Category:Raven

Ra"ven, n. Etym: [as. hræfn; akin to raaf, g. rabe, ohg. hraban, Icel. hrafn, dan. ravn, and perhaps to l. corvus, gr. (zoöl.)

Defn: a large black passerine bird (corvus corax), similar to the Crow, but larger. It is native of the northern part of europe, asia And america, and is noted for its sagacity. Sea raven (zoöl.), the Cormorant.

Raven Ra"ven, a.

Defn: of the color of the raven; jet black; as, raven curls; raven Darkness.

Raven Rav"en, n. Etym: [of. ravine impetuosity, violence, f. ravine ravine. See ravine, rapine.] [written also ravin, and ravine.]

1. Rapine; rapacity. Ray.

2. Prey; plunder; food obtained by violence.

Raven Rav"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ravened; p. pr. & vb. n. Ravening.] Etym: [written also ravin, and ravine.]

1. To obtain or seize by violence. Hakewill.

2. To devoir with great eagerness. Like rats that ravin down their proper bane. Shak.

Raven Rav"en, v. i.

Defn: to prey with rapacity; to be greedy; to show rapacity. [written Also ravin, and ravine.] Benjamin shall raven as a wolf. Gen. xlix. 27.

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---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Raven - Heb. 'orebh , from a root meaning "to be black" (Compare Song of Songs 5:11); first mentioned as "sent forth" by Noah from the ark (Genesis 8:7). "Every raven after his kind" was forbidden as food (Leviticus 11:15; Deuteronomy 14:14). Ravens feed mostly on carrion, and hence their food is procured with difficulty (Job 38:41; Psalms 147:9). When they attack kids or lambs or weak animals, it is said that they first pick out the eyes of their victims (Proverbs 30:17). When Elijah was concealed by the brook Cherith, God commanded the ravens to bring him "bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening" (1 Kings 17:3). (See ELIJAH.) There are eight species of ravens in Palestine, and they are everywhere very numerous in that land.