Crow, raven
Animals in the Bible
Crows and ravens are large black birds with thick strong beaks, and fairly short legs. They are highly intelligent and seem to enjoy flying. Often if there is a good thermal current of air, they will soar around in circles, riding the thermal and calling. Some varieties will congregate in great numbers in these thermals and circle around together. On sunny windy days they will sometimes spread their wings and ride the wind, not going anywhere, sometimes even anchoring themselves by hanging on to the end of a branch with one foot. They eat almost anything, including grain, fruit, insects, lizards, frogs, eggs, nestlings, and the meat of dead animals. The NEB translation of ‘orev as “magpie” in is puzzling, as it is common for ravens and crows to peck out the eyes of dead or dying animals. When the raven released by Noah failed to return to the ark, this was a sign that some land had emerged from the flood and that the raven had found food, probably the carcasses of the people and creatures drowned in the flood.
Crows are also often seen in fields where seed has recently been sown, and farmers in some countries make “scarecrows", which are figures in the shape of human beings or, sometimes, of hawks and eagles. These are made of old sacks stuffed with straw and are all designed to chase the crows away.
Crows and ravens build their nests out of twigs and grass in the forks of trees or on ledges on cliffs. The nests are quite large and untidy. Ravens tend to keep to the rocky hills and are found near Galilee, the Judean Desert, the Dead Sea coast, the Negev, and the escarpment bordering the Aravah Rift Valley.
Pictures
In the Bible
The Hebrew and Greek words for it, and every verse where each is used
עוֹרֵב ‘orev · 10 verses
κόραξ korax · 1 verse
κορώνη korōnē · 0 verses
What it stands for
Ravens are unclean birds and are associated in biblical culture with death. They are thus symbols of the devastation resulting from war. They are also singled out as fed by God (). Even though they are unclean and have some horrible habits, they are not forgotten by God. Thus they are also a symbol of God’s kindness. Finally, for the inhabitants of Israel there was nothing blacker than the raven, which in fact is usually glossy as well as black.
More about it
There is no disagreement about the meaning of these words. The Hebrew ‘orev and the two Greek words are general names given to any member of the crow family. This includes any of the three types of raven, two types of crow, and the rook, which are found in Israel. Of these the Brown-necked Raven Corvus ruficollis, the Fan-tailed Raven Corvus rhipidurus, and the Hooded Crow Corvus corone cornix are common residents. (G. S. Cansdale describes the fan-tailed raven as “the rarest of them all,” contrary to the experience of most bird-watchers and the official status given in most checklists of the birds of Israel.) The Common Raven Corvus corax is resident but not as common in modern Israel as it must have been in ancient times. The remaining types of crow found in Israel are visiting migrants that do not stay long.
Also in Birds
Sources
Plants and Trees in the Bible, Animals in the Bible and Human-made Things in the Bible © United Bible Societies, 2025 (adapted from Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible by Robert Koops, All Creatures Great and Small: Living Things in the Bible by Edward R. Hope, and The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible by Ray Pritz), CC BY-SA 4.0; adapted for eRhema