Eagle
“A tearer with the beak”
Summary
A large raptor forbidden as food under the Mosaic law, used throughout Scripture as a symbol of swiftness, strength, and divine protection, and appearing prominently in prophetic visions.
☩Identification
The Hebrew 'nesher,' meaning 'to tear with the beak,' is almost invariably translated 'eagle' throughout Scripture, though many references more accurately describe the griffon vulture. Several species of eagles inhabit Palestine, including the golden eagle, the imperial eagle, the spotted eagle, the tawny eagle, and the short-toed eagle, which is most common. The distinction matters because true eagles are solitary birds that carry prey to their nests, while vultures are social and feed in flocks on carrion. Passages describing baldness and feeding on carcasses likely refer to the griffon vulture rather than the true eagle, particularly 'enlarge thy baldness as the eagle,' which fits the vulture's bare head and neck.
☩Natural Characteristics
Scripture notes the eagle's extraordinary swiftness of flight, used metaphorically for invading armies and the rapid passing of time and wealth. Its soaring to great heights and nesting in inaccessible mountain crags symbolize security and majesty. The eagle's remarkable far-sightedness enabled it to spy prey from vast distances. Scripture also notes its long life—the eagle was known to live to an astonishing age—and its molting, after which it appears with renewed vigor, inspiring the Psalmist's metaphor of youth renewed 'like the eagle's.' Most tenderly, Scripture describes the eagle's care in training its young to fly, hovering over them and bearing them on its wings when they tire.
☩Figurative and Symbolic Use
God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt is described as bearing them 'on eagles' wings,' combining imagery of power, tenderness, and protective care. As king of birds, the eagle became an emblem of powerful empires, particularly Babylon in Daniel's vision where the first beast had eagle's wings. In Ezekiel's vision of the cherubim, each had the face of an eagle alongside those of a man, lion, and ox, representing all that is swiftest and most exalted in creation. The eagle appears similarly in Revelation's vision of the four living creatures before God's throne. In another vision, the woman representing the church was given 'two wings of a great eagle' to escape the serpent—divine protection enabling flight to safety.
☩Military Symbolism
The eagle's image was a favorite military ensign in antiquity, employed by the Persians, Assyrians, and Romans. Isaiah's prophecy of Cyrus as a 'ravenous bird from the east' alludes to the Persian eagle standard. Eagles are frequently represented in Assyrian sculptures accompanying armies in battle. The Roman eagle standard gives particular force to Christ's words about eagles gathering where the carcass lies—a prophecy of Roman armies descending upon morally dead Jerusalem. This association of swift-flying raptors with divine judgment pervades prophetic literature.
Related Verses34 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Eagle," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. III (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Hastings (ed.), "Eagle," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).
- 3.George Morrish, "Eagle," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Eagle," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).