Smith's Bible Dictionary
Heron(Leviticus 11:19; 14:18) a common large, wading, unclean bird. Nearly all of the species known in English ornithology are found in the vicinity of Palestine. Canon Cook and others think the bird intended is the plover (Charadrius aedicnemus), a greedy, thick kneed, high-flying migratory bird, very common in the East, on the banks of rivers and shores of lakes. --ED.
ATS Bible Dictionary
HeronThis name is put in Le 11:19 De 14:18, for a Hebrew word of very uncertain meaning. See BIRDS.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
HERONher'-un ('anaphah; charadrios; Latin Ardea cinerea): Herons are mentioned only in the abomination lists of Leviticus 11:19 (margin "ibis") and Deuteronomy 14:18. They are near relatives of crane, stork, ibis and bittern. These birds, blue, white or brown, swarmed in Europe and wintered around Merom, along the Jordan, at the headwaters of the Jabbok and along its marshy bed in the dry season. Herons of Southern Africa that summered in the Holy Land loved to nest on the banks of Merom, and raise their young among the bulrushes, papyrus, reeds and water grasses, although it is their usual habit to build in large trees. The white herons were small, the blue, larger, and the brown, close to the same size. The blue were 3 1/2 ft. in length, and had a 5-ft. sweep. The beak, neck and legs constituted two-thirds of the length of the body, which is small, lean and bony, taking its appearance of size from its long loose feathers. Moses no doubt forbade these birds as an article of diet, because they ate fish and in older specimens would be tough, dark and evil smelling. The very poor of our western and southeastern coast states eat them.
Gene Stratton-Porter
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(
Leviticus 11:19;
Deuteronomy 14:18), ranked among the unclean birds. The Hebrew name is 'anaphah, and indicates that the bird so named is remarkable for its angry disposition. "The herons are wading-birds, peculiarly irritable, remarkable for their voracity, frequenting marshes and oozy rivers, and spread over the regions of the East." The Ardea russeta, or little golden egret, is the commonest species in Asia.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(
n.) Any wading bird of the genus Ardea and allied genera, of the family Ardeidae. The herons have a long, sharp bill, and long legs and toes, with the claw of the middle toe toothed. The common European heron (Ardea cinerea) is remarkable for its directly ascending flight, and was formerly hunted with the larger falcons.
Strong's Hebrew
2032. heron -- conception, pregnancyheron or herayon. << 2031, 2032.
heron or herayon. 2033 >>. conception, pregnancy.
Transliteration:
heron or herayon Phonetic Spelling
... /hebrew/2032.htm - 6k 601. anaphah -- a ceremonially unclean bird
... << 600, 601. anaphah. 602 >>. a ceremonially unclean bird. Transliteration: anaphah
Phonetic Spelling: (an-aw-faw') Short Definition: heron. ... heron. ...
/hebrew/601.htm - 6k
3244. yanshuph -- (a ceremonially unclean bird) perhaps an owl
... Or yanshowph {yan-shofe'}; apparently from nashaph; an unclean (acquatic) bird;
probably the heron (perhaps from its blowing cry, or because the night-heron is ...
/hebrew/3244.htm - 6k
