יַעֲנֶה Ostrich (bat ha-ya'anah)
Every verse in which this word stands — 9 places, in canonical order, first appearance to last. These are the places the lexicon carries under this word's own entry, counting every form the text writes it in, which is the number on the list.
The bat ha-ya'anah of both kosher lists, companion of the desolate places. Traditionally the ostrich; some render an owl — the identification is discussed.
וְאֵת בַּת הַֽיַּעֲנָה וְאֶת־הַתַּחְמָס וְאֶת־הַשָּׁחַף וְאֶת־הַנֵּץ לְמִינֵֽהוּ
and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kinds;
וְאֵת בַּת הַֽיַּעֲנָה וְאֶת־הַתַּחְמָס וְאֶת־הַשָּׁחַף וְאֶת־הַנֵּץ לְמִינֵֽהוּ
and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kinds;
וְרָבְצוּ־שָׁם צִיִּים וּמָלְאוּ בָתֵּיהֶם אֹחִים וְשָׁכְנוּ שָׁם בְּנוֹת יַֽעֲנָה וּשְׂעִירִים יְרַקְּדוּ־שָֽׁם
But wild-cats shall lie there; And their houses shall be full of ferrets; And ostriches shall dwell there, And satyrs shall dance there.
וְעָלְתָה אַרְמְנֹתֶיהָ סִירִים קִמּוֹשׂ וָחוֹחַ בְּמִבְצָרֶיהָ וְהָיְתָה נְוֵה תַנִּים חָצִיר לִבְנוֹת יַעֲנָֽה
And thorns shall come up in her palaces, Nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof; And it shall be a habitation of wild-dogs, An enclosure for ostriches.
תְּכַבְּדֵנִי חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה תַּנִּים וּבְנוֹת יַֽעֲנָה כִּֽי־נָתַתִּי בַמִּדְבָּר מַיִם נְהָרוֹת בִּֽישִׁימֹן לְהַשְׁקוֹת עַמִּי בְחִירִֽי
The beasts of the field shall honour Me, The jackals and the ostriches; Because I give waters in the wilderness, And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, Mine elect;
לָכֵן יֵשְׁבוּ צִיִּים אֶת־אִיִּים וְיָשְׁבוּ בָהּ בְּנוֹת יַֽעֲנָה וְלֹֽא־תֵשֵׁב עוֹד לָנֶצַח וְלֹא תִשְׁכּוֹן עַד־דּוֹר וָדֽוֹר
Therefore the wild-cats with the jackals shall dwell there, And the ostriches shall dwell therein; and it shall be no more inhabited for ever, Neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
עַל־זֹאת אֶסְפְּדָה וְאֵילִילָה אֵילְכָה שילל וְעָרוֹם אֶעֱשֶׂה מִסְפֵּד כַּתַּנִּים וְאֵבֶל כִּבְנוֹת יַעֲנָֽה
For this will I wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals, And a mourning like the ostriches.
אָח הָיִיתִי לְתַנִּים וְרֵעַ לִבְנוֹת יַעֲנָֽה
I am become a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.
גַּם־תנין חָלְצוּ שַׁד הֵינִיקוּ גּוּרֵיהֶן בַּת־עַמִּי לְאַכְזָר כי ענים בַּמִּדְבָּֽר
Even the jackals draw out the breast, They give suck to their young ones; The daughter of my people is become cruel, Like the ostriches in the wilderness.
Every Hebrew word for “ostrich”, with its gematria →
Quick answers
What is the Hebrew word for ostrich?
Ostrich in Hebrew is יענה, with a gematria of 135 in the standard method.
How many times is the ostrich mentioned in the Tanakh?
The word stands 9 times in the Tanakh, first at Leviticus 11:16.
A spelling is not a word. The bare letters יענה stand 28 times in the corpus, which is a different question and often a different number: the same letters can spell a name or another word entirely, and the creature written with a particle attached is a spelling that search never returns. It is here, as itself.
See all 28 occurrences of the spelling יענה →