Hawk

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

נ , from the root נצה , to fly, because of the rapidity and length of flight for which this bird is remarkable, Leviticus 11:16; Deuteronomy 14:15; Job 39:26 . Naz is used generically by the Arabian writers to signify both falcon and hawk; and the term is given in both these senses by Meninski. There can be little doubt that such is the real meaning of the Hebrew word, and that it imports various species of the falcon family, as jer-falcon, goshawk, and sparrow-hawk. As this is a bird of prey, cruel in its temper, and gross in its manners, it was forbidden as food, and all others of its kind, in the Mosaic ritual. The Greeks consecrated the hawk to Apollo; and among the Egyptians no animal was held in so high veneration as the ibis and the hawk. Most of the species of hawk, we are told, are birds of passage. The hawk, therefore, is produced, in Job 39:26 , as a specimen of that astonishing instinct which teaches birds of passage to know their times and seasons, when to migrate out of one country into another for the benefit of food, or a warmer climate, or both. The common translation does not give the full force of the passage:

"Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom?" The real meaning is, "Doth she know, through thy skill or wisdom, the precise period for taking flight, or migrating and stretching her wings toward a southern or warmer climate?" The passage is well rendered by Sandys: —

"Doth the wild haggard tower into the sky, And to the south by thy direction fly?"

Her migration is not conducted by the wisdom and prudence of man, but by the superintending and upholding providence of the only wise God.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): (n.) One of numerous species and genera of rapacious birds of the family Falconidae. They differ from the true falcons in lacking the prominent tooth and notch of the bill, and in having shorter and less pointed wings. Many are of large size and grade into the eagles. Some, as the goshawk, were formerly trained like falcons. In a more general sense the word is not infrequently applied, also, to true falcons, as the sparrow hawk, pigeon hawk, duck hawk, and prairie hawk.

(2): (v. i.) To catch, or attempt to catch, birds by means of hawks trained for the purpose, and let loose on the prey; to practice falconry.

(3): (v. i.) To clear the throat with an audible sound by forcing an expiratory current of air through the narrow passage between the depressed soft palate and the root of the tongue, thus aiding in the removal of foreign substances.

(4): (v. t.) To raise by hawking, as phlegm.

(5): (n.) An effort to force up phlegm from the throat, accompanied with noise.

(6): (v. t.) To offer for sale by outcry in the street; to carry (merchandise) about from place to place for sale; to peddle; as, to hawk goods or pamphlets.

(7): (n.) A small board, with a handle on the under side, to hold mortar.

(8): (v. i.) To make an attack while on the wing; to soar and strike like a hawk; - generally with at; as, to hawk at flies.

King James Dictionary

HAWK, n. A genus of fowls, the Falco, of many species, having a crooked beak, furnished with a cere at the base, a cloven tongue, and the head thick set with feathers. Most of the species are rapacious, feeding on birds or other small animals. Hawks were formerly trained for sport or catching small birds.

HAWK, To catch or attempt to catch birds by means of hawks trained for the purpose, and let loose on the prey to practice falconry.

He that hawks at larks and sparrows.

A falc'ner Henry is, when Emma hawks.

1. To fly at to attack on the wing with at.

To hawk at flies.

HAWK, To make an effort to force up phlegm with noise as, to hawk and spit.

To hawk up, transitively as, to hawk up phlegm.

HAWK, n. An effort to force up phlegm from the throat, accompanied with noise.

HAWK, L. auctio, auction, a sale by outcry. To cry to offer for sale by outcry in the street, or to sell by outcry as, to hawk goods or pamphlets.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

neets; implying "strong and rapid flight". Migratory in S. Europe and parts of Asia; so Job 39:26, "doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the S.?" Of the dozen lesser raptores, birds, in Palestine nearly all are summer migrants; the Falco saker and Falco lanarius , besides the smaller Falco melanopterus , Ηypotriorchis subbuteo or the hobby, etc. The sacred monuments show that one kind was sacred in Egypt. The Greek name implies "sacredness", hierax .

