Deuteronomy 14:12-19

12These are the ones you may not eat: the eagle,
tn NEB “the griffon-vulture.”
the vulture,
tn The Hebrew term פֶּרֶס (peres) describes a large vulture otherwise known as the ossifrage (cf. KJV). This largest of the vultures takes its name from its habit of dropping skeletal remains from a great height so as to break the bones apart.
the black vulture,
tn The Hebrew term עָזְנִיָּה (ʿozniyyah) may describe the black vulture (so NIV) or it may refer to the osprey (so NAB, NRSV, NLT), an eagle-like bird subsisting mainly on fish.
13the kite, the black kite, the dayyah
tn The Hebrew term is דַּיָּה (dayyah). This, with the previous two terms (רָאָה [raʾah] and אַיָּה [ʾayyah]), is probably a kite of some species but otherwise impossible to specify.
after its species,
14every raven after its species, 15the ostrich,
tn Or “owl.” The Hebrew term בַּת הַיַּעֲנָה (bat hayyaʿanah) is sometimes taken as “ostrich” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT), but may refer instead to some species of owl (cf. KJV “owl”; NEB “desert-owl”; NIV “horned owl”).
the owl,
tn The Hebrew term תַּחְמָס (takhmas) is either a type of owl (cf. NEB “short-eared owl”; NIV “screech owl”) or possibly the nighthawk (so NRSV, NLT).
the seagull, the falcon
tn The Hebrew term נֵץ (nets) may refer to the falcon or perhaps the hawk (so NEB, NIV).
after its species,
16the little owl, the long-eared owl, the white owl,
tn The Hebrew term תִּנְשֶׁמֶת (tinshemet) may refer to a species of owl (cf. ASV “horned owl”; NASB, NIV, NLT “white owl”) or perhaps even to the swan (so KJV); cf. NRSV “water hen.”
17the jackdaw,
tn The Hebrew term קָאַת (qaʾat) may also refer to a type of owl (NAB, NIV, NRSV “desert owl”) or perhaps the pelican (so KJV, NASB, NLT).
the carrion vulture, the cormorant,
18the stork, the heron after its species, the hoopoe, and the bat.

19 And any swarming winged thing
tn The term עוֹף (ʿof) refers to winged creatures more broadly than “birds” and is repeated in v. 20. Here “swarming winged things” (שֶׁרֶץ הָעוֹף, sherets haʿof) most likely refers to “insects.”
sn It is debatable whether vv. 11-20 form one list (e.g. NASB) or two (e.g. NIV) as it is taken here. Verses 11 and 20 each say “you may eat any clean X” and refer to flying creatures. The terms עוֹף (ʿof) and צִפּוֹר (tsippor, see v. 11) can both refer to birds, but are not limited to birds. Verse 12 begins and v. 19 ends with a clause saying what may not be eaten, while specific animals or classes of animals are listed in between. This has the appearance of a chiastic structure for one list. On the other hand, the lists of land animals and fish are simply divided into what one may eat and may not eat, suggesting that vv. 11-18 and 19-20 (each including both kinds of statements) are separate lists. Also an issue, the phrase in v. 19 “it is unclean” might refer back to v.12 and the singular זֶה (zeh, “this,” but translated “these in most English versions for stylistic reasons). This would help tie 12-19 together as one list, but the closer referent is “any…winged thing” earlier in v. 19. Verses 19 and 20 are also tied by the use of the term עוֹף.
is impure
sn Lev 11:20-23 gives more details about unclean insects allowing locusts and grasshopper to be eaten. Cf. Matt 3:4; Mark 1:6.
to you—they may not be eaten.
tc The Vulgate and fragments from the Cairo Genizah read “it shall not be eaten.” The LXX and Smr read “you shall not eat from them” (cf. 14:12). The MT, reading the Niphal (passive), is less likely to have been harmonized and the harder reading should stand.
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