EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 965 



the stork is a protected bird, and iu parts of Europe and the East there 

 is a heavy fiue for molesting either the storks or their nests. Both the 

 black and the white stork {Ciconia alba) occur in Palestine, the latter 

 chiefly in winter; the former a migrant, passing to the north. 



Swallow {Ghelidon ruatica; Hebrew, Sis, 8us, and Deror). — The 

 swallow is referred to in Jeremiah viii, 7, as one of the birds which 

 "observe the time of their coming." "As the sparrow in her wan- 

 dering, as the swallow in her flying, so the curse that is causeless 

 lighteth not."i Psalms, Ixxxiv, 3: "Yea, tlie sparrow hath found her 

 an house and the swallow a nest for herself." There are about half a 

 dozen species of the swallow, and the closely allied martin, in Palestine. 

 The common swallow abounds in the Mosque of Omar. 



Griffon vulture ( Gyps fulvus). — As was stated above under eagle, 

 the Hebrew Weslier, Avhich is rendered in the p]nglish Bible "eagle" 

 comprises large predatory birds iu general. Thus in Jeremiah xlix, 16, 

 and Job xxxix, 27-30, the "eagle" is referred to as making its nest in 

 the highest cliffs. "O, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, 

 that boldest the height of the hill ; though tliou shouldest make thy nest 

 as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the 

 Lord": "Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest 

 on high? She dwelleth on the rock, and hath her lodging there, upon 

 the crag of the rock, and the strong hold." This is especially charac- 

 teristic of the griffon vulture. The passage in Micah i, 16; "Make thee 

 bald * * * enlarge thy baldness as the eagle" can only refer to the 

 vulture, which is devoid of true feathers on the head and neck. The 

 griffon vulture is most abundant in Palestine. It breeds in colonies of 

 aeries, the most notable of which are at Wady Kelt near Jericho, 

 Mount Nebo,in the gorges of the Jabbok and the Litany lliver, at Mount 

 Oarmel, and in the valleys leading into the Plain of Genessareth. 



reptiles. 



But four specimens of the reptiles of the Bible were exhibited. 



FroGt (Hebrew, (^-efardea). — The frog is only mentioned in the Old 

 Testament as the second plague inflicted on Egypt.^ In Revelations 

 xvi, 13, unclean spirits are spoken of as being in the likeness of frogs, 

 which come out of the mouth of the dragon. The edible frog [Rana 

 esculenta) is the only species which at present occurs in Egypt. In 

 Palestine are found the green toad {Bufo viridis), and less commonly 

 the African toad {Bufo regularis). The little tree frog {Hyla arborea) 

 is also common in Sinai and Palestine. 



Lizard. — Leviticus xi, 30, mentions the names of a number of animals 

 which are included among the creeping things that creep upon the earth. 

 The Leta'ah {Lacerta viridis and L. agilis) is the only one traditionally 

 rendered by lizard ; but the present opinion is that the other names 



1 Proverbs xxvi, 2 ; compare Isaiah xxxviii, 14. 



« Exodus viii, 2-14; compare Psalms Ixxvii, 46; cv, 30. 



