Difference between revisions of "Sparrow"

<p> '''Sparrow.''' (Hebrew, '''tzippor''' , from a root signifying to '' "Chirp"'' or ''"Twitter",'' which appears to be a phonetic representation of the call-note of any passerine (sparrow-like) bird). This [[Hebrew]] word occurs upwards of forty times in the Old Testament. In all passages, except two, it is rendered by the Authorized Version indifferently as "bird" or "fowl," and denotes any small bird, both of the sparrow-like species and such as the starling, chaffinch, greenfinch, linnet, goldfinch, corn-bunting, pipits, blackbird, song-thrush, etc. In &nbsp;Psalms 84:3, and &nbsp;Psalms 102:7, it is rendered "sparrow." </p> <p> The Greek, '''stauthion''' , (Authorized Version, ''"Sparrow"'' ), occurs twice in the New Testament, &nbsp;Matthew 10:29; &nbsp;Luke 12:6-7. (The birds above mentioned are found in great numbers in Palestine, and are of very little value, selling for the merest trifle, and are, thus, strikingly used by our Saviour, &nbsp;Matthew 10:20, as an illustration of our Father's care for his children. - Editor). </p> <p> The blue thrush, ('''Petrocossyphus cyaneus''' ), is probably the bird to which the psalmist alludes in &nbsp;Psalms 102:7, as "the sparrow that sitteth alone upon the house-top." It is a solitary bird, eschewing the society of its own species, and rarely more than a pair are seen together. The English tree-sparrow, ('''Passer montanus''' ), is also very common, and may be seen in numbers on Mount Olivet, and also about the sacred enclosure of the mosque of Omar. This is, perhaps, the exact species referred to in &nbsp;Psalms 84:3. </p> <p> Dr. Thompson, in speaking of the great numbers of the house-sparrows and field-sparrows in troublesome and impertinent generation, and nestle just where you do not want them. "They stop your stove - and water-pipes with their rubbish, build in the windows and under the beams of the roof, and would stuff your hat full of stubble in half a day, if they found it hanging in a place to suit them." </p>

<p> The [[Holy]] Ghost hath taken such notice of this little bird, and thereby rendered the term so familiar to our ears, by his frequent mention of it in Scripture, that I could not altogether find in my heart to pass it by unnoticed. Moreover, it is one of the clean birds: (see &nbsp;Leviticus 11:1-47) not that I suppose that the sparrow, so called in Scripture, is of the same genus or tribe as our English sparrows of the barn; though this much despised bird is in my esteem a very sweet, interesting, and domestic bird; but certainly the sparrow, or the Tzippher, as the Hebrews called it, of the Scriptures, must have been of gentle and familiar manners. I do not doubt, at the same time, but that the name Tzippher was used for certain small birds beside the one so particularly noticed. </p> <p> But let the reader pause over the thought of the sparrow making a nest for herself, and where in safety she might lay her young, high on the altar of the Lord's house, far out of the reach of the malice of all robbers of her nest, or murderers of herself and her young; and then let him contemplate the beauty of the similitude, when a child of God flies to the New [[Testament]] altar of his security, even to Jesus, and finds a rest in him, far above the reach of all disturbers of his repose, by resting in him, and resting to him, yea, making Jesus himself his rest, and his portion for ever! (See &nbsp;Psalms 84:1-4) </p>

<p> A small bird, the Passer Domesticus of naturalists, with quill and tail feathers brown, and its body gray and black, resembling the small "chirping-bird" of America. It is a general inhabitant of Europe, Asia, and Africa; is bold and familiar in its habits, and frequents populous places. It builds under the eaves of houses, an in similar situations; feeds on seeds, fruits, and insects; and lays five or six eggs of a pale ash color, with brow spots. The Hebrew name Tzippor includes also other small chirping birds, feeding on grain and insects, and classed as clean, &nbsp;Leviticus 14:4; among others the thrush, which may be alluded to in &nbsp;Psalm 102:7 , a bird remarkable throughout the East for sitting solitary on the habitations of men and warbling in sweet and plaintive strains. A sparrow is of course of comparatively little value; and it is therefore a striking exemplification of God's providence to say that he watches even over the sparrow's fall, &nbsp;Matthew 10:29 . </p> <p> These birds are still very numerous, troublesome, and cheap in Jerusalem, &nbsp;Luke 12:6 , and flit in great numbers around the mosque of Omar, on the site of the ancient temple, within the precincts of which they built their favored nest of old, &nbsp;Psalm 84:3 . </p>

<p> Related to Hebrew tsipor , imitation of the sound made by it, "tzip" (&nbsp;Psalms 84:3. (See [[Bird]] .) &nbsp;Leviticus 14:4-7 margin.) On the meaning of the rite in cleansing leper's, one ''Tsippor'' killed, the other dipped in its blood and let loose alive, Cowper writes: "Dipped in his fellow's blood, The living bird went free; The type, well understood, [[Expressed]] the sinner's plea; [[Described]] a guilty soul enlarged, And by a Saviour's death discharged." Its commonness gives point to Jesus' remark, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ... one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. ... Fear ye not therefore ye are of more value than many sparrows" (&nbsp;Matthew 10:29; &nbsp;Matthew 10:31; &nbsp;Luke 12:6-7). There are one hundred different species of the passerine order in Palestine. </p>

