The identification of the birds specifically named presents a difficult problem in some cases. Lexicographers generally are guided by the root meaning of the name, since this is usually descriptive, by indications in the context as to the bird’s habits and habitat, and by observation of the birds known to be found in the Bible lands. In many cases the names are believed to be onomatopoeic, that is, imitating the sound produced by the bird. As in English, words such as “hoot,” “quack,” “cluck,” “caw-caw” are quickly associated with owls, ducks, chickens and crows, so likewise onomatopoeic names given to certain birds in the Hebrew text aid in identifying them.—See CUCKOO; EAGLE; SWIFT; TURTLEDOVE.

The variegated topography of Palestine, ranging from cool mountain peaks to deep sweltering valleys, from arid deserts to maritime plains, all hugged together on the SE corner of the Mediterranean Sea, make it a focal point for a great variety of bird types. Mount Hermon, in the N, is perpetually snowcapped, while just 120 miles (193 kilometers) to the S along the lower Jordan valley and near the Dead Sea is a hot tropical region. Each of these zones contains birds peculiar to its own environment, either alpine or tropical, as do also the temperate zones and the desert regions. (Ps. 102:6; 104:16, 17) Additionally, Palestine is on one of the major migrational routes followed annually by birds (storks, turtledoves, quails, swifts, swallows, bulbuls, cuckoos and others) traveling N from Africa in the spring or S from Europe and Asia in the fall. (Song of Sol. 2:11, 12; Jer. 8:7) Thus it is estimated that nearly four hundred varieties of birds may be found in Palestine at some time during the course of a year. In view of the deterioration of Palestinian forests and vegetation over the centuries, it is likely that in Biblical times the bird population was even greater.

Particularly notable are the great numbers of birds of prey (Heb., ʽaʹyit) found in Palestine, including eagles, hawks, falcons, kites and vultures. Back in Abraham’s time, birds of prey tried to descend upon Abraham’s sacrifice of certain animals and birds, obliging him to drive them off until the sun began to set. (Gen. 15:9-12; compare 2 Samuel 21:10.) In their search for food these birds rely on their powerful telescopic sight, rather than on their relatively weak sense of smell.

The well-known sight of a cluster of scavenger birds gathered around a carcass often served as the basis for an ominous warning to an enemy, as in the case of David and Goliath (1 Sam. 17:44, 46), and repeatedly formed part of divinely inspired prophetic warnings to the nation of Israel and its rulers (Deut. 28:26; 1 Ki. 14:11; 21:24; Jer. 7:33; 15:3), as well as to foreign nations. (Isa. 18:1, 6; Ezek. 29:5; 32:4) Thus, the one used by Jehovah to execute judgment was figuratively represented by a “bird of prey.” (Isa. 46:11) Desolation of a city or land was depicted by its becoming the habitat of certain birds of solitary nature. (Isa. 13:19-21; compare Revelation 18:2), or by the disappearance of all bird life. (Jer. 4:25-27; 9:10; 12:4; Hos. 4:3; Zeph. 1:3) The proclamation calling all the birds to gather to feast upon the dead bodies of “Gog of Magog” and his crowd (Ezek. 39:1-4, 17-21) is paralleled by that recorded in Revelation in which the bodies of national rulers and their armies become food for “all the birds that fly in midheaven” as a result of the executional work of Christ Jesus as King.—Rev. 19:11-21; contrast this with God’s comforting words to his people, at Hosea 2:18-20.

Worship of birds as representing the true God was prohibited to the nation of Israel (Deut. 4:15-17) but was prominent among the pagan nations, particularly in Egypt. (Rom. 1:23) Hundreds of bird mummies have been found in Egyptian tombs, principally of birds such as the falcon, the vulture and the ibis, all of which were sacred among the Egyptians. Egyptian hieroglyphics contain some twenty-two different bird signs.

BIRSHA

(Birʹsha) [ugly, disagreeable in taste].

King of Gomorrah whom Chedorlaomer made his subject together with four other nearby kings. He may be the same “king of Gomorrah,” though unnamed, whose rebellion against Chedorlaomer thirteen years later was crushed, many of his forces having been driven into nearby bitumen pits.—Gen. 14:1-11.

BIRTH

There is “a time for birth,” Solomon said, and normally in humans it occurs about 280 days after conception. For parents, the day their baby is born is usually one of great rejoicing, though for the individual, according to wise King Solomon, the day of one’s death, with a lifetime of good accomplishments behind him and a good name with God, can be even better than the day of his birth.—Luke 1:57, 58; Eccl. 7:1.

From early times midwives assisted in childbirth. Birthstools of some sort were used as an assistance to the mother and as an aid to the midwife in making the delivery. Such may have been two stones or bricks upon which the mother crouched or squatted during parturition. (Ex. 1:16) Ancient hieroglyphics confirm that such childbirth stools were used in Egypt. The Hebrew word translated “stool for childbirth” in Exodus occurs only one other time in the Bible (Jer. 18:3), where it is rendered “potter’s wheels.”

Postnatal procedures, most often performed by midwives, are mentioned at Ezekiel 16:4, though in a figurative sense. The navel cord was cut, the baby was washed and rubbed with salt, and then wrapped in swaddling bands. The use of salt may have been to dry the skin and make it firm and tight. Wrapping the baby in swaddling bands from head to foot, as was done with Jesus (Luke 2:7), gave the infant an almost mummy-like appearance, served to keep the body warm and straight, and by passing the bands under the chin and around the top of the head, it is said, the child was trained to breathe through its nostrils. Caring for newborn infants in this way dates far back into antiquity, for Job was familiar with swaddling wrappings.—Job 38:9.

After the immediate needs of the mother and child were cared for, the baby was presented to the father, or the news of the birth announced, and he acknowledged it as his. (Jer. 20:15) So too when a maidservant as a substitute had a child fathered by the husband of her barren mistress, the offspring was acknowledged as belonging to the mistress. (Gen. 16:2) This is evidently what Rachel meant when she requested that her slave girl Bilhah “give birth upon my knees” so that she might “get children from her.” (Gen. 30:3; compare Genesis 50:23.) Not that the delivery was literally to be upon the knees of Rachel, but that she might dandle the child on her knees as if it were her very own.

When the baby was born or eight days later when circumcised, the infant was named by either parent, but if there was a difference of opinion the father’s decision on a name was final. (Gen. 16:15; 21:3; 29:32-35; 35:18; Luke 1:59-63; 2:21) The baby was ordinarily suckled by the mother (Gen. 21:7; Ps. 22:9; Isa. 49:15; 1 Thess. 2:7), although it appears that other women were sometimes used. (Ex. 2:7) Usually the child was not weaned until two or three years old or older; Isaac, it seems, was five, and in his case the event called for celebration and feasting.—Gen. 21:8; 1 Sam. 1:22, 23.

Under the Mosaic law a woman giving birth to a boy was ceremonially unclean for seven days, with an additional thirty-three days required for her purification. If the child was a girl, then the mother was considered unclean for fourteen days, requiring sixty-six days more for purification. At the conclusion of this period a burnt offering and a sin offering were to be made for her: a young ram and a male turtledove or a male pigeon, or two turtledoves or two male pigeons, as the circumstances of the parents allowed. (Lev. 12:1-8; Luke 2:24) If the son was the firstborn he had to be redeemed by the payment of