OSTRICH

OSTRICH (Lamentations 4=>3), the rendering of Hebrew pi. enim; so called from its greediness and gluttony. The allusion here is to the habit of the ostrich with reference to its eggs, which is thus described=> “The outer layer of eggs is generally so ill covered that they are destroyed in quantities by jackals, wild-cats, etc., and that the natives carry them away, only taking care not to leave the marks of their footsteps, since, when the ostrich comes and finds that her nest is discovered, she crushes the whole brood, and builds a nest elsewhere.” In Job 39=>13 this word in the Authorized Version is the rendering of a Hebrew word (notsah) which means “feathers,” as in the Revised Version. In the same verse the word “peacocks” of the Authorized Version is the rendering of the Hebrew pi. renanim, properly meaning “ostriches,” as in the Revised Version. (See OWL [1].)