Fowl are birds or small animals that fly through the air. They distinction from land only animals is their perspective from the air.
Fowl. Most people assume that hens and roosters (cocks) were common in Palestine, but they are rarely mentioned in the Bible. Domestic chickens probably descended from the red jungle fowl of Asia. Cocks were bred for the ancient sport of cock-fighting before hens were raised for meat and eggs.
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Falcon. In some translations of the Bible the falcon appears in the lists of unclean birds (Lev. 11:14; Deut. 14:13), (NKJV). As a bird of prey, it is often grouped with hawks. But a falcon is not a true hawk. The sport of hunting with trained falcons originated in ancient Persia. Great numbers of falcons are still seen in Palestine, as they surely were in Bible times (Job 28:7).
Fallow Deer (see Deer).
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Fawn (see Deer).
Dromedary (see Camel).
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Ewe (see Sheep).
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Elephant. No elephants lived in Palestine. But they were native to the neighboring continents of Africa and Asia. Wealthy Jews sometimes imported the ivory which came from their great tusks. King Solomon “made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold” (1 Kin. 10:18). And King Ahab built an “ivory house” (1 Kin. 22:39).
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Eagle Owl (see Owl).
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Cormorant. Both the prophets Isaiah and Zephaniah linked the cormorant or “the pelican” (NKJV) with the bittern to describe the ruin God brings in judgment upon man’s proud cities (Is. 34:11; Zeph. 2:14). The cormorant (or “the fisher owl,” NKJV) was listed among the few birds the Israelites were not to eat (Lev. 11:17; Deut. 14:17).
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Crocodile. The land crocodile appears as an unclean beast in the RSV rendering of (Leviticus 11:30). Many scholars assume that the crocodile is the mysterious “Leviathan” (whale, NEB) praised by Job (Job 41:1-34) and mentioned in (Psalm 74:14; 104:26); and (Isaiah 27:1).
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