Difference between revisions of "Hen"

<p> &nbsp;ορνις , 2 [[Esdras]] 50:30; &nbsp;Matthew 23:37; &nbsp;Luke 13:34 . In these last two passages our [[Saviour]] exclaims, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" The metaphor here used is a very beautiful one. When the hen sees a bird of prey coming, she makes a noise to assemble her chickens, that she may cover them with her wings from the danger. The [[Roman]] eagle was about to fall upon the [[Jewish]] state; our Lord invited them to himself in order to guard them from threatened calamities: they disregarded his invitations and warnings, and fell a prey to their adversaries. The affection of a hen to her brood is so strong as to have become proverbial. There is a beautiful Greek epigram in the Anthologia, which affords a very fine illustration of the affection of this bird in another view. It has been thus translated:— </p> <p> <strong> <em> "Beneath her fostering wing the hen defends Her darling offspring, while the snow descends; And through the winter's day unmoved defies The chilling fleeces and inclement skies; </em> </strong> </p> <p> <strong> <em> Till vanquish'd by the cold and piercing blast, True to her charge she perishes at last." </em> </strong> </p> <p> Plutarch, in his book <em> De Philostorgia, </em> represents this parental attachment and care in a very pleasing manner: "Do we not daily observe with what care the hen protects her chickens; giving some shelter under her wings, supporting others upon her back, calling them around her, and picking out their food; and if any animal approaches that terrifies them, driving it away with a courage and strength truly wonderful? </p>

<p> &nbsp;Matthew 23:37 (a) This is a type of the tender care and protection which the Lord JESUS offered Israel. CHRIST Himself is compared to the mother hen and the chickens represent the [[Israelites]] and the [[Christians]] of today. </p> <p> &nbsp;Luke 13:34 (a) In His early ministry, the Lord JESUS compared Himself to a mother hen calling her brood (the whole nation of Israel) to come to Him and trust Him. [[Quite]] sometime later in His ministry, He repeats the same verse in &nbsp;Matthew 23:37, but He changed one word. Instead of calling the "brood," He called the "chickens" - the individual persons of Israel. The events which transpired between these two passages reveal that [[Israel]] as a nation had rejected CHRIST, therefore at the end of His journey, He made His appeal for individuals rather than for the whole nation. </p>

<div> &nbsp;1: Ὄρνις &nbsp;(Strong'S #3733 — Noun Masculine — ornis — or'-nis ) </div> <p> "a bird," is used, in the NT, only of a "hen," &nbsp;Matthew 23:27; &nbsp;Luke 13:34 . </p>

<p> &nbsp;Hen. &nbsp;(rest). </p> <p> 1. Probably, a son of Zephaniah, and apparently, the same who is called &nbsp;Josiah, in &nbsp;Zechariah 6:10. </p> <p> 2. The hen is nowhere noticed in the [[Bible]] except in &nbsp;Matthew 23:37; &nbsp;Luke 13:34. That a bird so common in [[Palestine]] should receive such slight notice is certainly peculiar. </p>

<p> (Heb. Chen, &nbsp;חֵן &nbsp;, grace, as often; Sept. translates &nbsp;χάρις, Vulg. &nbsp;Hem), the son of Zephaniah, to whom the prophet was sent with a symbolical crown (&nbsp;Zechariah 6:14); probably a figurative name for JOSIAH (&nbsp;Zechariah 6:10). </p>