The Beginning of Birds

It seems like the logical place to begin this study of birds is with the beginning of birds. Where did they come from? “Science,” by which I refer to evolutionary theory, presents some ideas. I didn’t spend much time looking into this, but a brief perusal reveals the suggestion that birds evolved from winged dinosaurs during the Jurassic age. According to this theory, the first birds were large, either grouse-like or ostrich-like in size.

As a Christian and a believer of the Bible, I choose to believe that an all-wise and all-powerful Creator made the birds. There are non-Christians who believe in intelligent design, and they refer to this Creator as the Intelligent Designer or First Cause or Source. I call Him God.

My intent here is not to debate creation versus evolution, nor is to argue for what I believe is a more logical and reasonable position (Creation). The whole basis of this blog is to see what the Bible says about birds, and the first thing the Bible shares is the creation of the birds. So let’s look at what the Bible says. (If you want to explore the idea of creation versus evolution, I suggest perusing the websites answersingenesis.org or genesispark.com or visiting the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum in Kentucky.)

The creation of the world lasted six days. God first created light and divided it from the darkness. Then He created a firmament to divide the earth from the atmosphere. Next God caused the dry land to rise out of the ocean to form a land mass. He filled that land mass with trees and other plants. Then He created the sun, moon, and stars. After four days, what was the world like? It was totally ready for living creatures. The new world was supplied with darkness and daylight, a protective atmosphere, land for creatures to live on, food for them to eat, and sunshine to grow their food and give them light.

On the fifth day, “God said, ‘Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens’” (Genesis 1:20). Just like that. God spoke the command, and the birds appeared. “God created … every winged bird after its kind” (Genesis 1:21).

It is possible that the creative process involved more than mere speech. We know that when God created man, He “formed man of dust from the ground” (Genesis 2:7). He may have followed the same process for the other living creatures, as indicated by Genesis 2:19: “Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky.” Whether this creative process required physical manipulation of the dirt, or whether God’s words impelled the dirt to be molded, the bottom line is that creation was God’s handiwork. It happened at His desire and according to His ideas.

What was God’s response to the creation of the birds? “God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:21). This was not a new response. This is the fifth time God evaluated His creation in this way. What must it have been like to see (and hear) the creation in its pristine condition? I go out birding, and often I return saying, “It was a good day.” But when God viewed His birds, He did not see or hear any noise or chaos caused by people. There was no damage to the environment, no pollution in the air, no trash on the ground, no noise of machinery, no highways dividing the habitat, no automobiles to break up the serenity, not even crowds of people to disturb the peace. There was nothing to distract from the beauty God had created. Yes, what He created was good indeed.

Did you ever wonder why God made the birds? Couldn’t our world survive without them? I think there are two aspects to the answer. One aspect has to do with God’s wisdom. God created a world in which every piece matters. Everything works together to make the earth function. We might talk about the balance of nature or the food chain or environmental stability, and what we are actually noticing is God’s design. How do birds fit into the big picture?

First, some birds serve as food; chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, pheasants, grouse, quail, and doves would top the list. Second, many birds eat creatures that humans consider to be annoying, damaging, and even dangerous pests. These would include mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, termites, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, mice, rats, and snakes. Third, some birds, like hummingbirds, serve as pollinators, thus helping plants and flowers to flourish. Fourth, what goes in must come out. After birds eat seeds and fruit, they “deposit” seeds in new places, helping to spread trees and other plants. Fifth, their “deposits” also provide natural fertilizer; certain types of guano have been highly valued. Sixth, the scavenger birds (vultures in particular) are nature’s garbage collectors. They perform a great service in cleaning up dead animals, thereby protecting against the spread of disease. Finally, birds take their place within the circle of life; they fit into their niche in the food chain, and their eating and depositing habits help to preserve certain environments. God did not create birds by accident. In His wisdom He knew exactly how they would be needed and useful.

There is a second aspect to the answer of why God created birds. It has to do with God’s creativity and love of beauty. Face it – He could have accomplished all of the above tasks with just a handful of plain and boring birds. But He didn’t. God created great variety, wonderful costumes, beautiful colors, eye-catching shapes, and quirky behaviors. He also made the birds to sing a great variety of songs.

I believe the birds bring pleasure to God Himself, but God also wanted to bring pleasure to humans. The stories of human benefit are endless. For me, it is a simple matter of going out into nature to see what I see and to hear what I hear. Some bird encounters are simply breathtaking. There is the excitement of discovery. Endorphins are released when a bird pops into view. On the side, I get sunshine (or rain), fresh air, and exercise. Even people with limited energy or mobility can enjoy birds from their car or outside their living room window. (I know, because I’ve had to do birding that way, too.)

Some people find great comfort in having a bird as a pet and companion. I have even heard stories of prisoners, refugees, or POWs that found inspiration and hope from a visiting bird when they had no other connection with life. Birds please us with their beauty, and they often inspire us. How many poems, books, plays, songs, operas, and other musical compositions have been inspired by birds? In short, birds improve our quality of life, and our good Creator-God, who also loves beauty, provided this blessing for us.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

God's Bird List - Introduction

I’m a birder. I get into nature frequently. I keep lists. I’m also a Christian and a student of the Bible. I see birds referred to in the Bible, and my interest in the topic led me to study out what the Bible has to say about birds.

