Hebrew word · H6893

קָאַת

ka'at

pelican

The name of an unclean bird. It appears five times: Leviticus 11:18, Deuteronomy 14:17, Isaiah 34:11, Zephaniah 2:14 and Psalm 102:6 (102:7 in Hebrew). In the three poetic passages it lives in the wilderness or among ruins. The psalmist says, 'I am like a qaʾat of the wilderness' (liqʾat midbar).

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) a ceremonially unclean bird

1a) perhaps pelican or cormorant

1b) perhaps an extinct bird, exact meaning unknown

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 Deuteronomy 14:17

Range of meaning

The name of an unclean bird. It appears five times: Leviticus 11:18, Deuteronomy 14:17, Isaiah 34:11, Zephaniah 2:14 and Psalm 102:6 (102:7 in Hebrew). In the three poetic passages it lives in the wilderness or among ruins. Isaiah and Zephaniah picture it in a destroyed city, next to owls, hedgehogs and ravens. The psalmist says, 'I am like a qaʾat of the wilderness' (liqʾat midbar). One proposed origin is the root qyʾ, 'to vomit' (pelicans feed their young by bringing up food), but that is uncertain.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT and NASB say 'pelican.' NIV and BSB say 'desert owl.' ESV says 'tawny owl.' Other suggestions include a scops owl, a little owl and a jackdaw.

How it drifted

'Pelican' entered English Bibles through the Greek Septuagint (pelekan) and the Latin Vulgate (pellicanus). The bird a modern reader pictures, a huge water bird with a throat pouch, does not fit well with a creature that lives in ruins in the desert. That mismatch is why many recent translations switched to an owl.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint translates Psalm 101:7 (its numbering) as 'I have become like a pelican of the wilderness' (pelekani erēmikō). Ancient readers sometimes explained this by saying pelicans retreat to remote marshes. Medieval Christian writers built the pelican-feeding-its-young-with-its-own-blood symbol on the Latin text of this psalm. That symbol is far later than the Hebrew and has nothing to do with it.

From the study of Isaiah 34:11

Range of meaning

An unclean bird (Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that lives in wilderness ruins (Ps 102:6, 'the qa'at of the wilderness'; Zeph 2:14, roosting in Nineveh's ruined capitals). Species uncertain. Suggestions include pelican, owl, vulture and cormorant.

Against the English

KJV 'cormorant' (here), WEB/YLT 'pelican', NIV/BSB 'desert owl', ESV 'hawk'. The spread itself shows that no one knows.

How it drifted

English versions name a definite species, which gives an impression of certainty the Hebrew does not support.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX 'pelekan' in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, which the Vulgate and KJV tradition followed elsewhere. Zeph 2:14 pairs qa'at and qippod in a scene of ruin, just as here, so the pairing was a stock picture of desolation.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 11:18 הַקָּאָ֖ת the desert owl

    the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 14:17 וְהַקָּאָ֥ת and the desert owl

    the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant,

    Here: An unclean bird that must not be eaten. Everywhere else it appears, it is a bird of the wilderness and of ruined cities (Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14; Psalm 102:6), so many scholars think of a desert owl. The older rendering 'pelican' comes from the Greek translation and from a possible link to a verb meaning 'to vomit' (pelicans bring food back up for their young). We do not know for certain which bird it is.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 102:6 לִקְאַ֣ת <to> a desert owl of

    I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 34:11 קָאַ֣ת desert owl

    The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.

    Here: A bird that lives in ruins and wasteland, listed among the unclean birds in Lev 11:18 and Deut 14:17. Which species is not known. The Greek translation guessed 'pelican' in Leviticus, but many modern translators think of an owl because the setting is a desert ruin.

Zephaniah · 1

  1. Zephaniah 2:14 קָאַת֙ desert owl

    Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie on the threshold, for He will expose the beams of cedar.

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