the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Quail
Morrish Bible Dictionary
or selav. This is generally believed to have been the common quail, the coturnix vulgaris. It migrates, but is so tired when it arrives at its destination that it is easily captured. They are still called salwah by the Arabs. Scripture speaks of their being brought with the wind, and this agrees with their habits; they do not seem to be able to fly against the wind, and therefore wait for a favourable breeze. They were twice provided in abundance for the Israelites. The statement about the birds being "two cubits high upon [or above] the face of the earth" (Numbers 11:31 ) doubtless refers to the height they flew when tired; and this corresponds with the way in which they are still caught, namely, by a number of persons enclosing them in a ring and gradually drawing closer to the centre, when the birds would be crowded together in their endeavour to escape. Thousands have been caught in a day in modern times. Exodus 16:13; Numbers 11:31,32; Psalm 105:40 .
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Morrish, George. Entry for 'Quail'. Morrish Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/mbd/q/quail.html. 1897.
