

Also in pre-industrial Egypt as recently as the mid-1800’s, Griffons were described as ‘abundant’ (Goodman et al. 1989; Adams 1864; Taylor 1867). Per Adams (1864), ‘The Gyps fulvus [Griffon] is plentifully distributed over Egypt and Nubia, assembling in great numbers on carcasses, and at very short notice. Seldom, however, a day passes that several may not be seen soaring at vast heights’. Gurney (1876) observed Griffons among the cliffs along the mid-latitude Nile; and roosting sites were reported in the Sinai and along cliffs in a Wadi east of Cairo. Several thousand Griffons have been reported as migrating through Suez as recently as the 1940s (Goodwin 1949), although the number has dramatically dwindled since then (Goodman et al. 1989).

Thus, the Griffon remained an abundant raptor in Israel, Egypt, and the Middle East as recently as the 1860s through the 1950s; and they are perceived as likewise having been abundant in biblical times. To those Hebrew sojourners exiting Pharaoh’s Egypt and entering Israel, the Griffons could well have been a more plentiful sight than were all the resident eagles and other huge vultures combined (except perhaps during raptor migrations). Per these characterizations, we can surmise that when Moses and others prescribed the Leviticus and Deuteronomy laws, they could well have pointed to Griffons in the sky immediately above them, while admonishing, ‘See those Griffons-Nesherim up there? Don’t eat them’.

However, more recently in some (but not all) of the Griffons’ range, their populations have diminished in response to industrialization, loss of habitat, wind turbine encounters, altered livestock ranching practices, etc. For example, when the mad cow disease broke out in Europe in the 1990s, regulations required ranchers to burn their dead livestock, thus leaving fewer carcasses for Griffons to eat. However, since the receding of this disease, these regulations have been relaxed (Vulture Conservation Foundation; Margalida, Pérez-García, and Moreno-Opo 2014; Margalida, Campión, and Donázar, 2017). Subsequently, thanks to conservationists’ monumental efforts, the Griffon’s populations have been restored in some (but not all) regions. For example, Spain’s Griffon population increased tenfold from 3200 to 34,000 breeding pairs from 1980 to 2018 (Parra and Telleria 2004; Del Moral and Molina 2018; Vulture Conservation Foundation; Zuberogoitia et al. 2010; Romani et al. 2021).

2.2. Griffon behavior and traits

The Griffons are gregarious in their socialization, to a degree that far exceeds other raptors. They roost and nest in colonies of 10 to 200 birds, and they feed on carrion in groups of 50 to 400 Griffons (Zuberogoitia et al. 2010; Shirihai et al. 1996; Romani et al. 2021). Griffons establish their nesting colonies and roosting sites on the edges of sheer-vertical cliffs that are often 800 to 2300 feet (250–700 m) high in rugged terrain (Xirouchakis 2007; Freund, Bahat, and Motro 2017). Their nests can be in caves, against rock-shelter walls, or on ledges that are shaded from the sun. Or sometimes, the Griffons choose nests that lack natural shade, in which case the parent Griffons shade their chicks with their huge wings (Freund, Bahat, and Motro 2017; compare to Job 39.27; Obad. 1.4; Deut. 32.11, 13).

A breeding pair can remain monogamous for more than a decade, and the pair breeds one chick per year. The mother and father take turns in nurturing the fledgling chicks and in foraging for food. Several studies noted that the male built more of the nest, nurtured the chicks more, and foraged more than did the female (Xirouchakis and Mylonas 2007; Xirouchakis 2007; Freund, Bahat, and Motro 2017; Yaniv-Feller et al. 2018). The parents’ incubation, hatching, and fledgling care can last six to seven months. Each chick is fed an average 550 g (1.2 lb) per day for its first four months (Xirouchakis and Mylonas 2007).

When embarking on their daily foraging foray, Griffons effortlessly mount up from their nesting or roosting sites around 8:00 to 9:00 AM, after thermal updrafts commence. Then they may soar continuously for five to six hours, while rarely flapping their wings, as they seek carrion (compare to Isa. 40.31). Their foraging carries them 20 to 100 miles daily, with longer routes during summer chick-rearing and food-scarcity seasons (Harel, Horvitz, and Nathan 2016; Nathan et al. 2012; Spiegel et al 2013). An individual’s foraging territory may extend over 4300 square miles through a full season (Hribšek et al 2021). Griffons can live for 25 to 30 years—which is longer than other large birds (Chantepie et al. 2016).

The Griffon anatomy is well suited for survival in their mountainous and desert habitats, where temperatures can dramatically fluctuate daily and seasonally. With their short feathers on their ‘bald’ heads and necks, they can adjust their posture so as to alter bare-skin exposure from as little as 7% of their body to as much as 32% (Ward et al. 2008). They can also adjust their peripheral blood circulation. By these means, they can thermoregulate to a relatively constant 37–39^oC (100–102^oF) body temperature over a broad range of environmental climates; and they achieve this with considerably less energy and water loss than for most other large birds (Prinzinger et al. 2002; Bahat and Choshniak 1998).

Their ‘bald’ heads and necks also prevent them from accumulating diseases when they eat carrion, which could otherwise be trapped in other raptors’ longer feathers (compare to Mic. 1.16).

The Griffon boasts large, strong durable wings, that span 7.5–9.2 feet (2.3–2.8 m). Their wing widths and feather lengths reach up to 1.7 ft (0.5 m). Their ulna (second wing bone) has a bone mineral density (cross-sectional) of 2.5 g/cm². This compares to 1.1 g/ cm² for a flamingo’s ulna (Frongia et al. 2021), and 0.85–0.93 g/cm² for a young adult human’s ulna (Meema and Meema 1978). The Griffon’s wing bones can withstand seven to ten times the polar torque (twisting force) that flamingo’s wing bones can (Frongia et al. 2021). These traits allow the Griffons to withstand very rough turbulence within up-drafting air currents. Griffons learn to soar on these currents as a developed skill. When compared to juveniles, the adults can climb 30% faster in a thermal and can soar 17% more quickly and efficiently. The adults flap their wings one-third as often as juveniles, thus expending considerably less energy as they gain experience (Harel, Horvitz, and Nathan 2016; compare Isa. 40.31; Ps. 103.5).

