Chukar (?) / Sand Partridge (?), קרא (Qoreʾ), Alectoris chukar (?) / Ammoperdix heyi (?)

קרא (Qoreʾ) occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible as the name of a bird (1 Sam 26:20; Jer 17:11), and three times as a personal name (1 Chr 9:19; 26:1; 31:14). Its name derives from its loud calls (to warn of danger, announce the finding of food, or court during breeding times; see Life & Natural Sciences section). From an ornithological perspective, the descriptions of the קרא in its two biblical contexts raise the more plausible possibility that the bird called by this name is actually the Alectoris chukar (חגלה in Modern Hebrew), that appears in the Hebrew Bible only within personal and locative names. The confusion of the two species is pervasive, and it is already present in the early translations (see History of Identification section). See also the ornithological discussion (Life & Natural Sciences) on the possible confusion of the chukar and sand partridge by non-professionals.

The two occurrences of קרא in the Hebrew Bible comprise metaphoric usages within two different genres:

• In a narrative, 1 Sam 26:20, used in a simile by David in his speech to Saul, relating anecdotes of the struggles between them.
•  As an example in a wisdom saying within prophecy, in the book of Jeremiah, Jer 17:11.

חגלה occurs in the Hebrew Bible only as a personal name, one of Zelophehad’s daughters of the Manasseh tribe (Num 26:33; 27:1; 36:11; Josh 17:3), and as a place name, בית חגלה in the territory of Benjamin, on its border with Judah (Josh 15:6; 18:19, 21).

These two passages reveal four very typical ornithological characteristics, which to a large extent are shared by the two species (although professional ornithologists would recognize significant differences between them, see Life & Natural Sciences section).

Physiology.
Running, rather than flight. The simile in 1 Sam 26:20: כאשר ירדף הקרא בהרים (“as if he were hunting a קרא in the hills”) draws on the fact that in times of danger, both chukars and sand partridges run to escape. Due to their relatively heavy bodies, they each fly only very low to the ground and for short distances. Both birds are thus quite vulnerable and easily hunted (Paz 1986, 176, 177–78). This factor contributes to the ludicrousness of the hunting image as well, suggesting the picture of running human chasing after a running bird.

Behavioural Characteristics.
Call. The name קרא designates the distinctive calls sounded by these birds. This feature was recognized by the early translations (LXX, Peshitta) of Jer 17:11, which provided double translations for the קרא, one to designate its name and the other to designate its act of calling, shouting (using the verb קרא); see LXX: ἐφώνησεν πέρδιξ (“the partridge shouted”), and Peshitta: איך חגלא דקרא (“as a חגלא that called”).
For the calls and the significant differences between them (Paz 1986, 176, 178), see Life & Natural Sciences section.[i]

Nesting. (upon the Ground) and Parenthood. קרא דגר ולא ילד in Jer 17:11 was interpreted in two different ways already in the early versions and then in the long exegetical traditions, that have all struggled with the lexical meanings and the syntax of דגר ולא ילד. The first interpretive line suggests: “Like a קרא that incubates (or LXX and Targum: ‘gathers’) those it did not lay / bear” (LXX, Vulgate, Peshitta, Arabic). The Targum extends the sense still further: הא כקוראה דמכניש ביעין דלא דיליה ומשחין אפרוחין דבתרוהי לא יהכון (“like a קרא that gathers eggs not its own and incubates chicks that will not follow it”). A second line of interpretation, taken by Luther and also followed by the KJV suggests: “like a קרא that incubated eggs, but did not hatch (them)”.[ii] Both suggestions seem to rely on the literary context and on some degree of empirical understanding of the natural phenomenon of nesting upon the ground. The first suggestion clearly denigrates the קרא for its poor parenting; whereas the second seems more neutrally descriptive (see Life & Natural Sciences, and Exegetical Studies).

