Bible Encyclopedias
Cormorant

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

The translation given in the Bible (Leviticus 11:17; Deuteronomy 14:17) of the Hebrew word . In these passages it is specified as one of the unclean fowls. The A. V. (Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14) gives "cormorant" as the translation of ; but the R. V. renders it correctly as "pelican." Tristram, Post, and others agree that the derivation of the word from a root signifying "plunger" indicates the bird known to-day as Phalacrocorax carbo, which is abundant on the Mediterranean coast of Palestine and in the valley of the Jordan. Its classification among the unclean birds is due to the fact that it feeds upon fish. Its name indicates its characteristic of plunging into the water to catch its prey. Its habits seem to be similar to those of the tern or gull of Western waters.