Hebrew word · H8464

תַּחְמָס

hatachmas

ostrich

An unclean bird found only in Lev 11:16 and Deut 14:15. It is usually linked to the root ḥ-m-s, "to do violence, to wrong", which suggests "the violent one", that is, a predator. The data are too thin to decide.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) a ceremonially unclean bird

1a) a name of the male ostrich

1b) (CLBL) probably the great owl

1c) 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 14:15

Range of meaning

An unclean bird found only in Lev 11:16 and Deut 14:15. It is usually linked to the root ḥ-m-s, "to do violence, to wrong", which suggests "the violent one", that is, a predator. Proposed identifications include the short-eared owl or another owl, the nightjar ("night hawk"), and the male ostrich paired with the bat ya'anah before it. The data are too thin to decide.

Against the English

BSB has "screech owl", WEB "owl", KJV/YLT "night hawk", ESV "nighthawk". The NIV has "screech owl" and the NLT "short-eared owl". Each is a guess.

How it drifted

The supplied lexicon's gloss "ostrich" for this lemma reflects the minority "male ostrich" proposal. The contextual gloss "screech owl" follows the LXX/Vulgate owl tradition. Neither is certain.

Used elsewhere in the period

The LXX has glaux, "owl" (the bird of Athena). The Vulgate has noctua, "night-owl". Later Jewish sources list it among the forbidden birds but do not agree on what it is.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 11:16 הַתַּחְמָ֖ס the screech owl

    the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 14:15 הַתַּחְמָ֖ס the screech owl

    the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,

    Here: This word appears only here and in the parallel list at Lev 11:16. The name may come from the root ḥ-m-s, "violence", which would suit a predator. The Greek translation (LXX) has an owl, and the KJV has "night hawk". Nobody knows which bird it is.

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