heron Summary and Overview

(Lev. 11:19; Deut. 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.

#Le 11:19; De 14:18| a common large, wading, unclean bird. Nearly all of the species known in English ornithology are found in the vicinity of Israel. 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.

anaphah. An unclean bird (Leviticus 11:19; Deuteronomy 14:18). Rather "the great plover," thick kneed, Charadrius oedicnemus, widely spread in Europe, Asia, and N. Africa. It lives on slugs, worms, frogs, and toads (Speaker's Commentary). But Gesenius derives it from anaph "to snort angrily," which applies well to the heron, an irritable, voracious, bird, frequenting marshes. The addition "after her kind" implies that a genus is meant.