The abode of birds. The term is used frequently in OT passages in both a literal and a metaphorical sense. It is forbidden to harm a hen by taking her from her nest (
Deut 22:6). Assyria is likened to one robbing a nest (
Isa 10:14). Numerous species and their nests are referred to: an eagle stirring up her old nest (
Deut 32:11); doves building nests on the sides of the mouth of the gorge (
Jer 48:28); nests of the great owl and vulture on deserted sites (
Isa 34:15); nests of swallows on altars (
Ps 84:3). Metaphorically the term “nests” is often used to refer to the abode of human beings: the people of Lebanon make their nests in the cedars (
Jer 22:23); the cautious strive to set their nests on high (
Hab 2:9); and in a nest one shall grow old (
Job 29:18).
Deut 22:6
6If you come on a bird's nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, with the mother sitting on the fledglings or on the eggs, you shall not ta ... View more
Isa 10:14
14My hand has found, like a nest,
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was no ... View more
Deut 32:11
11As an eagle stirs up its nest,
and hovers over its young;
as it spreads its wings, takes them up,
and bears them aloft on its pinions,
Jer 48:28
28Leave the towns, and live on the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be like the dove that nests
on the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
Isa 34:15
15There shall the owl nest
and lay and hatch and brood in its shadow;
there too the buzzards shall gather,
each one with its mate.
Ps 84:3
3Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Jer 22:23
23O inhabitant of Lebanon,
nested among the cedars,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain as of a woman in labor!
Hab 2:9
9“Alas for you who get evil gain for your houses,
setting your nest on high
to be safe from the reach of harm!”
Job 29:18
18Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix;