I wouldn’t call God a birder, mostly because the term seems too frivolous for His relationship to the birds. In my mind, “birder” implies something along the nature of a hobby, and it also refers to someone who is constantly discovering and learning. For the first part, God doesn’t need things to do for fun; regarding the birds, He is their creator and provider. For the second part, God knows everything there is to know about birds; there is no learning or discovering for Him. Nevertheless, I am calling this study “God’s Bird List,” not because God is making a list, but because I am making a list of what He has revealed, and because the term is familiar in birder’s lingo.

While many specific birds are listed in the Bible, nearly half of the references are to birds in general. By my count, “bird” in its various forms (bird, birds, bird’s, birds’) occurs 136 times in the Bible, and “fowl” an additional three times. I find 189 references to 37 specific species (or bird families). Obviously, there are far more species than that; God was not ignorant of the other birds. The Bible, however, includes only those birds that are pertinent for the purposes of its teaching.

These numbers require a bit of technical explanation. Any English translation of the Bible’s original languages is going to have an inherent level of challenge when it comes to bird names. The Bible is not written as field guide. When it mentions birds, it is not giving field marks or sketches. Many times the bird names are simply included in a list without any identifying features.

Quite simply, by the time the Bible was translated to English (or other languages), the knowledge of what some of the specific bird names referred to had already been lost, especially if they were not commonly-known birds, if they were regional birds not living in the translator’s area, or if they had become extinct. When I look up the meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words, out of the 37 species, six of them include the idea of “perhaps”, “probably”, or indicate some level of doubt. Additionally, nine of the explanations include this possibility: “perhaps an extinct bird, exact meaning unknown.”

It seems apparent then (and not surprising) that we simply do not know for certain the identity of some of the birds listed, particularly in the Old Testament. The translators are providing their best idea, sometimes with a high degree of certainty and sometimes with less certainty. As a result, there are going to be differences of opinion. This difference of opinion will be evident when comparing different English translations. I have chosen to use the New American Standard Bible for several reasons. First, it is my preferred translation. Second, it has the advantage of a few hundred years of learning and discovery over earlier English translations, so that it could possibly provide a more accurate translation. Third, I believe it is more likely to give modernized bird names.

For comparison, if the same study were done using the King James Version, the word “fowl” would be found far more often, while “bird” would be found less often. The same Hebrew word is translated both ways, making the English words synonymous, while “bird” is more comfortable to the modern reader. Also, the KJV would have the following bird names on the list: bittern, cuckow, glede, lapwing, night hawk, osprey, ossifrage, and swan. These birds will not appear in my list from the NASB.

As a demonstration of the disparity between translations, Leviticus 11:16 lists four birds. Comparing 22 different translations, those four birds are translated as listed below.

·         First bird - ostrich (15), daughter of the ostrich (1), owl (2), horned owl (2), eagle owl (2)

·         Second bird - owl (4), screech owl (5), short-eared owl (5), nighthawk (8)

·         Third bird – gull (8), seagull (9), seamew (2), cuckow (2), long-eared owl (1)

·         Fourth bird – hawk (21), falcon (1)

To be clear, I don’t share these differences to cast any doubt on the accuracy or dependability of the Bible. The uncertainties of some of these bird names merely shows the difficulty of translating technical words from ancient languages in settings where they occur without any context or identifying detail. The original languages were inspired by God, and He knew precisely which species He meant in every case.

It is important to note that our lack of expertise in translation does not detract from the Bible. The vast majority of the uncertainties are found in the lists of unclean birds found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy; as part of the Jewish dietary laws, they do not represent any doctrine or teaching relevant to Christianity today. We can be fairly certain of the types of birds listed as unclean (birds of prey and scavengers); this is in keeping with modern understanding of safe eating practices. Where there are some uncertainties outside the dietary lists, it is often the characteristic of a bird that is important more than the specific bird; the point is where it lives or how it behaves, and no critical content is lost by not being 100% certain of the precise identification. As the above example illustrates, we often are fairly certain that we are at least in the right ballpark – a bird that frequents the night, or even some type of owl, while perhaps not being certain of the type of owl or if it might be a nighthawk instead.

More importantly, when it comes to the doctrinal content of the Bible, we do not need to be uncertain. God has revealed His truth in abundance. In most cases, doctrinal teachings are revealed progressively and repetitively; as we move through the Bible and compare teachings from various passages, we fill out our understanding. The Bible is quite clear on the important topics of God, man, and salvation. God is the holy Creator. Man is the fallen creation. God’s love desires reconciliation and provided the possibility of redemption through the substitutionary sacrifice of the sinless God-man, Jesus. These truths are both far more certain and also far more important than what the Bible has to say about birds.

What the Bible says about birds is important, however; otherwise, this study would be a mere curiosity. God intends to teach us by what He reveals about birds. “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; and the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you” (Job 12:7). There are both general and specific lessons for us to learn from the birds. This study is an attempt to encounter those lessons, while also reflecting my enjoyment of birds. While my primary purpose is devotional, the entries will at times also be educational, instructional, and pleasurable.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.