Greek word · G4071

πετεινός

peteinos

bird

'The birds of the heaven/sky', a Hebrew way of saying 'wild birds' (Hebrew ʿôp haššāmayim). οὐρανός can mean the sky or God's realm; here it is the sky.

Appears 14 times in 14 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πετεινός, -ή, -όν

(πέτομαι), [in LXX chiefly for עוֹף ;]

in trag., Ion. and late writers, winged, flying; as subst., τὸ π., a winged fowl, a bird: pl., Matthew 6:26 8:20 13:4, 32, Mark 4:4, 32, Luke 8:5 9:58 12:24 13:19, Acts 10:12 11:6, Romans 1:23, James 3:7.†

(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 13:32

Range of meaning

'The birds of the heaven/sky', a Hebrew way of saying 'wild birds' (Hebrew ʿôp haššāmayim). οὐρανός can mean the sky or God's realm; here it is the sky.

Against the English

'Birds of the air' (KJV, BSB, WEB) is a fair idiom. YLT's 'birds of the heaven' keeps the verbal echo of 'kingdom of the heavens' (13:31), which English otherwise loses.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in the Hebrew Scriptures (Gen 1:26; Ps 104:12; Dan 4:12, 21; Ezek 31:6). In Ezek 17:23 'birds of every kind' dwell under God's planted cedar. In apocalyptic writings birds can stand for nations (e.g. the animal symbolism of 1 Enoch 85–90). Elsewhere in Matthew 13 birds snatch seed and are explained as 'the evil one' (13:4, 19).

From the study of Matthew 6:26

Range of meaning

Literally 'the winged creatures of the heaven(s)': wild birds as a class. In Hebrew and Greek, 'heaven' (ouranos / shamayim) covers both the visible sky and God's dwelling.

Against the English

'Birds of the air' (BSB, NIV, ESV) and 'birds of the sky' (WEB) give the physical sense correctly. In English 'air' cannot carry the second sense, so the link to 'heavenly Father' later in the same sentence is lost. YLT's 'fowls of the heaven' keeps it.

Used elsewhere in the period

This translates the Hebrew stock phrase 'ôp haššāmayim, 'birds of the heavens' (Genesis 1:26, 28; Psalm 104:12), which the Septuagint renders the same way. Psalm 104:12 and 27–28 picture God giving the creatures their food. Matthew uses the phrase again in 8:20 and 13:32.

From the study of Luke 13:19

Range of meaning

'Flying things of the sky': wild birds in general. A Septuagint phrase that translates Hebrew ʿôp haššāmayim, 'birds of the heavens'.

Against the English

'Birds of the air' (BSB, ESV), 'fowls of the air' (KJV), 'birds of the sky' (WEB, NASB), 'fowls of the heavens' (YLT). All are accurate. 'Heaven' here is the sky, not God's dwelling.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used repeatedly in the great-tree passages (Ezek 17:23; 31:6; Dan 4:12, 21) and in creation texts (Gen 1:26; Ps 104:12). In later Jewish apocalyptic imagery, birds and animals can stand for the Gentile nations: 1 Enoch's Animal Apocalypse, for example, ends with all creatures gathering to the restored house (1 Enoch 90:30–37). In the parable of the sower, by contrast, birds devour the seed (Luke 8:5, 12).

Where it appears

Matthew · 4

  1. Matthew 6:26 πετεινὰ birds

    Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

    Here: Birds in general, any flying creature. Luke's parallel names ravens in particular (Luke 12:24).

  2. Matthew 8:20 πετεινὰ birds

    Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

    Here: Literally 'flying things', the usual word for wild birds. Foxes (on the ground) and birds (in the air) together stand for all wild creatures.

  3. Matthew 13:4 πετεινὰ birds

    And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

    Here: Literally "flying things," the general word for birds. In a field this means the seed-eating birds (sparrows, larks, crows) that follow a sower.

  4. Matthew 13:32 πετεινὰ birds

    Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

    Here: Birds, literally 'flying things'. The same word is used for the birds that snatch seed in 13:4. Here, though, it is part of a fixed scriptural phrase about creatures sheltering in a great tree.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 4:4 πετεινὰ birds

    And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

  2. Mark 4:32 πετεινὰ birds

    But after it is planted, it grows to be the largest of all garden plants and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of the air nest in its shade.”

    Here: Birds. It is the same word as the birds that devoured the seed on the path in 4:4. There they were enemies of the seed. Here they are the ones who benefit from the full-grown plant.

Luke · 4

  1. Luke 8:5 πετεινὰ birds

    “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.

    Here: Literally “flying things,” the ordinary word for wild birds. In 8:12 Jesus gives their meaning: the devil comes and takes the word away.

  2. Luke 9:58 πετεινὰ birds

    Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

  3. Luke 12:24 πετεινῶν; birds?

    Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds!

    Here: The general word for birds. The argument widens from ravens to birds as a whole, and so to everything God feeds.

  4. Luke 13:19 πετεινὰ birds

    It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

    Here: Birds in general. With 'of the sky' it forms a set phrase from the Greek Old Testament, where it describes creatures sheltering in a great tree (Dan 4; Ezek 17, 31; Ps 104).

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 10:12 πετεινὰ birds

    It contained all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air.

  2. Acts 11:6 πετεινὰ birds

    I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 1:23 πετεινῶν birds

    and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

    Here: Flying creatures. Paul's readers would think of bird-form gods such as the Egyptian falcon (Horus) and ibis (Thoth). It is also the word for the 'birds of the heavens' humans were meant to rule in Genesis 1:26.

James · 1

  1. James 3:7 πετεινῶν, of birds,

    All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,

    Here: Winged creatures in general, the 'birds of the air' of Genesis.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.