Isaiah 34:15

Isa 34:15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.

Ver. 15. There shall the great owl make her nest.] Heb., Kippoz. The Hebrews themselves agree not what creatures these are here mentioned, so far are they fallen from the knowledge of the Scripture. Their tale about Lilits, once Adam’s first wife, but now a screech owl or an evil spirit, is not worthy the mentioning.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Signifying, that Edom should be an horrible desolation and barren wilderness.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

great owl--rather, "the arrow snake," so called from its darting on its prey [GESENIUS].

lay--namely, eggs.

gather under her shadow--rather, "cherishes" her young under, &c. (Jer 17:11).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. The great owl] קפוז kippoz, the ακοντιας, or darter, a serpent so called because of its suddenly leaping up or darting on its prey. Probably the mongoz or ichneumon may be intended.

The vultures] דיות daiyoth, the black vultures. My old MS. Bible renders these names curiously: And ageyn cumen schul devylis: the beste, party of an asse, and party of a mam: and the wodwose, the tother schal crien to the tother. There schal byn lamya, that is, thrisse, or a beste, havynge the body liic a woman, and hors feet. Ther hadde dichis, the yrchoun, and nurshide out littil chittis. There ben gadred kiitis, the top to the top. What language!

Every one with her mate.] A MS. adds אל el after אשה ishshah, which seems necessary to the construction; and so the Syriac and Vulgate. Another MS. adds in the same place את eth, which is equivalent.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) The great owl . . .—Better, the arrow snake.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. the great owl] the arrowsnake as in R.V.

gather under her shadow] The expression is almost meaningless, when applied to a very small snake. Duhm, by a clever emendation, reads “shall lay and hatch and heap up her eggs” (bêçehâ for bìçillâh).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

There shall the great owl make her nest,.... Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, say that "kippoz" here is the same with "kippod", rendered "bittern" in Isa 34:11 but Aben Ezra takes them to be two different birds; it is hard to say what is designed by it. Bochart thinks that one kind of serpent is here meant, so called from its leaping up, and which may be said to make nests, lay eggs and hatch them, as follows:

and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow; lay its eggs, sit upon them, and hatch them; or "break" them (u), that is, the eggs, by sitting on them, when the young ones spring out of them; and then being hatched, and running about, gather them under their wing, especially when in any danger:

there shall the vultures also be gathered, everyone with her mate; which creatures usually gather together where dead carcasses lie.

(u) "et scindet", Pagninus, Montanus; "rumpet", Vatablus; "quumque eruperit", Junius & Tremellius, i.e. "pullities", so Ben Melech.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

There shall the great owl - (קפוז qı̂pôz). Gesenius supposes that this is the arrow-snake, so called from its darting or springing, in the manner of the rattle-snake - from an obsolete root to draw oneself together, to contract. Bochart (Hieroz. ii. 3. 11. 408-419) has examined the meaning of the word at length, and comes to the conclusion that it means the serpent which the Greeks called acontias, and the Latins, jaculus - the arrow-snake. The serpent is oviparous, and nourishes its young. The ancient versions, however, understand it in the same sense as the קפד qippôd in Isa 34:11 - the hedgehog or porcupine.

Under her shadow - This might be done by the serpent that should coil up and cherish her young.

The vultures ... - The black vulture, according to Bochart; according to Gesenius, the kite, or falcon so called from its swift flight. Either of them will suit the connection.

Also be gathered, every one with her mate - They shall make their nests there; that is, this shall be their secure, undisturbed retreat.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ericius. Hebrew, "kippoz, (Haydock) hath its nest." It may denote the serpent, acontias. (Bochart) --- All this shews the desolation of the country.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The great owl; whether this or what other creature is meant by this Hebrew word, the learned reader may find largely discoursed in my Latin Synopsis upon this place; for others, it may suffice to know, what all agree in, that, whether it be a bird or a serpent, it is a creature that lives in desert places.

Make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow, as fearing no disturbance from any men.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. There shall the great owl make her nest — Bochart regards the rendering here “great owl” as entirely wrong. It is from a word which means to dart, to spring, and most interpreters at present join with him in calling the animal an arrow snake, which springs like the rattlesnake.

Lay… hatch… shadow — This reptile shall make its nest in the ground, or among the ruins, lay eggs, hatch them, and cover its young by its own shadow, or, rather, by its own coiled body. The desert of Sinai, and as far north as Hebron, is full of reptile holes in the ground.

Vultures — Tristram thinks these not to be what we call vultures, but generally a smaller bird of prey like the kite, possibly also including the buzzard. The desolate ruins of Edom shall make a secure and undisturbed retreat for these doleful and dreaded creatures; a sad picture of the consequences — not in Edom only, except as a figure, but in all the world — of fighting against God.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The great owl; rather, the arrow-snake (Serpens jaculus). Gather under her shadow; i.e. "gather her young ones under her." There shall the vultures also be gathered; rather, there verily shall the vultures assemble.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

“There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.” As to the particular species of animals referred to in this whole passage, there is no need of troubling ourselves much about them. The general sense evidently is, that a human population should be succeeded by wild and lonely animals, who should not only live but breed there, implying total and continued desolation.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

has made its nest (קִנְּנָה) an expression related to ‘a bird’s nest’ (קַן) (Deut. 22:6).

owl (קִפּוֹז) that is the owl (קִפֹּד).

and she has laid She laid eggs.

and hatched This is the emerging of the chicks from the egg. Comp. (below 59:5) The eggs of the viper have hatched.

and gathered This is the call that the bird calls with its throat to draw the chicks after it, gloussera in French. Comp. (Jer. 17:11) “A cuckoo gathers (דָגָר) what it did not lay.”

vultures (דַיּוֹת) voltojjrs in O.F.

each one to her friend (lit., each one her friend,) like to her friend.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

קפוז The great owl. It is not the same as;קפוד it is some other bird.

ותמלט And lay. Comp. והמליטה זכר and she was delivered of a man-child (66:7).

ובקעה And break. It is the nature of this bird to break its eggs.

ודגרה And gather. Comp. דגר he gathereth (Jer. 17:11).

דיות Vultures. It is the plural of דַיָה (Deut. 14:13)

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.