Griffons can soar and glide at 13 to 28 miles per hour (22–47 km/hr) and swoop down upon carrion at 45 mph (75 km/hr) (Harel et al. 2016; Pennycuick 1972; Animalia). Among raptors, this swooping speed is fast, but not the fastest. When swooping, the wind whistling through the Griffon’s massive wings emits sounds like those of a distant airplane or rocket, or of galloping horses (Xeno-Canto for Gyps fulvus; compare Jer. 4.13; Hab. 1.8). Griffons and other related Gyps vultures can soar to extremely great heights. The altitude record documented for a bird belongs to the closely-related Rupell’s Vulture, Gyps ruppellii, that collided with an airplane at 36,000 ft (11,000 m) elevation, as chronicled by the astonished pilot (Mundy et al. 1992; Duriez et al. 2014). Similar high-altitude soaring allows the Griffons to visually scan a very broad foraging area from any given aerial vantage-point. With their excellent eyesight, they can recognize a three foot (1 m) wide carcass from four miles (6.7 km) away and swiftly descend upon it (Animalia; compare Deut. 28.49; Prov. 23.5; Jer. 4.13; Lam. 4.19).

The Griffon expends hardly any greater amount of energy when it soars or glides than when it perches (Duriez et al. 2014). Its heart beats twice as fast when mounting up from its cliff-site, but then its heart rate reverts to its baseline rate within 1 to 10 minutes while soaring. This ‘restoration of youth’ reversion (compare Isa. 40.31) is very rapid when contrasted with other large birds: for example, the albatross can take two hours to revert to its baseline heart rate (Duriez et al. 2014).

The Griffon’s reaction time from spotting a carcass to swooping down upon it is profoundly swift, as discerned by Zuberogoitia et al. (2010) in northern coastal Spain where Griffon populations are robust. This team laid-down heaps of butchered cow remains in ‘wild’ mountainous sites that were changed from day to day. These carrion lay-down sites were 10 miles (16 km) from a large Griffon colony. During the breeding season when food was at a premium, the team found that within 1 to 8 minutes of any one Griffon coming to within 3 miles (5 km) of this lay-down site, 55 to 150 Griffons had already landed at the carrion site. In comparison, outside of the breeding season, within 2 to 35 minutes of the first Griffon coming to within 3 miles, 160 to 370 Griffons had landed at the carrion site (compare Jer. 4.13; Lam. 4.19; Hab. 1.8). Per Tristram (1898: 169), ‘If an animal is slaughtered after sunrise, though the human eye may scan the firmament for a vulture in vain, within five minutes a speck will appear overhead, and, wheeling and circling in a rapid downward flight, a huge Griffon will pounce on the carcass. In a few minutes a second and a third will dart down; another and another follows’. Thus, although the Griffons do not reach the fastest swooping speed of all raptors, they swiftly find and swoop down upon carrion—and collectively in great numbers.

A pack of 50 Griffons can reduce a carcass to nothing but skin and bones within 20 minutes (Animalia). Indeed, the Griffons’ collective swiftness in finding and consuming corpses limits the corpses’ access by other potential mammal scavengers, who could otherwise be a main vector for spreading disease (Mereu et al. 2017). From their high soaring positions, Griffons are keenly adept at picking up on cues from other swooping Griffons, from other raptors, and from mammal scavengers (Zuberogoitia et al. 2010; Kane et al. 2014; Kane and Kendall 2017; Kendall 2014), and they can swiftly react to those cues (compare Hab. 1.8). Thus, Griffons are very adept at quickly finding, descending upon, and eating carrion before putrefying microorganisms can extensively accumulate in the carrion and before most mammal scavengers can find the carrion. So Griffons serve to preempt the spread of such diseases that could otherwise be transmitted by mammalian scavengers (Ogada et al. 2012).

Because of their large storage pouch below their neck (their crop), they can store 3.7 pounds (1.7 kg) of food, so they can subsist without finding new food for two to three weeks—an important trait, since carrion availability is unpredictable (Prinzinger et al. 2002). With their long necks and powerful beaks, they can penetrate deep within a large carcass. Tristram (1859: 281) recalled that:

For some months [in Northern Africa] we possessed two Griffons taken from the nest … who never attempted to desert us. …They were able to fast for days. … But I have seen our pet [Griffon], ‘Musha Pasha’, attack the entrails of a camel, and, as his crop became distended, sink upon his breast unable to stand, till at length, even this position being too much for him, he lay on his side still eating, until overpowered and helpless he fell asleep. This enormous capacity for food, combined with the power for long abstinence, is a wonderful provision of Creative Wisdom for carrion-feeders, whose supply is so uncertain, while the necessity for the immediate removal of offensive matter is so urgent.

To facilitate the Griffon’s gregarious social interaction, they exhibit an extensive vocal repertoire, comprising at least twelve sound-categories. Per Romani and his team (2021), these include Brays, Groans, Grunts, Quacks, Hisses, etc. These researchers found that the nature of these vocalizations was linked to the circumstances of their social interactions. For example, a ‘Bray-Hiss’ established warnings when a Griffon was congenially competing for a carcass with other Griffons. But these would escalate to a ‘Grunt’ or ‘Metallic Groan’ if several Griffons fought over the same part of a carcass. Although these vocalizations sound rather chaotic and non-melodious to human ears, Romani and his team perceived that they pointed to a rather complex communication system and thus to a significant degree of social intelligence.

This social intelligence is also manifest in the Griffons’ nesting practices. During a 40-year study, Mateo-Tomás and Olea (2011) analyzed where Griffons selected their breeding sites while they were being reintroduced into northwest Spain’s mountains. Initially, the breeding Griffons selected sites based on cliff-remoteness and livestock suitability via non-socially-gleaned information. Then, as their numbers increased, other Griffons congregated at these pioneer sites in higher density. The newcomers sometimes selected proximity to other Griffons over the suitability of these secondary nest sites. According to the research team, this pointed to the Griffons relying on socially-derived information.

