nesher

This is the great bird of prey of the Hebrew Bible, the one the writers reach for whenever they want an image of power, height, and speed. It soars out of reach among the crags (Job 39:27), builds its nest on the heights (Obadiah 1:4), drops on its target in a sudden killing dive (Habakkuk 1:8), and outruns anything on the ground (2 Samuel 1:23; Lamentations 4:19). It heads the list of forbidden birds in the food laws (Leviticus 11:13; Deuteronomy 14:12), and its face is one of the four on the living creatures Ezekiel saw (Ezekiel 1:10; 10:14).

English Bibles almost always say "eagle," but the Hebrew word is broader than the noble hunter that word calls to mind. Several passages describe a bald or bare head (Micah 1:16) and a bird that feeds on the dead (Proverbs 30:17), traits that fit the griffon vulture far better than any true eagle. The word covers the whole family of large birds of prey that ride the high air over the land, and only the context tells you whether an eagle or a vulture is the closer picture.

Around this single bird cluster three great pictures. It is the emblem of God's rescuing care, the parent bird that stirs its nest and carries its young on its wings (Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11). It is the image of renewed strength, the worn-out made young and tireless again (Isaiah 40:31; Psalm 103:5). And it is the image of swift, unstoppable judgment, the enemy army that swoops down out of nowhere (Deuteronomy 28:49; Jeremiah 4:13; 48:40; 49:22).