Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Deuteronomy 14:11
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
Of all clean birds ye shall eat.] Which the Targum of Jonathan describes, everyone that has a craw, and whose crop is naked, and has a superfluous talon, and is not rapacious; but such as are unclean are expressed by name in the following verses, so that all except them might be reckoned clean and fit for food. Maimonides f154 observes, that only the number of the unclean are reckoned, so that all the rest are free. Ver. 12-18. But these are they of which they shall not eat, etc.] Jarchi observes, that the unclean birds are particularly mentioned, to teach that the clean sort are more than the unclean, and therefore the particulars of the fewest are given: these are all the same names as in (<031113>Leviticus 11:13-19), excepting one, “the glede”, (<051413>Deuteronomy 14:13) which is a kind of kite or puttock; the Jerusalem Targum renders it the vulture, and the Targum of Jonathan the white “dayetha” or vulture; and Aristotle says f155 there are two sorts of vultures, the one small and whiter, the other larger and of many forms or colours; in Hebrew its name here is “raah”, and is thought to be the same with “daah” in (<031114>Leviticus 11:14) there translated the “vulture”, which has its name there from flying, and here from seeing, for which it is remarkable; (see <182807>Job 28:7) and the letters d and r are pretty much alike, and are sometimes changed, but there is another here, in (<051413>Deuteronomy 14:13) mentioned, the “dayah”, which is not mentioned in (<031101>Leviticus 11:1-47), though some think it the same with the “ayah”, rendered both here and there the “kite”; perhaps it means another sort of vulture, the black vulture, as the Targum of Jonathan.
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