Hoopoe

Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia

(Lev. 11:19; Deut. 14:18)—a distinctive crested bird named among the animals unclean for Israel. The hoopoe feeds largely on insects and other small creatures found by probing the ground. It nests in cavities in trees, walls, rocks, and banks. The source’s comparison with the cuckoo and its explanation of roadside nesting are descriptive conjectures, not features supplied by Scripture.

Scripture cited

Leviticus 11:19 Deuteronomy 14:18

Related entries

Anaka (groaning) (Lev. 11:20) — a creeping animal, unclean according to the Law of Moses. It is probably the gecko…
Animals. The animals of the Bible were divided into four classes: land-dwelling animals, both the larger and smaller…
Bat (Lev. 11:19, Deut. 14:18, Is. 2:20)—a mammal of the order of Chiroptera, unclean according to the Law of…
Chameleon (Lev. 11:30)—the traditional rendering of one of the small land animals declared unclean. The identity of the…
Corpse (Dead Body) (Matt. 24:28)—under the Mosaic law, contact with a human corpse brought ritual impurity and required…
Eagle (Deut. 32:11)—a well-known bird of prey, unclean under the Mosaic Law (Lev. 11:13; Deut. 14:12). Sacred…
Egyptian Vulture (source form Sip) (Lev. 11:18)—a bird that older naturalists grouped with eagles but depicted as a vulture.…
Fisher (a bird) (Lev. 11:17)—a bird classed as unclean under the Mosaic Law. The prophets use its presence as an…
Hare (Lev. 11:6; Deut. 14:7) (in Hebrew, arnebeth) — a four-footed animal of the order of rodents, reckoned by the…
Hawk (Lev. 11:16)—a swift bird of prey, included among birds not to be eaten under the law of Moses (Deut. 14:15).…

Search the whole Encyclopedia All 4,575 entries, searchable, with every entry linked to the verses it explains.