Through genetic adaptation over multiple generations, the guts of Griffons and other vultures have become resistant to the diseases, toxins, and rot that carrion host, in a manner that prevents the vultures and Griffons from succumbing to these diseases. Adaptations include a lower stomach pH, and the gut hosting a consortium of microorganisms, enzymes, and anti-bodies that are well suited for disabling and digesting rot-related diseases and toxins (Ogada et al. 2012; Houston and Cooper 1975; Arbulu et al. 2016; Plaza, Blanco, and Lambertucci 2020; Zepeda Mendoza et al. 2018; Pérez de la Lastra and de la Fuente 2007; Zou et al. 2021; Chung et al. 2015; Roggenbuck et al. 2014; Plaza, Blanco, and Lambertucci 2020; Vela et al. 2015). Already in the 19th century, Tristram (1859) noted that ‘The strength of the Vulture’s stomach is equal to its capacity, for on one occasion one of our [tag-along] Griffons devoured a half-pound pot of arsenical soap [used for taxidermy] with no further inconvenience than a violent fit of vomiting’.

The Griffon boasts about the same wingspan as does the California Condor and Andean Condor, and Griffons evoke the same emotions of majesty and grandeur when viewed. Indeed, when I viewed these massive raptors, their wingspan appeared as broad as hang gliders. The massive Griffon boasts nearly twice the Turkey Vulture’s wing span, and three to six times its weight. Especially in previous centuries and millennia, the Griffons were welcomed and respected as cleansers of carrion rot and diseases—perhaps particularly within a Hebrew culture that rigorously practices public health cleanliness.

It is worth noting that Israel and Egypt host three bald-headed huge vultures that have about the same appearance and enormous size as one another, although with distinct habits. These three are the Griffon (Nesher נֶשֶׁר Gyps fulvus), Lammergeier (Peres פֶרֶס Gypaetus barbatus), and Cinereous Vulture (Oznyah עָזְנִיָּה Aegypius monachus) (Hebrew names by Paz and Eshbol 1990; Avibase; Latin names also by Porter and Aspinall 2010). Among these three, the Griffon has been the most abundant, by far. To the ancient Egyptians of 4000 to 5000 years ago, the large bald-headed vultures represented maternity and protection. Accordingly, these vultures, with their outspread wings, were painted on the ceilings of their temples, being perceived as securing protection for the worshipers. Bald-headed vultures also appeared in the headdresses of ancient Egyptian Queens, while the mummies of Bald-headed vultures have been found embalmed at Thebes (Adams 1864). When referring to the artwork found still intact on ancient Egyptian obelisks, etc., Adams (1864) marveled that:

There is a point of no small interest connected with Egyptian ornithology. . . . I refer to the identification of the hieroglyphic characters with the present denizens of the country, in fact, their ‘range in historical time’, which dates back to some of the earliest world-known records. Thus we are enabled in a measure to compare the familiar denizens of the Nile Valley 4000 or 5000 years ago with the present inhabitants, and in some degree to show how little they have been affected, either numerically or physically, by what appears to ordinary observers as a vast period. As specimens of artistic skill, many of the early delineations are perfectly wonderful.

3. The biblical Nesher: Does it match the Griffon or the Eagle?

We now compare Griffon traits to those of the biblical Nesher. In this, we mostly quote the New English Translation (NET) with some translation by the author. We include the Hebrew word Nesher (singular) wherever it appears in the biblical Hebrew text—or Nesherim when plural.

Aharoni (1923:73–75; 1938; 1938a), Talshir (2012: 50–52), and Dor (1964; 1997: 93–94) are three prominent Hebrew-speaking Israeli scholars and/or zoologists who have documented that the biblically-presented Nesher matches all the behaviors and traits of the Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus). Tristram (1865, 1885, 1898), Hartley (2015), Milgrom (1998), and Slifkin (2015: 11) also view the Nesher as matching the biblically-identified traits of the Griffon. As we will see, from the perspective of the Hebrew Bible, Hebrew ornithology, and Hebrew literary scholarship it is most appropriate to identify the Nesher as the Griffon Vulture.

The raptor’s baldness is rather obvious evidence that the Nesher is the Griffon. This evidence is recognized by nearly all commentators and translators. This trait appears in Mic. 1.16: ‘shave your heads bald as a Nesher נֶשֶׁר’. Indeed, among all Middle Eastern raptors, the Griffon is the most strikingly ‘bald,’ with short-cropped white feathers on its head and neck. In contrast, Middle Eastern eagles are not ‘bald’ (as we discuss below). In Arabic, the Griffon is known as the Nasr or Nissrنسر ‎ (transliterations per Goodman et al. 1989: 178, and Tristram 1898: 172). Notably, in Modern Hebrew, Nesher נֶשֶׁר can also refer to fallen fruit, while nashar נָשַׁר is a verb that means ‘to fall out’ or ‘to cause to shed’. Also, nesheir נשִׁיר means ‘deciduous’ (i.e., a tree that sheds its leaves). (Scharfstein, Scharfstein, and Scharfstein 2014). Whether these three words come from the same root as Nesher is debated and will be discussed in a future study. We note in passing that the North American Bald Eagle can appear bald, but it resides only in the Americas, so no writer of the Hebrew Bible would have known of it.

The Nesher is depicted as living and nesting in the crags of cliffs at great heights (Job 39.27; Jer. 49.16; Obad. 1.4). According to Job 39.27–28, ‘The Nesher soars and builds its nest on high … on a crag on a cliff and a fortress.’ As per Jer. 49.16, ‘“You may make your home in the clefts of the cliffs; you may occupy the highest places in the hills. But even if you made your home where the Nesher nests, I would bring you down from there,” says the Lord’. The Griffons choose nesting and roosting colonies near the tops of very high, inaccessible, sheer cliffs. In contrast, most eagle species only migrate through Israel and northern Egypt, without nesting there.

The Nesher is characterized as feasting on and congregating around carrion (Job 39.27–30; Prov. 30.17; Hab. 1.8). Job 39.27–30 reads, ‘where the slain are, there it [the Nesher] is’. Jesus quotes this verse in Matt. 24.28 and Luke 17.37: ‘wherever the corpse is, there the αετοι-vultures will gather’ (NET). The Griffon eats carrion almost exclusively. In contrast, eagles will occasionally eat carcasses, but prefer live prey (Porter and Aspinall 2010; Jonsson 1992; Mullarney et al. 1999).