<p> <strong> [[Sparrow]] </strong> ( <em> tsippôr </em> , &nbsp; Psalms 84:3; &nbsp; Psalms 102:7 ). The Heb. word is probably equivalent of Arab. [Note: Arabic.] <em> ‘asfûr </em> , and includes any ‘twittering’ birds; generally tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘bird’ or ‘fowl’. See [[Bird.]] In the NT references (&nbsp; Matthew 10:29 , &nbsp; Luke 12:6-7 ) <em> strouthion </em> evidently refers to the sparrow, which to-day is sold for food as cheaply as in NT times. </p> <p> E. W. G. Masterman. </p>

<p> &nbsp;Psalm 102:7 (a) Our Lord Himself uses this bird as a type of His loneliness in His life on earth. He had been with angels, archangels, seraphim, cherubim, and with GOD His Father throughout eternity. Now He was dwelling among those who hardly understood Him, or cared about Him. They could not live the life that He lived. He lived a lonely life for lack of companions who understood Him. The sparrow is seldom seen alone, and rarely on the housetop. It is usually under the eaves, or out in the road, or down in the grass, and always in flocks. This is a picture of the lonely, desolate life of our Lord [[Jesus]] on earth. </p>

<p> SPAR'ROW, n. A small bird of the genus Fringilla and order of Passers. These birds are frequently seen about houses. </p>

<p> <b> SPARROW. </b> —See [[Animals]] in vol. i. p. 66a. </p>

<p> ''''' spar´ō ''''' ( צפּור , <i> ''''' cippōr ''''' </i> ; στρουθίον , <i> ''''' strouthı́on ''''' </i> ; Latin <i> passer </i> ): A small bird of the <i> Fringillidae </i> family. The Hebrew <i> ''''' cippōr ''''' </i> seems to have been a generic name under which were placed all small birds that frequented houses and gardens. The word occurs about 40 times in the Bible, and is indiscriminately translated "bird" "fowl" or "sparrow." Our translators have used the word "sparrow" where they felt that this bird best filled the requirements of the texts. Sparrows are small brown and gray birds of friendly habit that swarm over the northern part of Palestine, and West of the Sea of Galilee, where the hills, plains and fertile fields are scattered over with villages. They build in the vineyards, orchards and bushes of the walled gardens surrounding houses, on the ground or in nooks and crannies of vine-covered walls. They live on seeds, small green buds and tiny insects and worms. Some members of the family sing musically; all are great chatterers when about the business of life. Repeatedly they are mentioned by Bible writers, but most of the references lose force as applying to the bird family, because they are translated "bird" or "fowl." In a few instances the word "sparrow" is used, and in some of these, painstaking commentators feel that what is said does not apply to the sparrow. For example see &nbsp; Psalm 102:7 : </p> <p> "I watch, and am become like a sparrow </p> <p> That is alone upon the housetop." </p> <p> The feeling that this is not characteristic of the sparrow arises from the fact that it is such a friendly bird that if it were on the housetop it would be surrounded by half a dozen of its kind; so it has been suggested that a solitary thrush was intended. There is little force in the change. Thrushes of today are shy, timid birds of thickets and deep undergrowth. Occasionally a stray one comes around a house at migration, but once settled to the business of living they are the last and most infrequent bird to appear near the haunts of man. And bird habits do not change in one or two thousand years. In an overwhelmed hour the [[Psalmist]] poured out his heart before the Almighty. The reason he said he was like a "sparrow that is alone upon the housetop" was because it is the most unusual thing in the world for a sparrow to sit mourning alone, and therefore it attracted attention and made a forceful comparison. It only happens when the bird's mate has been killed or its nest and young destroyed, and this most cheerful of birds sitting solitary and dejected made a deep impression on the Psalmist who, when his hour of trouble came, said he was like the mourning sparrow - alone on the housetop. Another exquisite song describes the bird in its secure and happy hour: </p> <p> "Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house, </p> <p> And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, </p> <p> Even thine altars, [[O]] Y ahweh of hosts, </p> <p> My King, and my God" (&nbsp;Psalm 84:3 ). </p> <p> When the mind of man was young and he looked on the commonest acts of creatures around him as filled with mystery, miracle and sign - he held in superstitious reverence any bird that built on a temple, because he thought it meant that the bird thus building claimed the protection of God in so doing. For these reasons all temple builders were so reverenced that authentic instances are given of people being put to death, if they disturbed temple nests or builders. Because he noticed the sparrow in joyful conditions is good reason why the Psalmist should have been attracted by its mourning. There is a reference to the widespread distribution of these birds in &nbsp;Proverbs 26:2 : </p> <p> "As the sparrow in her wandering, as the swallow in her flying, </p> <p> So the curse that is causeless alighteth not." </p> <p> Once settled in a location, no bird clings more faithfully to its nest and young, so this "wandering" could only mean that they scatter widely in choosing locations. &nbsp;Matthew 10:29 : "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father." This is a reference to the common custom in the East of catching small birds, and selling them to be skinned, roasted and sold as tid-bits - a bird to a mouthful. These lines no doubt are the origin of the oft-quoted phrase, "He marks the fall of the sparrow." Then in &nbsp; Matthew 10:31 comes this comforting assurance: "Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." &nbsp; Luke 12:6 : "Are not five sparrows sold for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God." This affirms the implication of Mark that these tiny birds were an article of commerce in the days of Jesus, just as they are now in the Far East. </p>