Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 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.
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” ( beh for bill h).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
There shall the great owl – ( qpoz). 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 qippod 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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. The great owl] kippoz, the , 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] 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 el after ishshah, which seems necessary to the construction; and so the Syriac and Vulgate. Another MS. adds in the same place eth, which is equivalent.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. great owlrather, “thearrow snake,” so called from its darting on its prey [GESENIUS].
laynamely, eggs.
gather under hershadowrather, “cherishes” her young under, &c.(Jer 17:11).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(15) The great owl . . .Better, the arrow snake.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
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.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
34:15 There {o} 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.
(o) Signifying that Idumea would be a horrible desolation and barren wilderness.