crow / raven

There is no disagreement about the meaning of these words. The Hebrew ‘orev and the two Greek words are general names given to any member of the crow family. This includes any of the three types of raven, two types of crow, and the rook, which are found in Israel. Of these the Brown-necked Raven Corvus ruficolllis, the Fan-tailed Raven Corvus rhipidurus, and the Hooded Crow Corvus corone cornix are common residents. The Common Raven Corvus corax is resident but not as common in modern Israel as it must have been in ancient times. The remaining types of crow found in Israel are visiting migrants that do not stay long.

Crows and ravens are large black birds with thick strong beaks, and fairly short legs. They are highly intelligent and seem to enjoy flying. Often if there is a good thermal current of air, they will soar around in circles, riding the thermal and calling. Some varieties will congregate in great numbers in these thermals and circle around together. On sunny windy days they will sometimes spread their wings and ride the wind, not going anywhere, sometimes even anchoring themselves by hanging on to the end of a branch with one foot. They eat almost anything, including grain, fruit, insects, lizards, frogs, eggs, nestlings, and the meat of dead animals. When the raven released by Noah failed to return to the ark, this was a sign that some land had emerged from the flood and that the raven had found food, probably the carcasses of the people and creatures drowned in the flood.

Crows and ravens build their nests out of twigs and grass in the forks of trees or on ledges on cliffs. The nests are quite large and untidy. Ravens tend to keep to the rocky hills and are found near Galilee, the Judean Desert, the Dead Sea coast, the Negev, and the escarpment bordering the Aravah Rift Valley.

Ravens are unclean birds and are associated in biblical culture with death. They are thus symbols of the devastation resulting from war. They are also singled out as fed by God (Job 38:41). Even though they are unclean and have some horrible habits, they are not forgotten by God. Thus they are also a symbol of God’s kindness. Finally, for the inhabitants of Israel there was nothing blacker than the raven, which in fact is usually glossy as well as black.

Crows and ravens are very widespread around the world. Some types are not all black, but black and white, black and gray, or black and brown. In all there over one hundred species distributed throughout the world. They are usually found in mountainous areas or near towns, but seldom in dense rain forest. In Africa south of the Sahara, the Pied Crow Corvus albus is the most common, but in the mountains of eastern and southern Africa the larger White-necked Raven Corvus albicollis is also found. A relative of the Middle Eastern hooded crow, called the Australian Raven Corvus coronoides, is found in most parts of Australia. The House Crow Corvus splendens, which was originally indigenous to India, has now spread to countries as far away as Australia and South Africa.

In most parts of the world, therefore, except in those rain forest areas that have no towns, there will be local crows or ravens.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

In Lingala it is translated in all cases as “pied crow” (see here ) because ravens are unknown in the area where Lingala speakers traditionally live. (Source: Sigurd F. Westberg in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 117ff. )

complete verse (Song of Solomon 5:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Song of Solomon 5:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “His head is beautiful like gold
    and his hair is completely black!
    His hair beautifully combed.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “His head is purest gold,
    his hair is wavy
    his hair is black as a crow.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “His head (is) more precious than gold. His head-hair (is) wavy/a-little-curly and (is) just as black as a raven/crow.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “His head is beautiful, like purest gold;
    his hair is wavy
    and as black as a raven/crow.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Song of Songs 5:11

From the general description in verse 10, the young woman continues by picturing her lover in detail. She starts, as these songs traditionally do, by describing his head.

His head is the finest gold: although the Hebrew clearly says “his head,” Good News Translation considers this to mean his face. This view comes no doubt from the fact that if his head were gold his hair would hardly be black. In Dan 2.32 the king saw in his dreams a statue whose head was made of gold, so there is some significance in the young woman’s description, especially as several parts of his body are likened to gold. Perhaps the point of comparing him to gold is to express something of great beauty. Whether it refers to his head or just his face is difficult to determine, but, as in many poems, being so specific is not always uppermost in the poet’s mind.

