The Ziz (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: ) is a giant

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

-like

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

Jewish mythology Jewish mythology is the body of myths associated with Judaism. Elements of Jewish mythology have had a profound influence on Christian mythology and on Islamic mythology, as well as on Abrahamic culture in general. Christian mythology directly ...

, said to be large enough to be able to block out the sun with its wingspan.

Description

It is considered a giant animal/monster corresponding to

archetypal The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, History of psychology#Emergence of German experimental psychology, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a stat ...

creatures. Rabbis have said that the Ziz is comparable to the Persian

Simurgh The simurgh (; ; also spelled ''senmurv, simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent bird in Persian mythology and Persian literature, literature. It bears some similarities with mythological birds from di ...

, while modern scholars compare the Ziz to the Sumerian Ziz Loonis

Anzû Anzû, also known as dZû and Imdugud ( Sumerian: '' ''), is a demon in several Mesopotamian religions. He was conceived by the cosmic freshwater ocean '' Abzu'' and mother Earth ''Mami'', or as son of Siris. In Babylonian myths Anzû was depi ...

and the Ancient Greek phoenix. There is only passing mention of the Ziz in the Bible, found in "I know all the birds of the mountains and ''Zīz śāday'' [] is mine" and "The boar from the forest ravages it, and ''zīz śāday'' feeds on it", and these are often lost in translation from the Hebrew, being referred to in most English translations as ambiguous "beasts" and referred to as neither singular nor avian (''śāday'' usually being translated as "of the field") . The Jewish

aggadot Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

say of the Ziz: Non-Jews also knew of the Ziz.

Johannes Buxtorf Johannes Buxtorf () (December 25, 1564September 13, 1629) was a celebrated Hebraist, member of a family of Orientalists; professor of Hebrew for thirty-nine years at Basel and was known by the title, "Master of the Rabbis". His massive tome, '' ...

's 1603 ''Synagoga Judaica'' discusses the Ziz. His text is echoed in English by Samuel Purchas in 1613:

Humphrey Prideaux Humphrey Prideaux (3 May 1648 – 1 November 1724) was a Cornish churchman and orientalist, Dean of Norwich from 1702. His sympathies inclined to Low Churchism in religion and to Whiggism in politics. Life The third son of Edmond Prideaux, he ...

in 1698 describes the Ziz as being like a giant celestial rooster:

References

{{Book of Job Animals in Judaism Griffins Jewish legendary creatures Legendary birds Psalms

Description

See also

References