In six of these biblical Nesher passages, this raptor is presented in its plural form: Nesherim (Exod. 19.4; 2 Sam. 1.23; Isa. 40.31; Jer. 4.13; Lam. 4.19; Dan. 4.33 (English)/30 (MT)). Talshir (2012: 50–52) emphasizes that this plurality also points to the Nesherim being the Griffons, because, as we have seen, Griffons roost and nest in colonies; and they feast in large groups of 50 to 400 Griffons. In contrast, the eagle usually operates alone and breeds in solitary pairs.

The Nesher is depicted as effortlessly soaring to the great heights of heaven on large and efficient wings (Exod. 19.4; Deut. 32.11; Job 39.27; Ps. 103.5; Prov. 23.5; 30.19; Isa. 40.31; Jer. 48.40; Ezek. 17.3, 7; Obad. 1.4; Hab. 1.8). These are both traits of the Griffon, whereas ‘the eagles are content with lower elevations.’ (Tristram 1898: 175). According to Isa. 40.31, ‘Those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they עָלָה alah-rise up as if they had the wings of Nesherim; they run without growing weary’. After the Griffons rise up off their perches, they renew their strength within one to ten minutes. As per Isaiah’s metaphor, God’s up-drafting ruach-winds of the Spirit will carry us and renew us in ways we cannot see—as thermal updrafts do for Griffons. Indeed, the Hiphil stem for the verb rise-up alah עָלָה here implies that it is an external force that causes the Nesher-Griffon to be raised upward, namely the wind currents.¹

Ezek. 17.3, 7 describes ‘a great Nesher with broad wings and long feathers’. Dan. 4.33 (English)/ 30(MT) reads: ‘Nebuchadnezzar’s hair became long like the feathers of Neshrin, and his nails like a bird’s claws’. As we have seen, the Griffons’ wings span 7.5–9.2 feet, and their feathers reach 1.7 feet in length. Their very dense wing bones resiliently withstand the buffeting of intense up-drafting wind currents. What better wings to metaphorically carry the Hebrews out of Egyptian slavery, as depicted in Exod. 19.4: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you (nasa נָשָׂא) on the wings of Nesherim and brought you to myself’? This verb nasa (used here in the Qal stem) can mean to lift, bear, carry, support, sustain, endure, take away, or forgive. In Gen. 40.13,20 and 2 Kgs. 25.27, nasa means to nasa-lift a prisoner out of an underground dungeon (Gesenius 567), and this perhaps matches the nasa-lifting of the Hebrews out of the dungeon of slavery (Exod. 19.4). In the note accompanying the NE translation of this verse, it is observed that, ‘The bird referred to could be one of several species of eagles, but more likely is the Griffon Vulture. The image is that of power and love’.

The Nesher is depicted as powerfully protective and lovingly devoted to its young (Exod. 19.4; Deut. 32.4–13). Deut. 32.11, 13 reads ‘He [the Lord] continually guarded him [Jacob] and taught him … and protected him. . . . Like a Nesher that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, so the Lord spread out his wings and took him’. These traits of nurture depict the Griffons, who protect their young for six to seven months on high cliffs and shade them from the blazing sun with their huge wings (see above). But such nurture and shading does not reflect the behaviour of the eagles, who only briefly tend to their chicks (see below).

The Nesher is portrayed as ‘flying away like a Nesher toward heaven’ (Prov. 23.5, ESV). Then Prov. 30.19 depicts the ‘way of a Nesher in the heavens’ as ‘wonderful’. Obad 1.4 says, ‘“even if you were to soar high like a Nesher, even if you were to make your nest among the stars, I can bring you down even from there!” says the Lord’. Likewise, the Griffon soars to great heights while foraging—far higher than eagles.

The Nesher is depicted as coming from afar and then descending quickly en masse on its prey from nowhere (Deut. 28.49; Jer. 49.22; Hab. 1.8). Deut. 28.49 reads, ‘The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the earth as the Nesher flies … They will devour the offspring of your livestock’. Indeed, the Griffon’s food source is livestock, as alluded to here. Hab. 1.8 reads, ‘A stampede of galloping horses thunders out of nowhere. They descend like the Nesher-vultures circling in on carrion’ (The Message). Jer. 49.22 reads, ‘Look! Like a Nesher with outspread wings, a nation will soar up and swoop down on Bozrah’. Indeed, as we have noted above, the Griffon can spot carrion from four miles away; and can seemingly come from out of nowhere, with 50 to 370 of them swooping down on carrion within 1 to 30 minutes.

Tristram (1859; 1898: 169–70) chronicles such Nesher-Griffon behavior during the Crimean war (1853–1856), which resulted in about 300,000 deaths:

The Griffon Vulture, who first detects the quarry, descends from his elevation at once. Another, sweeping the horizon at a still greater distance, observes his neighbor’s movements, and follows his course. A third, still farther removed follows the flight of the second; he is traced by another, and thus a perpetual succession is kept up, so long as a morsel of flesh remains over which to consort. Thus, on great battle fields, and during sieges, as at that of Sevastopol, immense numbers of vultures were congregated in a few hours, where the bird was comparatively scarce before. During the Crimean war, the whole race [of Griffons-Nesherim] from the Caucasus and Asia Minor seemed to have collected to enjoy so unwonted an abundance. The Arabs of North Africa declare, that at that time very few ‘Nissr’ were seen in their accustomed haunts, and believe that they were all gathered, even from the Atlas [mountains of Tunisia through Morocco], to feed on Russian horses.

