Greek word · G3733
ὄρνις
ornis
hen
Bird in general. In ordinary Greek usage it often meant the domestic fowl, cock or hen (LSJ). The feminine form here, with chicks and wings, points to a mother hen.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ὄρνις, -ιθος, ὁ, ἡ
[in LXX: ὄ. ἐκλεκταί, I2Ki.3:1 4:23 (1 Kings 5:3) (בַּרְבֻּר)* ;]
a bird; specif., a cock, a hen: Matthew 23:3, Luke 13:34 (WH).†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Matthew 23:37
- Range of meaning
Bird in general. In ordinary Greek usage it often meant the domestic fowl, cock or hen (LSJ). The feminine form here, with chicks and wings, points to a mother hen.
- Against the English
All major English versions say 'hen', which fits the context. The Greek word itself is less specific, but the scene it describes is clear.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Common in classical and Koine Greek for fowl. Chickens were kept in first-century Judea (the cock crowing in Matthew 26:34, 74). The Mishnah (c. 200 CE) records a rule against raising fowl in Jerusalem itself for purity reasons (m. Bava Kamma 7:7), though how strictly it applied in Jesus' day is uncertain.
- Range of meaning
Bird, of any kind. In ordinary speech it was often used specifically for the domestic fowl, cock or hen. With a feminine article and 'her own brood', it means a hen.
- Against the English
'Hen' is a fair rendering. The image is deliberately ordinary. It is a barnyard bird, not the eagle of Deuteronomy 32:11.
- Used elsewhere in the period
BDAG gives 'bird, in our literature the cock or hen'. Chickens were common in Roman-era Palestine, and the gospels mention cockcrow (Luke 22:34, 60). The idea of sheltering under wings is old: Deuteronomy 32:11, Ruth 2:12 ('the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge'), and Psalms 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 91:4. The Greek of Deuteronomy 32:11 uses the same word for 'brood' (nossia) and the same 'wings' (pterygas), so Luke's wording likely echoes it. A later Christian text, 2 Esdras 1:30, borrows the gospel image: 'I gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.'
Where it appears
Matthew · 1
-
Matthew 23:37 ὄρνις a hen
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!
Here: Originally 'bird' in general, but in everyday Greek it often meant the domestic fowl. With 'chicks under her wings' a mother hen is clearly meant. It is a plain farmyard picture, not a noble eagle.
Luke · 1
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Luke 13:34 ὄρνις a hen [gathers]
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!
Here: The general word for 'bird', which in everyday use often meant the domestic fowl. The feminine 'her own' makes it a mother bird: a hen. It is a homely, unheroic picture, set against Herod 'that fox' two verses earlier.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.