Swallow

 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 8
Listen from:
Barn Swallow – Hirundo Rustica
1. deror. This is interpreted “roving about,” which agrees well with the habits of the swallow or swift. They come and go, and are not domesticated (Prov. 26:2). In Psalm 84:3 it is typical of the wanderer finding rest and protection in God’s house.
The Common Crane
2. agur, mentioned with the word sis, translated “crane” and “swallow;” but sis doubtless refers to the swallow, and agur to the crane. The swallow (or perhaps the swift) is mentioned as “chattering,” or having a “garrulous note,” and it is migratory (Isa. 38:14; Jer. 8:7). Several species of the swallow frequent Palestine: the Hirundo rustica, H. rufula, etc. A species of swift finds the Jordan valley warm enough in the winter, and need not migrate.
Barn Swallows Flying