The Nesher is characterized by the Hebrew verb קלל qalal (2 Sam. 1.23; Jer. 4.13), which can mean to be light, to lighten, to accelerate, to make easy, to hurry, to be swift. The Nesher is also characterized by the adjective קל qal (Lam 4.19), which can mean being swift, light, nimble with ease, unimpeded, rapid, and fleet of foot or flight (HALOT, BDB, Gesenius 732). Slifkin (2015: 125) adds ‘agile’. For example, Lam. 4.19 reads, ‘Those who pursued us were qal-swifter than Nesherim [plural emphasized] in the sky/heavens. They chased us over the mountains, they ambushed us in the wilderness’. In this context, the Hebrew word qal connotes a group of protagonists pursuing prey with nimble speed that is relentless, rapid, light-of-foot, unimpeded, determined, and assured to arrive quickly from afar. This describes many Griffons swiftly acting collectively. This is not about dive-bombing sprints, which can characterize an individual eagle acting alone.

A NET note for Lam 4.19 reads, ‘The bird referred to here could be one of several species of eagles, but more likely is the Griffon Vulture. However, because eagles are more commonly associated with swiftness than vultures in contemporary English, “eagles” was used in this translation’.

This NET note accurately depicts the challenge that translators face: should the translator use the name of an animal species that their geographic audience is familiar with? Or one that accurately depicts the Hebrew word meaning and the Middle Eastern zoology and habitat? Should the European and North American translators use the word ‘eagle,’ since most of the English-speaking and northern European readers could emotionally and metaphorically relate to this? Or should the translator use ‘Griffon’, since this fits the ornithological analysis? Few English-speaking readers have familiarity with the Griffon. Moreover, many readers of the Western Hemisphere emotionally associate ‘vulture’ with the disagreeable Turkey Vulture or western Black Vulture, which share few of the more impressive traits of the Griffon. While supplying ‘eagles’ in Lam. 4.19 (and elsewhere) may have its advantages, such a translation approach does not answer the question of how to accurately understand the eating restrictions of Lev. 11:13 and Deut. 14:12 or how to grasp the subtle nuances of the numerous metaphors which depend on the Nesher. Herein, we emphasize biological accuracy what translating scripture.

In 2 Sam. 1.23, David characterizes Saul and Jonathan as ‘qal-swifter than Nesherim, stronger than Lions’ (NET). Neither Saul nor Jonathan are portrayed as winning the 50-meter dash; but they are depicted as being qal- nimbly light, assuredly quick, doggedly agile, unimpeded, and resourcefully relentless. Saul was qal-quick and relentless in doggedly chasing David through impassable desert gorges to a remote cave (1 Sam. 23–24). Also, Saul was qal-unimpeded in recruiting a huge army, marching them across 20 miles and defeating an opponent all within a week (1 Sam. 11). Jonathan was qal-nimble in sneaking down and up cliffs of perhaps an 800 foot (250 m) vertical drop and surprising a Philistine outpost (1 Sam. 14).

Similarly Job 7.6 and 9.26 can be translated as, ‘My days [of life] are more qalal-rapid/ unimpeded than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope’ and ‘My days are more qal-fleet than a runner, they glide by like reed boats; like a Nesher, they soar, searching for food’. As we discussed above, the Griffon soars effortlessly for half the daylight hours, and its seasonal foraging territory may extend over thousands of square miles. This is the image that Job uses to describe the fleeting sojourn of his life. In contrast to this effortless continuous soaring of the Griffon, many eagle species remain mostly perched in trees or on ledges, from whence they intermittently swoop down short distances onto their prey.

In Ezek. 1.10 and 10.14, one of the four faces of heavenly creatures is ‘the face of a Nesher’, emphasizing its majesty. In Dan. 7.4, a great beast is prophesied to rise as a lion with Nesher wings. However, no other context is offered to allow us to distinguish whether these passages refer to Griffons or eagles.

On a more somber note, the Nesher also symbolizes impending doom for the unfaithful (Deut. 28.47–51; Prov. 30.17; Jer. 4.13–16; Jer. 48.39–41; Lam. 4.19; Hos. 8.1; Hab. 1.8). In Jer. 4.13–16, we read: ‘Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. His horses move more qalal-swiftly than Nesherim [plural, emphasized]. I cry out, “We are doomed, for we will be destroyed! … Those who besiege cities are coming from a distant land”’. So here, and in similar passages, the Nesherim are depicted as the Grim Reapers—a vast congregation that gathers like clouds from afar. This is consistent with the Griffon behavior: within minutes of detecting dead livestock, hundreds of Griffons can noisily descend upon carrion, seemingly coming from nowhere. When gorging on carrion, the Griffons raise a cacophony of croaks, groans, and hisses (Xeno-Canto for Gyps fulvus). Colloquially speaking, the moral of the prophet’s symbolic message could be paraphrased: ‘when a hundred Griffons are thunderously descending upon us from afar, we are already dead meat’.

3.1. Biblical significance and importance of the Nesher

The Nesher appears 28 times in the Hebrew (and Aramaic) Bible, making it the most commonly referenced bird other than the sacrificial dove, which is referenced 32 times. Only one other wild animal appears significantly more often biblically, namely the lion (about 136 times). Moreover, more character traits are biblically presented for the Nesher (about 15–20 traits, depending on how they are counted) than for any other wild animal, other than perhaps the lion. This context demonstrates that the Nesher is a very important and specific raptor that was at the forefront of the thoughts and imaginations of the biblical writers and initial Hebrew audience.

The Nesher is clearly very significant, and awe-inspiring to the biblical writers and was evidently assumed to be recognizable to their ancient readers. The Nesher is also the first unclean bird listed in the Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 dietary laws. Both these dietary restrictions start with ‘these flyers shall you not eat … the נֶשֶׁר Nesher-Griffon, the פֶרֶס Peres-Lammergeier, the עָזְנִיָּה Oznyah-Cinereous Vulture’ (Hebrew translations to English as per Paz and Eshbol 1990 and Avibase).

The issue of what is kosher and unclean underlies many of these discussions regarding raptor identity. If the Nesher is the Griffon Gyps fulvus, then Hebrews should not eat this carrion scavenger. If the Nesher is the eagle, then the Jews should instead not eat that raptor. But Jewish readers generally perceived that they should not eat either of these, which is an appropriate perspective, for genetic reasons to be discussed in a future publication.

4. Could Nesher mean ‘Eagle’?

A number of English Bibles translate the Hebrew word Nesher as ‘eagle’. But this raises the question: which eagle species or combination of eagle species? The regions of Israel, northeast Egypt, Sinai, northwest Arabia, and ancient Babylon host about eleven indigenous eagles, each with a distinct appearance and behavior from the others.

