Bittern

Isaiah and Zephaniah picture ruined cities as places where the wild takes over. Babylon will become “a possession for the bittern, and pools of water” (Isaiah 14:23). Edom gets the same fate: “the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it” (Isaiah 34:11). Of Nineveh, Zephaniah says “both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it” (Zephaniah 2:14). The bittern is a marsh bird, and its sudden appearance among fallen columns is the sign of a city that was once loud and is now empty. Isaiah 34 is the longest picture.

3 verses

Isaiah

Isaiah 14:23

I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 34:11

But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.

Zephaniah

Zephaniah 2:14

And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

Is found three times in connection with the desolations to come upon Babylon, Idumea, and Nineveh (Isa. 14:23; 34:11; Zeph. 2:14). This bird belongs to the class of cranes. Its scientific name is Botaurus stellaris. It is a solitary bird, frequenting marshy ground. The Hebrew word (kippod) thus rendered in the Authorized Version is rendered “porcupine” in the Revised Version. But in the passages noted the kippod is associated with birds, with pools of water, and with solitude and desolation. This favours the idea that not the “porcupine” but the “bittern” is really intended by the word.

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

The word occurs in (Isaiah 14:23; 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14) and we are inclined to believe that the Authorized Version is correct. The bittern (Botaurus stellaris) belongs to the Ardeidae , the heron family of birds, and is famous for the peculiar nocturnal booming sound which it emits.