The cormorant is a bird mentioned in the Bible, known for its association with desolation and uncleanliness. In the Scriptures, the cormorant is often listed among unclean birds, which the Israelites were forbidden to eat according to the dietary laws given by God.

Biblical References:

1. Leviticus 11:17 : "the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,"
In this passage, the cormorant is included in the list of birds that are considered unclean. The dietary laws in Leviticus were given to the Israelites to set them apart as a holy people, and the cormorant, with its scavenging nature, was deemed unsuitable for consumption.

2. Deuteronomy 14:17 : "the little owl, the great owl, the white owl,"
Here, the cormorant is again mentioned in the context of unclean birds. The repetition of these dietary restrictions in Deuteronomy underscores their importance in maintaining the distinctiveness and purity of the Israelite community.

3. Isaiah 34:11 : "The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and the raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of destruction."
While the Berean Standard Bible does not explicitly mention the cormorant in this verse, other translations include it as part of the imagery of desolation. The cormorant, along with other birds, symbolizes the complete devastation and abandonment of Edom, a nation judged by God.

4. Zephaniah 2:14 : "Flocks and herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. The desert owl and screech owl will roost on her columns. Their calls will echo through the windows; rubble will be in the doorways; the beams of cedar will be exposed."
Similar to Isaiah, this passage uses the imagery of birds, including the cormorant in some translations, to depict the desolation that will come upon Nineveh. The presence of such birds indicates a place left in ruin and devoid of human habitation.

Symbolism and Interpretation:

In biblical symbolism, the cormorant is often associated with desolation and judgment. Its presence in prophetic literature serves as a metaphor for the aftermath of divine judgment, where once-thriving cities are reduced to wilderness, inhabited only by creatures that thrive in desolate places. The cormorant's scavenging nature and preference for isolated, barren environments make it a fitting symbol for the consequences of turning away from God.

The inclusion of the cormorant in the list of unclean animals also reflects the broader biblical theme of separation between the holy and the profane. By adhering to dietary laws, the Israelites were reminded of their covenant relationship with God and their call to be a distinct and holy nation.

Natural History:

The cormorant is a large, fish-eating bird found in various parts of the world, including the regions surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Known for its excellent diving ability, the cormorant is often seen near bodies of water. Its dark plumage and distinctive silhouette make it easily recognizable. In ancient times, the cormorant's behavior and habitat would have been familiar to the people of the Near East, contributing to its use in biblical imagery.Cormorant

the representative in the Authorized Version of the Hebrew words kaath and shalac . As to the former, see PELICAN. Shalac occurs only as the name of an unclean bird in (Leviticus 11:17; 14:17) The word has been variously rendered. The etymology points to some plunging bird. The common cormorant (phalacrocorax carbo), which some writers have identified with the shalac , is unknown in the eastern Mediterranean; another species is found south of the Red Sea, but none on the west coast of Palestine.

Cormorant

A water bird about the size of a goose. It lives on fish, which it catches with great dexterity; and is so voracious and greedy, that its name has passed into a kind of proverbial use. The Hebrew word translated "cormorant" in Isaiah 34:11 Zephaniah 2:14, should rather be translated, as it is in other passages, "pelican," Le 11:17.

(Leviticus 11:17; Deuteronomy 14:17), Hebrews shalak, "plunging," or "darting down," (the Phalacrocorax carbo), ranked among the "unclean" birds; of the same family group as the pelican. It is a "plunging" bird, and is common on the coasts and the island seas of Palestine. Some think the Hebrew word should be rendered "gannet" (Sula bassana, "the solan goose"); others that it is the "tern" or "sea swallow," which also frequents the coasts of Palestine as well as the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan valley during several months of the year. But there is no reason to depart from the ordinary rendering.

In Isaiah 34:11, Zephaniah 2:14 (but in R.V., "pelican") the Hebrew word rendered by this name is ka'ath. It is translated "pelican" (q.v.) in Psalm 102:6. The word literally means the "vomiter," and the pelican is so called from its vomiting the shells and other things which it has voraciously swallowed. (see PELICAN.)

1. (n.) Any species of Phalacrocorax, a genus of sea birds having a sac under the beak; the shag. Cormorants devour fish voraciously, and have become the emblem of gluttony. They are generally black, and hence are called sea ravens, and coalgeese.

2. (n.) A voracious eater; a glutton, or gluttonous servant.