We list these eleven eagles roughly in order of their historical and current prevalence in the Israel-northeast Egypt-Sinai area. Those that have been ‘abundant’ or ‘somewhat common’ in this area include the Short-toed Snake Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle, Booted Eagle, and Bonelli’s Eagle. Those that have been ‘less common’, ‘rare’, ‘very rare’, ‘scarce’, ‘extremely rare’, or ‘vagrant’ (per Shirihai et al. 2000; Goodman et al. 1989; Tristram 1865, 1898) include the Imperial Eagle, Golden Eagle, Vereaux’s Eagle, Tawny Eagle, and White-tailed Eagle, roughly in that order. We list each of these by their English, Latin, and Hebrew names, per Paz and Eshbol’s (1990) Birds of Israel book and the Avibase International Ornithology. We also list their wing spans (in feet) and current worldwide population (per BirdLife International). Then we discuss their traits and behavior relative to biblical passages that address the Nesher. We also discuss their Middle Eastern abundance, particularly in the pre-industrial 1800s, an era for which there are written records.

Most of these eagles breed during the summer in northern Eurasia, spend their winters in Africa, then migrate through the Middle East during spring and autumn. Israel and northeastern Egypt serve as ideal migration flyways for hundreds of thousands of raptors and other birds. Along this flyway, cool air off the Mediterranean is up-drafted over hotter land surfaces, creating thermal air currents that birds can soar on.

4.1. Short-toed Snake Eagle

(Circaetus gallicus,חִוְיַאי ‎ Chevyaay) (5.4–5.9 ft., 50,000–100,000 pop.). The Short-toed Snake Eagle has been the only common eagle that breeds in Israel (Shirihai et al. 2000; Tristram 1865, 1885, 1898). According to Tristram (1898: 185), ‘Probably there are twice as many of the Short-toed Eagle in Palestine as of all the other [eagle] species together’. However, this eagle is not of the Aquila genus, and it is genetically more closely related to the Griffon than is any other eagle (Lerner and Mindell 2005). About 1000 to 8000 Short-toed Snake Eagles migrate through Israel per season (Shirihai et al. 1996), traveling 100 to 350 miles/day (Kapelj et al. 2017). As solitary hunters, they soar at a low 1600 foot (500 m) elevation in short circling flights. They can hover in place, and they take long shallow glides toward their prey of snakes, lizards, and mice (Darawshi 2009; Darawshi, Leshem, and Motro 2017). They feed snakes to their chicks for 60 to 80 days; while females prohibit males from visiting the nest. In that their prey is not any larger than snakes, the Short-toed Snake Eagle would not portend death in the Hebrews’ minds, whereas a Griffon would portend death. They prefer nesting in savannah trees, when available. Their nests are spaced one to two miles apart, rather than in group colonies (Friedmann et al. 2013; Bakaloudis 2000; Bakaloudis, Vlachos, and Holloway 2005; European Raptors). The Short-toed Snake Eagle does not match the biblical Nesher, in light of this eagle’s relatively small wings, small prey, brown head (not ‘bald’), solitary lifestyle, low-elevation soaring, and abbreviated chick-nurturing.

4.2. Steppe Eagle

(Aquila nipalensis, עֵיט עֲרָבוֹת Eyt Araboth) (5.7–6.9 ft wing span; 78,000–110,000 world population). The Steppe Eagle breeds in Kazakhstan and Russia and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and India. About 10,000–75,000 Steppe Eagles migrate through Israel during both spring and autumn (Shirihai et al. 2000). The Steppe Eagle appears on Kazakhstan’s flag, and its main prey is ground squirrels, small rodents, and termites. This eagle can swoop onto this prey at 180 mph (300 km/hr) (DinoAnimals). It migrates through Israel at about 25 mph (40 km/hr) and thus is able to pass through the length of Israel within a day (Spaar and Bruderer 1996). When not migrating or swooping on prey, the Steppe Eagle is ‘sluggish, spending much of its time perched on rock piles, the ground, or telephone poles’ (O’Neal Campbell 2022: 32). Since the Steppe Eagles breed far north of Israel, the Hebrew audience would have never observed it caring for its young, as the Bible documents the Nesher doing. The Steppe Eagle cannot be the Nesher of the Hebrew Bible, because of its northerly breeding, sluggish perching, and brown head (not ‘bald’).

4.3. Lesser Spotted Eagle

(Clanga pomarina,עֵיט חֹרֶשׁEyt Choresh) (4.8–5.4 ft, 40,000–60,000 pop.). The Lesser Spotted Eagle breeds in eastern Europe, and winters in eastern Africa south of Egypt. It migrates through Israel and northeast Egypt (Riad et al. 2021) but never stops to eat (Meyburg, Scheller, and Meyburg 2000). It nests and roosts in trees of northern European moist forests (Treinys and Mozgeris 2010), not among rocky crags. Also, its wing span is about half that of the Griffon, thus not matching biblical passages regarding the Nesher. Even where it does hunt, it often walks on the ground; and its winter diet is termites (Meyburg, Scheller, and Meyburg 2000). The writers of the Hebrew Bible would not have seen it swooping to prey on large mammals nor nurturing chicks. So the Lesser Spotted Eagle does not match the biblical Nesher’s traits.

