Hebrew word · H1675

דָּאָה

veyid'eh

to fly

To swoop, dart, or glide swiftly, the sudden fast flight of a bird of prey (BDB: 'fly swiftly, dart'). It occurs only a few times: Deuteronomy 28:49, Psalm 18:10, and Jeremiah 48:40 and 49:22.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to fly fast, fly swiftly, dart through the air

1a) (Qal) to fly swiftly, dart

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Jeremiah 49:22

Range of meaning

To swoop, dart, or glide swiftly, the sudden fast flight of a bird of prey (BDB: 'fly swiftly, dart'). It occurs only a few times: Deuteronomy 28:49, Psalm 18:10, and Jeremiah 48:40 and 49:22.

Against the English

KJV and WEB say 'fly', which loses the speed and the dive. BSB and NIV 'swoop down' and ESV 'fly swiftly' keep it better.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Psalm 18:10 God 'swooped on the wings of the wind'. The parallel in 2 Samuel 22:11 reads 'appeared' (ra'ah) instead, which shows how easily the letters d and r were confused. The same confusion appears in a bird name: da'ah in Leviticus 11:14, ra'ah in Deuteronomy 14:13. The Septuagint of this verse seems to have read 'see'.

From the study of Psalm 18:10

Range of meaning

To fly swiftly, swoop, or dart down. It occurs only a few times, nearly always of a bird of prey diving: 'as the eagle swoops' (Deut 28:49), 'he will swoop like an eagle and spread his wings over Moab' (Jer 48:40; also 49:22). A related noun names a kite or other bird of prey (dāʾāh, Lev 11:14).

Against the English

'Soared' (BSB, WEB, NIV) suggests gliding upward or hanging on the air. The Hebrew has the opposite direction and much more speed: a dive. 'Came swiftly' (ESV) and 'sped' (NASB) catch the speed. KJV uses 'did fly' for both verbs and so loses the change from the general 'fly' to the sharper 'swoop'.

How it drifted

This is a translation choice, not a word that changed meaning over time. 'Soar' sounds elevated and poetic, but it gets the direction of the movement wrong.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 28:49; Jer 48:40; 49:22. In the parallel 2 Sam 22:11 the standard Hebrew text has wayyērāʾ ('and he was seen'), most likely a scribe's misreading of this rare verb as a common one.

From the study of Deuteronomy 28:49

Range of meaning

To fly swiftly, dart or swoop through the air (BDB "fly swiftly, dart"; HALOT "swoop down"). It is a rare verb, used for birds of prey and once for God riding the storm.

Against the English

KJV adds "[as swift]" in italics and keeps the plain verb "flieth". WEB's "as the eagle flies" could sound to a modern ear like the distance idiom "as the crow flies". BSB, ESV, NIV and NASB all use "swoop", which is the best fit.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of the nesher in Jeremiah 48:40 and 49:22 ("he shall fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings over Moab / Bozrah"), describing Babylon's attack. In Psalm 18:10 (Hebrew 18:11) God "swooped on the wings of the wind". The parallel in 2 Samuel 22:11 reads wayyera, "was seen," because the Hebrew letters dalet and resh look alike and were easily confused in copying. The LXX here renders the phrase with hormēma, "rush, onset" (see textual notes).

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 28:49 יִדְאֶ֖ה it swoops down

    The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,

    Here: "Swoops / darts down." A rare verb for a sudden, fast dive through the air, the attack-swoop of a bird of prey. KJV's "[as swift] as the eagle flieth" picks up the speed but loses the dive.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 18:10 וַ֝יֵּ֗דֶא and he soared

    He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.

    Here: A rarer and sharper word, used of a bird of prey diving at speed. It makes "flew" stronger: God comes rushing down to the rescue, not drifting or gliding.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 48:40 יִדְאֶ֑ה someone will swoop down

    For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.

  2. Jeremiah 49:22 וְיִדְאֶ֔ה and he may swoop down

    Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

    Here: A rare verb for the fast swoop or glide of a hunting bird. It is the word used in the covenant curse of Deuteronomy 28:49, about an enemy nation coming 'as the eagle swoops'.

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