Fowler
Fowler
(some form of the verb , yakash’, to lay snares; thus rendered in Psa 91:3; Psa 124:7; Pro 6:5; Jer 5:26; Hos 9:8). The act of taking birds by means of nets, snares, decoys, etc., is frequently alluded to in Scriptures, mostly in a figurative and moral way (Pro 7:23; Ecc 9:12; Eze 17:20, etc.). The Egyptian paintings and sculptures exhibit, various scenes of hunting and fowling; there is scarcely any process now followed which was not known in very ancient times. The ancients had not only traps, nets, and springs, but also bird-lime smeared upon the twigs; they used likewise stalking-horses, setting-dogs, bird-calls, etc. The Egyptian paintings exhibit birds shot with arrows while upon the wing by peasants, and in others they are shown as knocked down by amateur sportsmen with sticks thrown at them as they perched or flew in the thickets or marshes., Game of all kinds was a favorite food of the Egyptians, and the capture of birds was a lucrative occupation to some and an amusement to others. Persons engaged in this act are represented as accompanied by their families in the boat, and often by a favorite cat vq.v.). See Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. 1:234 sq. (abridgm.). The Egyptians were also well skilled in preserving and preparing for the table the game thus secured, as well as poultry reared by domestication (ib. 2:183 sq.). SEE FATTED FOWL.
Birds of various kinds abound, and no doubt abounded in ancient times, in Palestine. Stanley speaks of countless birds of all kinds, aquatic fowls by the lake side, partridges and pigeons hovering, as on the Nile. bank, over the rich plains of Gennesaret (Sinai and Palestine, page 427). The capture of these for the table or other uses would, we might expect, form the employment of many persons, and lead to the adoption of various methods to effect it. SEE PALESTINE.
We read of the snare, , pach (Psa 91:3; Psa 124:7; Hos 9:8), and of the net, , re’sheth (Pro 1:17; Hos 7:11); of the fowler, or =snarers. In Hos 5:1, both net and snare are mentioned together. The mokes () is used synonymously with the pach in Amo 3:5. This was employed for taking either beasts or birds. It was a trap set in the path (Pro 7:23; Pro 22:5), or hidden on or in the ground. (Psa 140:6; Psa 142:4). The form of this spring, or trap net, appears from two passages (Amo 3:5, and Psa 69:23). It was in two parts, which, when set, were spread out upon the ground, and slightly fastened with a stick (trap-stick), so that, as soon as a bird or beast touched the stick, the parts flew up and is closed. the bird in the net, or caught the foot of the animal. SEE SNARE.
By a humane as well as wise regulation, Moses forbade any one finding a bird’s nest to take also the dam with the eggs or young (Deu 22:6-7), lest the species should become exterminated (Kitto, Pictorial Bible, ad loc.). SEE BIRD.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Fowler
the arts of, referred to Ps. 91:3; 124:7; Prov. 6:5; Jer. 5:26; Hos. 9:8; Ezek. 17:20; Eccl. 9:12. Birds of all kinds abound in Palestine, and the capture of these for the table and for other uses formed the employment of many persons. The traps and snares used for this purpose are mentioned Hos. 5:1; Prov. 7:23; 22:5; Amos 3:5; Ps. 69:22; comp. Deut. 22:6, 7.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Fowler
FOWLER.See Snares.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Fowler
fouler (, yokesh): A professional birdcatcher. In the days previous to firearms, birds were captured with nets spread on the ground, in traps and snares. There was a method of taking young birds from a nest, raising them by hand, and when they had become very tame, they were confined in hidden cages so that their voices would call others of their kind to the spot and they could be killed by arrows of concealed bowmen or the use of the throw-stick (Ecclesiasticus 11:30) This was a stick 1 1/2 feet in length and 1/2 inches in diameter, hurled with a rotary motion at the legs of the birds and was very effective when thrown into flocks of ground birds, such as partridge or quail, especially if the birds were running up hill. There was also a practice of sewing a captured bird’s eyelids together and confining it so that its cries would call large numbers of birds through curiosity and they could then be taken in the several ways mentioned. The fowlers supplied the demand for doves and other birds used for caged pets, and furnished the market with wild pigeons and doves for sacrifice and such small birds as were used for food. Psa 91:3 :
For he will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler.
And from the deadly pestilence.
This is David’s promise that the Almighty will deliver us from the evil plans laid to ruin us, as a bird sometimes in its struggles slips the hair and escapes from the snare (which see) set for it. Psa 124:7 :
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers:
The snare is broken, and we are escaped.
Here is the fulfillment of the former promise in a cry of rejoicing. Sometimes the snare held fast, sometimes it broke; then the joy in the heart of a freed man was like the wild exultation in the heart of the escaping bird. Pro 6:5 :
Deliver thyself as a roe from the hands. of the hunter.
And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
With methods so primitive as these for taking birds, it must have occurred frequently that a stunned, wounded or entrapped bird slipped even from the hand that held it and made good its escape.
Jer 5:26 : For among my people are found wicked men: they watch, as fowlers lie in wait; they set a trap, they catch men. Here is the plain comparison strongly drawn between wicked men entrapping their fellows and fowlers taking unsuspecting birds.
The last reference is in Hos 9:8 : Ephraim was a watchman with my God: as for the prophet, a fowler’s snare is in all his ways, and enmity in the house of his God. Wherever he goes, the prophet is in danger of being trapped.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Fowler
Used symbolically for Satan, from whose snares God delivers His saints. Psa 91:3; Psa 124:7; Pro 6:5. In the punishment of Israel their prophets became as the snare of the fowler. Hos 9:8.