Eagle: (Herb. nesher; properly the griffon vulture or great vulture, so
called from its tearing its prey with its beak), referred to for its
swiftness of flight
(Deuteronomy 28:49; 2 Samuel 1:23) its mounting high in the air
(Job 39:27) its strength
(Psalms 103:5) its setting its nest in high places
(Jeremiah 49:16) and its power of vision
(Job 39:27-30) This "ravenous bird"
is a symbol of those nations whom God employs and sends forth to do a
work of destruction, sweeping away whatever is decaying and
putrescent
(Matthew 24:28; Isaiah 46:11; Ezekiel 39:4; Deuteronomy 28:49; Jeremiah 4:13; 48:40) It
is said that the eagle sheds his feathers in the beginning of spring,
and with fresh plumage assumes the appearance of youth. To this,
allusion is made in
(Psalms 103:5) and
(Isaiah 40:31) God's care over his
people is likened to that of the eagle in training its young to fly
(Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11,12) An interesting illustration is thus recorded by
Sir Humphry Davy:, "I once saw a very interesting sight above the
crags of Ben Nevis. Two parent eagles were teaching their offspring,
two young birds, the maneuvers of flight. They began by rising from
the top of the mountain in the eye of the sun. It was about mid-day,
and bright for the climate. They at first made small circles, and the
young birds imitated them. They paused on their wings, waiting till
they had made their flight, and then took a second and larger
gyration, always rising toward the sun, and enlarging their circle of
flight so as to make a gradually ascending spiral. The young ones
still and slowly followed, apparently flying better as they mounted;
and they continued this sublime exercise, always rising till they
became mere points in the air, and the young ones were lost, and
afterwards their parents, to our aching sight." (See)
(Isaiah 40:31)
There have been observed in Palestine four distinct species of
eagles,
1. the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos);
2. the spotted eagle (Aquila naevia);
3. the common species, the imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca); and