4.4. Greater Spotted Eagle

(Clanga clanga,עֵיט צְפַרְדְּעִים ‎ Eyt Tzifarddeym) (5.1–5.9 ft, 3900–10,000 pop.). The Greater Spotted Eagle breeds in northern Eurasian forests, and it winters in wetlands in southern Europe, northeast Africa, the Nile Delta, and the Middle East (BirdLife International 2023; Maciorowski et al. 2019). It hunts fish, rodents, and small mammals by soaring, then suddenly diving downward (Graszynski, Komischke, and Meyburg 2002; Adams 1864). Only 30 to 85 migrants per year have passed through Israel during recent decades (Shirihai et al. 2000). However, as recently as the 1930s, the Greater Spotted Eagle was the most abundant wintering eagle in the Nile Delta (Goodman et al. 1989; Adams 1864; Taylor 1867; Shelly 1872; Meinertzhagen 1930, 1954). Taylor, in 1867, found the Spotted Eagle as a ‘plentiful arboreal eagle, seldom seen among rocks’. Shelly (1872) found them ‘extremely plentiful, sitting still by the wetland water’s edge, devouring decomposing fish’. About 15 pairs of Greater Spotted Eagles bred in northern Israel’s Hula Valley wetlands during the late 1800s (Shirihai et al. 2000: 117), but not recently. The Greater Spotted Eagle prefers wetlands, and it roosts in lowland trees next to these wetlands (Eagle Directory). This eagle thus does not match the biblical Nesher’s characterization of nesting and roosting high on cliffs among crags. Moreover, the Greater Spotted Eagle would not have been known for devotedly caring for its young, as they exhibit parental care intermittently for a mere 60 days (Våli and Lõhmus 2002). After this brief period of care, the father, mother, and fledging may then depart on different migration routes and to different destinations (Meyburg et al. 2005). Unlike the biblical Nesher, the Greater Spotted Eagle’s head has brown feathers, and is not ‘bald’, and it boasts only moderately-sized wings.

4.5. Booted Eagle

(Hieraaetus pennatus,עַיִט גַּמָּדִי ‎ Ayet Gammadey) (3.6–4.3 ft., 150,000–195,000 pop.). The Booted Eagle breeds in forests of southern Europe and Central Asia, and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and India. About 600 to 1400 Booted Eagles migrate through Israel and the Sinai (Shirihai et al. 1996, 2000; Goodman et al. 1989), and they also migrate through northeast Egypt (Riad et al. 2021). Adams (1864) observed only a few Booted Eagles in Egypt. Tristram (1865) found this raptor ‘by no means common. . . . It perches on trees rather than rocks’. This small eagle soars, then swiftly swoops upon rodents and reptiles. The Booted Eagle does not match the biblical Nesher because of its small size, small prey, out-of-region breeding, brown head, and smaller population.

4.6. Bonelli’s Eagle

(Aquila fasciata, נִצִי‎עַיִט ‎ Ayet Netzy) (1.5–1.7 m, 4.9–5.4 ft., 20,000–50,000 pop.). Bonelli’s Eagle is now a ‘rare and local resident in Israel and Egypt’ (Shirihai et al. 2000; Goodman et al. 1989). But in the 19th century, Tristram (1865) observed this raptor to be ‘rather common’. This small eagle preys on rock-pigeons, turtle doves, and rabbits. Accordingly to Tristram (1865), ‘after a short circling excursion, it [the Bonelli’s Eagle] will again and again return to the same prominent rock-post of observation’. Its small size, small prey, brown head, and ‘return-to-its-post’ hunting style preclude it from matching the biblical Nesher.

4.7. Imperial Eagle

(Aquila heliaca,עֵיט שֶׁמֶשׁ ‎ Eyt Shemesh) (6.2–6.9 ft., 2500–10,000 pop.). The Imperial Eagle breeds in central Eurasia and winters in India, China, eastern Africa, and pockets of the Middle East. This eagle is a ‘scarce or locally uncommon migrant’ in Israel and uncommonly winters in this land’s low-lying areas and wetlands (Shirihai et al. 1996). Hundreds of Imperial Eagles have been observed migrating through the Sinai, the Suez region, and Egypt’s Red Sea Mountains (Goodman et al. 1989). As per Tristram (1865; 1898: 174), the Imperial Eagle was in the 1860s ‘rather more common than the Golden Eagle’. The Imperial Eagle does not match the biblical Nesher, in that it does not breed in Israel or Egypt, and it frequents low-lying wetlands rather than rocky crags.

4.8. Golden Eagle

(Aquila chrysaetos, עַיִט זָהֹב Ayet Zahov) (6.2–7.5 ft., 85,000–160,000 pop.). In the Northern Hemisphere, the Golden Eagle is perhaps the most well-known and widely distributed species of eagle, living in both Eurasia and North America (BirdLife International). However, Israel and Egypt are at the southernmost fringe of the Golden Eagle’s range, where this raptor is a rare resident, breeder, and migrant. (Shirihai et al. 2000). This absence is apparently historical. According to Tristram (1898: 184), the Golden Eagle was ‘not very common in Palestine’, although Tristram (1865) found that ‘The Golden Eagle was very common all the winter in the maritime plains and about Mount Carmel [on the coast]’, but ‘became very scarce’ during breeding season. ‘We saw several pairs during January in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea, . . . but never had the opportunity to observe a Golden Eagle nest.’ Similarly, Taylor (1867), in his birding tour of the Nile Valley, says, ‘I never saw the Golden Eagle’. So too Adams (1864), in his survey that listed and chronicled 90 to 100 birds in Egypt’s Nile River basin, never even mentions the Golden Eagle. In the early 1900s, there were scant recorded sightings of Golden Eagles breeding in Israel, Egypt, or the Sinai (perhaps 0–4 breeding pairs a year) (Shirihai et al. 1996; Tristram 1865, 1898; Luke and Keith-Roach 1934; Meinertzhagen 1930; Goodman et al. 1989). The first recent breeding pair in Israel was discovered in 1972 (Brodetsky 1972). Since the 1970s, birders have observed 40 to 50 nest sites and breeding pairs in the southern Negev, 8 miles (13 km) apart from each other (Shirihai et al. 1996). The Golden Eagle more commonly breeds in northern Europe, where it nests in trees.

In various ways Golden Eagle might seem a suitable rendering of Nesher for North Americans and northern European readers because it superficially matches about a third of the biblical Nesher traits, much fewer than the Griffon does. The Golden Eagle hosts a maximum dive-bombing speed of 200 mph (330 km/hr), rendering it the third-fastest bird in the world (Kirschbaum and Ivory 2002). But it attacks prey solely on its own, not in groups. The Golden Eagle is powerful enough to lift young mountain goats skyward—but only for the purpose of dropping them to their death, so as to eat them rather than to rescue them.