Morrish Bible Dictionary

The Hebrew word is nets, and is held to embrace the different species of hawk, of which there are several, as indeed is implied by the words 'the hawk after his kind.' They were birds of prey and were pronounced to be unclean. Leviticus 11:16; Deuteronomy 14:15 . Some at least of the hawks are migratory, and this is supposed to be alluded to in Job 39:26 , in the expression "stretch her wings toward the south." The most common of the smaller hawks in Palestine is the Kestrel, Tinnunculus alaudarius.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Hawk. Leviticus 11:16; Deuteronomy 14:15; Job 39:26. The hawk includes various species of the Falconidae. With respect to the passage in Job (l.c). which appears to allude to the migratory habits of hawks, it is curious to observe that of the ten or twelve lesser raptors (hawk tribe) of Palestine, nearly all are summer migrants. The kestrel remains all the year, but the others are all migrants from the south.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

HAWK . Some eighteen species of hawk are known to exist in Palestine. The common kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus ) and the sparrow-hawk ( Accipiter nisus ) are the commonest. The traveller through the land sees them everywhere. Hawks were ‘unclean’ birds ( Leviticus 11:16 , Deuteronomy 14:16 ). The migratory habits of many species of Palestine hawks are referred to in Job 39:26 .

E. W. G. Masterman.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

Leviticus 11:16 (c) This is a type of wicked men who prey upon widows, orphans and other unfortunates in order to obtain what they have for their own enrichment.

Job 39:26 (b) This is a symbol of the unsearchable ways of GOD which cannot be controlled nor understood by men.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Or FALCON, a strong-winged and rapacious bird, of several in Syria; unclean for the Hebrews, Leviticus 11:16 , but sacred among the Greeks and Egyptians. In its migrations, it illustrates the wise providence of the Creator, Job 39:26 .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Leviticus 11:16Deuteronomy 14:15

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Hawk, an unclean bird (;; ). The English name is an altered form of the old word 'fawk' or 'falk.' Western Asia and Lower Egypt, and consequently the intermediate territory of Syria and Palestine, are the habitation or transitory residence of a considerable number of species of the order Raptors, which, even including the shortest-winged, have great powers of flight, are remarkably enterprising, live to a great age, are migratory, or followers upon birds of passage, or remain in a region so abundantly stocked with pigeon and turtle-dove as Palestine, and affording such a variety of ground to hunt their particular prey—abounding as it does in mountain and forest, plain, desert, marsh, river and sea-coast. We shall here enumerate, so far as our information will permit, the Falconidæ of this region, exclusive of those mentioned in other articles [EAGLE; GLEDE; KITE; OSPRAY].

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hôk ( נץ , nēc  ; ἱέραξ , hiérax , and γλαῦξ , glaúx  ; Latin Accipiter nisus ): A bird of prey of the genus accipiter . Large hawks were numerous in Palestine. The largest were 2 ft. long, have flat heads, hooked beaks, strong talons and eyes appearing the keenest and most comprehensive of any bird. They can sail the length or breadth of the Holy Land many times a day. It is a fact worth knowing that mist and clouds interfere with the vision of birds and they hide, and hungry and silent wait for fair weather, so you will see them sailing and soaring on clear days only. These large hawks and the glede are of eagle-like nature, nesting on Carmel and on the hills of Galilee, in large trees and on mountain crags. They flock near Beersheba, and live in untold numbers in the wilderness of the Dead Sea. They build a crude nest of sticks and twigs and carry most of the food alive to their young. Of course they were among the birds of prey that swarm over the fresh offal from slaughter and sacrifice. No bird steers with its tail in flight in a more pronounced manner than the hawk. These large birds are all-the-year residents, for which reason no doubt the people distinguished them from smaller families that migrated. They knew the kite that Isaiah mentioned in predicting the fall of Edom. With them the smaller, brighter-colored kestrels, that flocked over the rocky shores of the Dead Sea and over the ruins of deserted cities, seemed to be closest in appearance to the birds we include in the general term "falcon." Their ate mice, insects and small birds, but not carrion. The abomination lists of Leviticus 11:16 and Deuteronomy 14:15 each include hawks in a general term and specify several species as unfit for food. Job 39:26 reads:

"Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soareth,

And stretcheth her wings toward the south?"

Aside from calling attention to the miraculous flight,, this might refer to migration, or to the wonderful soaring exhibitions of these birds. See Glede; Kite; Night-Hawk; Falcon .

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography InformationMcClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Hawk'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/h/hawk.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.