CORMORANT

kor'-mo-rant (shalakh; kataraktes; Latin Corvus marinus): A large sea-fowl belonging to the genus Phalacrocorax and well described by the Hebrew word used to designate it-which means a "plunging bird." The bird appears as large as a goose when in full feather, but plucked, the body is much smaller. The adult birds are glossy black with bronze tints, touched with white on the cheeks and sides as a festal dress at mating season, and adorned with filamentary feathers on the head, and bright yellow gape. These birds if taken young and carefully trained can be sent into the water from boats and bring to their masters large quantities of good-sized fish: commonly so used in China. The flesh is dark, tough and quite unfit to eat in the elders on account of their diet of fish. The nest is built mostly of seaweed. The eggs are small for the size of the birds, having a rough, thick, but rather soft shell of a bluish white which soon becomes soiled, as well as the nest and its immediate surroundings, from the habits of the birds. The young are leathery black, then covered with soft down of brownish black above and white beneath and taking on the full black of the grown bird at about three years. If taken in the squab state the young are said to be delicious food, resembling baked hare in flavor. The old birds are mentioned among the abominations for food (Leviticus 11:13-19 Deuteronomy 14:12-18).

Gene Stratton-Porter

7994. shalak -- (bird of prey) probably cormorant
... 7993, 7994. shalak. 7995 . (bird of prey) probably cormorant. Transliteration:
shalak Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-lawk') Short Definition: cormorant. ...
/hebrew/7994.htm - 6k

6893. qaath -- (a bird) perhaps pelican
... cormorant. From qow'; probably the pelican (from vomiting) -- cormorant. see HEBREW
qow'. 6892, 6893. qaath or qaath. 6894 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/6893.htm - 6k

On a Piece of Chalk. A Lecture to Working Men.
... many hundred feet high, with vast needles and pinnacles standing out in the sea,
sharp and solitary enough to serve as perches for the wary cormorant, confer a ...
/.../huxley/lay sermons addresses and reviews/ix on a piece of.htm

The Eighth Commandment
... (2) God hates them. In the law, the cormorant was unclean, because a thievish,
devouring creature, a bird of prey; by which God showed his hatred of this sin. ...
/.../watson/the ten commandments/2 8 the eighth commandment.htm

Whether There was any Reasonable Cause for the Ceremonial ...
... The cormorant, so constituted that it can stay a long time under water, denotes
the glutton who plunges into the waters of pleasure. ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether there was any reasonable.htm

Deliverance from Assyria
... should be brought low, Zephaniah prophesied of Nineveh: "Flocks shall lie down in
the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 30 deliverance from assyria.htm

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3. <. ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/of antichrist and his ruin .htm

Cormorant (4 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. CORMORANT. kor ... Gene Stratton-Porter.
Multi-Version Concordance Cormorant (4 Occurrences). Leviticus ...
/c/cormorant.htm - 10k

Bittern (4 Occurrences)
... Again in Isaiah 34:11 in the King James Version, in pronouncing judgment against
Idumaea, he wrote, "But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it." In ...
/b/bittern.htm - 14k

Vulture (16 Occurrences)
... They fed on carcasses of animals that killed each other, ate putrid fish under the
nests of pelican and cormorant, followed caravans across the desert, and ...
/v/vulture.htm - 14k

Owl (11 Occurrences)
... NAS NIV). Leviticus 11:17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). Leviticus 11 ...
/o/owl.htm - 18k

Birds (125 Occurrences)
... every raven after its kind, and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew,
and the hawk after its kind, and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the ...
/b/birds.htm - 62k

Abomination (78 Occurrences)
... every raven after its kind, and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew,
and the hawk after its kind, and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the ...
/a/abomination.htm - 55k

Zoology
... Falcon COLUMBAE: Dove, Turtle-Dove GALLINAE: Cock, Partridge, Quail, Peacock
GRALLATORES: Crane, Heron, Stork STEGANOPODES: Pelican, Cormorant RATTAE: Ostrich ...
/z/zoology.htm - 18k

Unclean (393 Occurrences)
... Version gives them as follows: eagle, gier eagle, osprey, kite, falcon, glede, every
raven, ostrich, night-hawk, sea-mew, hawk, little owl, cormorant, great owl ...
/u/unclean.htm - 39k

Osprey (4 Occurrences)
... eagle, and the vulture, and the osprey, (WEB RSV). Deuteronomy 14:17 and
the pelican, and the vulture, and the cormorant, (See NIV). ...
/o/osprey.htm - 8k

Lintels (1 Occurrence)
... Zephaniah 2:14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of
the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper ...
/l/lintels.htm - 6k

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