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Bible Dictionaries
Pelican
Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary
or The pelican is classed by Moses among the unclean fowls. (Leviticus 11:18) Notwithstanding the Psalmist seems to have had much respect to the solitary pursuit of this bird, when describing his loneliness of soul under this figure—"I am like a pelican of the wilderness." And if this psalm be considered (as I confess I feel much inclined to believe) to have more of David's Lord in it than David, there is something very stalking in the similitude of the pelican. I refer the reader to my Poor Man's Commentary, on Psalms 102:1-28, for my thoughts concerning Jesus as the glorious person to whom the principal characters in that psalm have respect. The Hebrews distinguished the pelican by the name Kaath. It hath been a generally-received opinion, and some of the early fathers have given countenance to it, such as St. Austin, and Isidore, that the pelican feeds her young with her blood, and by sprinkling it on her young also contributes to their life. Be the fact so or not, yet certain it is that our heavenly Pelican both feeds and sprinkles his young with his blood, and is their life and their portion for ever. He saith himself, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. And whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my: blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:53-54) These are sweet views of Jesus! Blessed are the souls who are daily living thus upon him. Surely the pelican in this point of view becomes no unapt resemblance of Christ.
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Hawker, Robert D.D. Entry for 'Pelican'. Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance and Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/pmd/p/pelican.html. London. 1828.
