Learning from the Ravens: Worship and Wisdom with the Birds in the Hebrew Bible

This article investigates how animals in general and ravens in particular function as exemplary worshipers of God. As such, they exhibit certain kinds of wisdom that humans are invited to emulate. After a broad discussion of nonhuman animals’ special connections with the divine in the ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible, the focus narrows to the ravens. Modern biology has demonstrated that these birds (corvids) exhibit considerable intelligence. These findings open into the rehabilitation of these birds’ actions in the flood narrative (Genesis 8) before turning to their leading role in the feeding of Elijah in 1 Kings 17, which places them as the role models for the widow of Zarephath. The investigation concludes with analysis of their negative depiction in classical Greek sources, which likely colored the history of their reception, beginning with their addition to the dietary prohibitions of Leviticus 11/Deuteronomy 14. Nonetheless, they remain prized creatures in the divine eye into the New Testament.