Eagles in the Bible

• The eagle is among the birds Israel must not eatLev 11:13, Deut 14:12
  The verses

  Lev 11:13Additionally, you are to detest the following birds, and they must not be eaten because they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,

  Deut 14:12but these you may not eat: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,
• The eagle makes its nest high on a cliff, on a rocky cragJob 39:27–28
  The verses

  Job 39:27–28Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high? He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag.
• From there it spies out food; its eyes see it from afarJob 39:29
  The verses

  Job 39:29From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar.
• Its young feast on blood; where the slain are, there it isJob 39:30
  The verses

  Job 39:30His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”
• An eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its youngDeut 32:11
  The verses

  Deut 32:11As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, He spread His wings to catch them and carried them on His pinions.
• An eagle swoops down on its preyJob 9:26, Jer 49:22
  The verses

  Job 9:26They sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

  Jer 49:22Look! 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.
• “The way of an eagle in the sky” — one of four things too wonderfulProv 30:18–19
  The verses

  Prov 30:18–19There are three things too wonderful for me, four that I cannot understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a maiden.

Sayings

• Swifter than eagles: Saul and Jonathan, pursuers, horses2 Sam 1:23, Lam 4:19, Jer 4:13
  The verses

  2 Sam 1:23Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, were not divided in death. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

  Lam 4:19Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.

  Jer 4:13Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
• At Sinai: “I carried you on eagles’ wings”Exod 19:4
  The verses

  Exod 19:4‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
• A nation from afar that swoops down like an eagleDeut 28:49
  The verses

  Deut 28:49The 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,
• In mourning: “make yourselves as bald as an eagle”Mic 1:16
  The verses

  Mic 1:16Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.
• Wealth “makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky”Prov 23:5
  The verses

  Prov 23:5When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
• “Your youth is renewed like the eagle’s”Ps 103:5
  The verses

  Ps 103:5who satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
• “They will mount up with wings like eagles”Isa 40:31
  The verses

  Isa 40:31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
• “Though you elevate your nest like the eagle”Jer 49:16, Obad 1:4
  The verses

  Jer 49:16The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.

  Obad 1:4Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.