Peacock

Peacock.

According to the KJV, Solomon imported peacocks from other nations for his royal courts in Israel (1 Kin. 10:22; 2 Chr. 9:21). A peacock, the male of the species, is about the size of a turkey, with feathers of brilliant blue, green, and purple. He parades in front of the female, spreading his train of gorgeous long plumes behind him like a huge fan. Some versions of the Bible translate this term as monkeys, peacocks, or baboons.

Source: [Anon-Animals]
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Partridge

Partridge.

From early times, the partridge has been a game bird. They were among the birds which could be eaten as clean food by the Jewish people. Two species, the sand partridge (Is. 34:15), (NEB) and the chukar, are common in Palestine.

Partridges live in fields, feeding on grain and insects. They usually travel in coveys of 12 to 30 birds. Their meat is tasty, and the bird is clever enough to give the hunter a fine chase. It takes sharp eyes to spot the mottled feathers of a partridge. When alarmed, the bird will hide in a hole, crouch among loose stones, or fly from tree to tree with loudly whirring wings. David compared himself to a partridge when he was fleeing from Saul (1 Sam. 26:20).

The prophet Jeremiah compared the person who gathered riches by unrighteous means to a partridge that gathers a brood of young birds which she has not hatched (Jer. 17:11).

Source: [Anon-Animals]

Partridge

Monkey

Monkey. Monkeys are not native to Palestine. So King Solomon apparently had them imported from other nations, along with apes and other exotic goods such as ivory, silver, and gold. They may have come from India, Africa, or even parts of Lower Egypt. The NKJV has “monkeys” in (1 Kings 10:22) and (2 Chronicles 9:21). Other versions translate as “peacocks.” Also see Ape.

Source: [Anon-Animals]

The monkey and the ape are human like animals. While evolution puts them as our ancestors, Genesis says they came after we did in creation order.

Nighthawk

Nighthawk.

This is another bird mentioned in the Bible only on the list of unclean birds (Lev. 11:16; Deut. 14:15). No specific characteristics are given which might help to identify the bird. Nighthawks, also called nightjars, are found in the Holy Land, but they are not predators. There is no obvious reason why nighthawks would be considered unclean by the Israelites. Other translations render the Hebrew word for nighthawk as owl (NASB) or screech owl (NIV). After sunset, nighthawks fly high into the air to hunt for insects. They build nests near the ground in thickets or hedges.

Source: [Anon-Animals]

The Night-Hawk.

I believe this is the only animal of any kind mentioned in the Bible, the name of which begins with N. It is named in the 11th chapter of Leviticus, among other birds, such as the owl, the cuckoo and the raven, which the children of Israel were not allowed to eat.

It is somewhat like the owl in its shape, and in its large, full, round eyes. It flies at evening, and hides itself during the day from the bright light of the sun. It likes to live in lonely, dark woods, and when it comes out at twilight to get the insects that it lives upon, you could hardly hear the sound of its wings, it flies so very gently. It has a very wide, gaping mouth, which helps it to seize upon moths and flies, and its mouth is bordered with a row of stiff bristles, so that the insects may not escape again after they have been caught.

The night-hawk belongs to the same family with the whip-poor-will; and, like that bird, it places its eggs on the ground in the shade of some thicket, with only a layer of withered leaves under them instead of making a nest.

[Cook, Scripture Alphabet of Animals]

Nighthawk

Maggot

Maggot

Worms are kind of icky things. They live in the ground, and they are slimy. But a maggot is a worse kind of animal in that it usually lives within dead flesh, and lives off of the dying animal or person. There they are “worse” in some way.

These animals are identified as benefitting from death, and in the scheme of things in the Bible, it would seem they are also the servants (or very similar to Satan) who has pleasure in dying and death. This is a great problem as far as holiness is concerned. Something that touches or handles a corpse (animal or human) becomes unclean, so a maggot would basically be an animal that craves and has great pleasure in wallowing in death and uncleanness.

Hell and maggots

Our concept of hell being filled with maggots would come from their association with death and dying.

Isa 14:11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

I believe that has a reference to those people covering themselves with worms, as if there were some kind of cold or they sought protection from some kind of discomfort like a person in the cold, and they would cover themselves with worms. Although it does not talk of cold in hell, but a covering as if somehow that would alleviate some of their grief (which it doesn’t).

–DCox


A maggot is a type of worm, and it is connected with the eating of dead bodies, so it is unclean, and related to death in the Bible.

Maggot (see Lice; Worm).

Source: [Anon-Animals]