Are Bats, Bird?

Are Bats, Birds?

In Leviticus, it is written: "These, moreover, you shall detest among the birds; they are abhorrent, not to be eaten: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard ... and the stork, the heron in its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat," (Leviticus 11:13; 19 NASB1995). 

Moses tells us here that bats are unclean, birds? What is happening here? To answer this question, we need to look at the original Hebrew of the passage. The word for "the birds" is "הָע֔וֹף". This is not a perfect translation as it means moreso "winged animal" or "animal that flies" (Crossway 230; Keil). Arabs also use this classification (Keil). 

References:

ESV Study Bible. United States, Crossway, 2008

Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1920). Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament. Library of the Union Theological Seminary.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

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