Moreover, the Golden Eagle does not match about two-thirds of the biblical Nesher traits: (a) The Golden Eagle has a golden-brown head, not a ‘bald’ head. (b) It has rarely bred in Israel. (c) It has smaller wings than does the Griffon (80% of the length, and 67% of the wing area). (d) It soars at lower elevations than the Griffon does. (e) It does not come from as far away as does a cue-reading horde of Griffons. (f) The Golden Eagle lifts prey only to drop, maim, and eat the prey. (g) The Golden Eagle lives a solitary life, whereas the biblical Nesher is often referred to in the congregating plural. (h) Although the Golden Eagle occasionally eats carrion (as do all eagles), that is not one of its primary defining traits. (i) Since the Nesher is listed first among all birds in the Leviticus and Deuteronomy laws, we could expect the Nesher to be one of the most common, important, and pertinent of all birds to the Hebrew audience (Talshir 2012). In contrast, the Golden Eagle has historically been a rare breeder and relatively uncommon resident in Israel and Egypt. In conclusion, whereas the Golden Eagle fails to match many of the Nesher’s characterizations, the Griffon matches all the biblical characterizations.

4.9. Verreaux’s Eagle, Tawny Eagle, and White-tailed Eagle

These three eagles are precluded from consideration as the biblical Nesher, because of their scarcity in Israel and Egypt and their distant breeding (Tristram 1884; Shirihai 1996; Goodman et al. 1989). Although the White-tailed eagle hosts light tan head feathers, it is the most rare eagle in the Holy Land.

4.10. Overview regarding Nesher as Eagle or Griffon

In summary, as per Tristram (1898: 174):

[regarding] the Nesher … constant reference is made in Scripture to its feeding on the slain, and on dead flesh. Although this is a habit it shares with the Eagle, yet no eagles congregate like the Griffon; and while the latter [Griffon] may be seen by hundreds, the less conspicuous eagles are only to be counted by a few individuals here and there.

There would be no obvious rationale for the Leviticus and Deuteronomy codes to list the less-conspicuous eagle as the first and thus most important unclean bird to avoid eating. However, there would be ample reasons for these codes to list the prominent and ubiquitous Griffon first.

5. Nesher as both the Griffon and the Eagle?

A question raised by those who live far from the ancient Middle East culture might be: Could the Nesher refer to both the Griffon and the eagles? The logical answer is ‘no’. We recall that the Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 lists include the Nesher נֶשֶׁר (Griffon), Peres פֶרֶס (Lammergeier), and Oznyah עָזְנִיָּה (Cinereous Vulture). These three raptors are very close in appearance and size to one another. Yet all three are dutifully listed distinctly in these dietary laws. In contrast, almost all of the eleven Middle East eagles are considerably smaller than these three, and each eagle species is distinctly different from the Griffon in appearance, size, behavior, and habitat. If the ancient Hebrews could accurately distinguish between these three huge vultures, they could surely have been able to distinguish the common Nesher-Griffon from the less common eagles. Importantly, the ancient Israelites lived in a nature-based culture where they well knew the distinctions between the various plants, animals, and raptors.

6. Conclusion: Nesher as Griffon, not as Eagle

In conclusion, the Griffon matches all of the biblical descriptions of the Nesher, whereas none of the eagles match them well. Of about eleven indigenous eagles, six are so rare that they are unlikely to be listed first in the Levitical law, let alone used widely in prophetic or poetic metaphors. The only Middle East eagle with any semblance of a ‘bald’ head is the most rare one: the White-tailed Eagle. Only one eagle commonly nests in Israel—the Short-toed Snake Eagle. However, this is a relatively small eagle that prefers nesting in trees and only eats snakes and small rodents. All the other commonly observed eagles only migrate through Israel, several without stopping to feed. So the writers of the Hebrew Bible could not have observed the breeding habits of these eagles, as they did the biblical Nesher. The less-common Golden Eagle exhibits about a third of the biblical Nesher traits and far fewer than the Griffon. While even these traits do not offer as close a match as the Griffon, it is understandable that the Golden Eagle in its northern habitat might capture the imagination of North American and northern European translators.

In light of the analysis offered by highly regarded Hebrew-speaking zoologists, resident ornithologists, and scholars, the Griffon has been rightly identified as the biblical Nesher, given that it matches all of the biblical traits that are depicted for the Nesher (Talshir 2012; Dor 1964, 1997; Paz and Eshbol 1990; Avibase 2023; Aharoni 1923, 1938, 1938a; Tristram 1865, 1885, 1894; Slifkin 2015: 11). In comparison to the Golden Eagle, the Griffon boasts a 20% longer wing span, half again the wing area, twice the weight, and longer and higher soaring behavior. Moreover, these size and performance differences are far greater when comparing the Griffon to the common eagles in Israel and Egypt. Thus it is not surprising that the Griffon has been identified as the Nesher by contemporary Hebrew-speaking ornithologists in Israel.

Footnotes

ORCID iD

Fred S. Cannon

Notes

References

Adams

(1864) Notes and Observations on the Birds of Egypt and Nubia. Ibis. 6:1–36.

Aharoni

(1923) Zoology [Theory of Life] A Textbook for Elementary Schools. Tel Aviv, Israel: Kohl. (Hebrew)

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The Biblical Nesher as the Griffon Vulture,Gyps fulvus : Ornithological character traits

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. Griffon Vulture (Gyps Fulvus) character traits, behavior, and habitat

2.1. Griffon geographical distribution and habitat: Current and historical

2.2. Griffon behavior and traits

3. The biblical Nesher: Does it match the Griffon or the Eagle?

3.1. Biblical significance and importance of the Nesher

4. Could Nesher mean ‘Eagle’?

4.1. Short-toed Snake Eagle

4.2. Steppe Eagle

4.3. Lesser Spotted Eagle

4.4. Greater Spotted Eagle

4.5. Booted Eagle

4.6. Bonelli’s Eagle

4.7. Imperial Eagle

4.8. Golden Eagle

4.9. Verreaux’s Eagle, Tawny Eagle, and White-tailed Eagle

4.10. Overview regarding Nesher as Eagle or Griffon

5. Nesher as both the Griffon and the Eagle?

6. Conclusion: Nesher as Griffon, not as Eagle

Footnotes

ORCID iD

Notes

References