Bittern
“Uncertain; possibly related to rolling up or contracting”
Summary
A solitary wading bird of the heron family whose eerie booming cry symbolized desolation in the prophets' oracles against Babylon, Edom, and Nineveh.
☩Identification
The Hebrew word qippod has been variously translated as bittern, hedgehog, or porcupine. While some scholars favor 'porcupine' based on etymology, the context strongly supports a bird: in Zephaniah 2:14, the creature is said to 'lodge in the upper lintels' and 'sing in the windows'—actions impossible for a hedgehog. The bittern (Botaurus stellaris), a nocturnal member of the heron family, fits the prophetic descriptions perfectly.
☩Symbolic Use
The prophets used the bittern to symbolize utter desolation. Its haunting nocturnal call, which ancient writers compared to a bull's bellow, made it emblematic of ruined, abandoned places. Isaiah prophesied that Babylon would become 'a possession for the bittern and pools of water,' while Zephaniah declared that bitterns would lodge in the ruins of Nineveh. The solitary bird, at home in desolate marshlands, perfectly depicted divine judgment reducing proud cities to wilderness.
See Also
References
- 1.James Orr (ed.), "Bittern," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 2.John McClintock and James Strong, "Bittern," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 3.George Morrish, "Bittern," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).