The rendering in the Authorized Version of the Hebrew "dukifat," enumerated among the unclean birds in Leviticus 11:19 and Deuteronomy 14:18. The rendering of the Revised Version, "hoopoe," is, however, supported by the ancient versions (LXX. á¼ÏοÏα, "epopa"; Vulgate, "upupa"), and is generally accepted as the more correct one. The hoopoe winters in Egypt and returns to Palestine in the spring. It feeds on insects in dunghills and marshy places. The Arabs ascribe to it magical properties.
The Talmud understands by "dukifat" the mountain-cock ("nagar á¹ura," Ḥul. 63a [Rashi]; comp. also Targ. to the Biblical passages; "tarnegol bara," Giá¹. 68b), to which the angel presiding over the sea entrusted the SHAMIR. The dukifat appears also in the legend of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (Targ. Yer. to Esther; Koran, sura ). For the medicinal use of its blood see Shab. 78a.
- Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 208;
- Lewysohn, Z. T. p. 216.
The contents of the 12-volume Jewish Encyclopedia, which was originally published between 1901-1906. The Jewish Encyclopedia, which recently became part of the public domain, contains over 15,000 articles and illustrations.
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