Finest gold renders the Hebrew combination of two different and unusual nouns for gold (similar apparently to Dan 10.5; 1 Kgs 10.18). The combination is generally thought to indicate the finest quality gold. Good News Translation “bronzed and smooth” understands the nouns to refer to the young man’s color and complexion rather than his beauty. If the description is of his head, then the precise meaning of the phrase finest gold is unclear. We may have to accept the Good News Translation interpretation and understand it to refer to his face; it is beautiful and bronzed. The problem of determining the precise meaning of the phrase goes as far back as the Septuagint period. We suggest that the metaphor intends to say something like “his head is beautiful like fine gold” or “his face is beautiful and bronzed.”

His locks are wavy: the term locks occurs above in verse 2. Refer there for comments. Wavy is the translation given for the Hebrew adjective, which is also used to describe part of the palm tree. In rabbinic literature it describes something like “waves” or “curls.” This seems to be an appropriate rendering, so we suggest rendering it as “his hair is curly.”

Black as a raven: the adjective black was used in 1.5, 6 and is a standard term. It may indicate that the lover is a young man with no gray hair or, perhaps more likely, that his hair was shiny and beautiful. Elsewhere in the Old Testament raven, or “crow,” represents an unclean scavenger bird (Lev 11.15; Pro 30.17). Here, however, we can safely assume the bird symbolizes blackness. Where this bird is not known or is associated with something negative, we can refer to another black bird or use a local idiom for blackness; for example, “black as coal,” “black as pitch,” or “black as night.”

Translation of the last part of the verse can be “his hair is wavy, and black as a raven.” The entire verse can then be:

• His face is bronzed and beautiful,
his hair wavy, [and] black as a raven.

• His head is finely shaped,
as from purest gold.
His hair is curly, and
as dark as night.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Song of Songs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1998. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Song of Songs 5:11

5:11–15

In 5:11–15 the author gives a series of comparisons, using both metaphors and similes. In 5:11–13 the woman began her specific descriptions of the man by describing his head (hair, cheeks, eyes, and lips). More than any other part of the body, the head represents the whole person and his uniqueness.

5:11a

His head is purest gold: This clause is a metaphor. It indicates that the man’s head is like fine gold in some way. Since 5:11b refers to the man’s black hair, here in 5:11a His head probably refers to the golden skin of his face and neck. The phrase purest gold probably also has a symbolic meaning. It may imply that the man himself is very precious. He is more valuable to her than anyone else.

Some other ways to translate the metaphor in 5:11b are:

His head is like gold, pure gold (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
His head is ⌊as beautiful and precious⌋ as pure gold
-or-
His face is ⌊smooth and clean/shining⌋ like bronze

purest gold: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as purest gold consists of two different words for gold. Together these two words imply that the gold is very pure and valuable. So the two words can be translated as an emphatic phrase, as in the Berean Standard Bible.

In the OT, gold is frequently used to symbolize beauty, value, or rarity. Here the woman probably used the phrase purest gold as an emphatic way to symbolize the man’s great worth. Here is another way to translate this:

the finest gold (Revised Standard Version)

5:11b

his hair is wavy: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wavy occurs only here in the OT. There are two ways to interpret it here:

(1) It indicates that the man’s hair is “wavy.” For example:

his hair is wavy (New International Version)

(2) It indicates that his hair is like “buds or fronds of a palm tree.” For example:

his locks are like palm-fronds (Revised English Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most English versions.

wavy: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wavy refers here to curves or curls in the man’s hair. His hair was not straight, but the strands of hair curved gently on his head.

black as a raven: A raven is a certain large black bird. The man’s hair was just as black as the feathers of a raven. Black hair was considered to be beautiful. The contrast between the gold of the man’s face and neck and his black hair made him especially handsome.

The author mentioned a raven here because it is very black. In some languages people may dislike ravens. They may think that they bring bad luck or that they do other bad things. If that is true in your language, you may want to substitute another bird, animal or something else that is known in your area for its blackness.