Being hunted. 1 Sam 26:20: כי יצא מלך ישראל לבקש את פרעש אחד כאשר ירדף הקרא בהרים (“For the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea—as if he were hunting a קרא in the hills”) refers to the well-known pastime of hunting the chukar / sand partridge. David’s words to Saul are intended to minimize the significance of his rebellion, to downplay his own power, by marking the king’s pursuit of him as frivolous. To achieve this rhetorical goal, David manipulates two different animals. The king of Israel has been chasing after one single “flea” with as much energy as if he was pursuing the קרא in the hills.[iii]

Both occurrences of קרא are metaphoric.

1 Sam 26:20 constitutes David’s speech to Saul, aimed to minimize the significance of David the rebel, by disparaging the king’s pursuit of such an unimportant subject.

Jer 17:11 is a wisdom saying, a proverbial comparison that stands on its own in the sequence of wisdom sayings in Jer 17:5–18.[iv] The major thread that unites the collection of sayings in Jer 17:5–18 (vv. 5–8, 9–10, 12–13, 14–18), is the well-known conception of divine justice and retribution. A general statement about divine justice (Jer 17:9–10), is supported by the simile of the nesting קרא, which is deciphered as analogical to a man who accrues his riches unjustly. [v] But how does the  metaphor of the קרא function in this context? For more on this question see Exegetical Study.

[i] I thank Dr. Haim Moyal for teaching me about the distinctive calls.

[ii] This line of interpretation was accepted by Volz 1928, 185, 187; Sawyer 1978, 324–29, esp. 325; and Holladay 1986, 498: “the partridge broods but does not hatch.”

[iii] Interestingly, neither LXX nor Peshitta translate the term פרעש in 1Sam 26:20 (“flea”). Note that in 1 Sam 24:15, where פרעש stands in parallel to a dead dog (כלב מת), LXX does use ψύλλος (“flea”) and so does the Peshitta: פורתענא (“flea”); the Lucianic version “corrects” that lack in 1 Sam 26:20, and suggests ψύλλον ἕνα (acc., “one flea”). The Targum translated both verses with: ית חלש חד (“a weak one/person”), possibly as a euphemism to preserve the honor of David. The Vulgate does represent pulicem unum (“one flea”) in both verses; and the Arabic translations use ברעות׳ ואחד (“one flea”) in both. Another reference to hunting a partridge is in the LXX (πέρδιξ) and Syriac (ܚܓܠܐ) versions of Ben Sira 11:30, where the Hebrew has the genericעוף , and says: כעוף אחוז בכלוב לב גאה (“A decoy partridge in a cage, so is the heart of an arrogant person,” NETS); Syr; see Segal, Sefer Ben Sira Ha-Shalem, 74, and his discussion on p. 76.

[iv] The independent status of this verse is recognized throughout in the commentaries, see Holladay 1986, 497–99; McKane 1986, 398–402; Hoffman 2001, 393–95 (Hebrew).

[v] For the theme of the success of the wicked and the idea that his success will soon come to an end, see Pss 37:1, 7–11, 28–29, 35–36; 73:3–12, 18–20; Job, passim, e.g., 5:3–5; 8:11–22; 15:20–35; 20:5–29; 21:7–18; and Jer 12:1–2.

Bilik, Elkana. 1975. “The Qore’.” Beit Mikra 20 (4/63): 571–575 (Hebrew).

Hoffman, Yair. 2001. Jeremiah 1–25. Mikra Leyisra’el. Tel Aviv: Am Oved (Hebrew).

Holladay, William L. 1986. Jeremiah 1: Chapters 1–25. Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress.

McKane, William. 1986. Jeremiah I–XXV. ICC. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

Moyal, Haim. 2004. Lexicon of Vertebrates Names in Israel. Herzliya: Hotza’a Teva Hadevarim (Hebrew).

Paz, Uzi. 1987. The Birds of Israel. Lexington, MA: Stephen Greene Press.

Sawyer, John F. A. 1978. “A Note on the Brooding Partridge in Jeremiah XVII 11.” VT 28(3): 324–329.

Segal, Moshe Z. Sefer Ben Sira Ha-Shalem (Jerusalem: Bialik, 1972), 74, and his discussion on p. 76 (Hebrew).

Volz, Paul. 1928. Der Prophet Jeremia. 2d ed. KAT 10. Leipzig: A. Deichertsche Verlagsbuchhandlung.