Archaeologists Find 4,000-Year-Old Ostrich Eggs in Israel's Negev

Archaeologists Find 4,000-Year-Old Ostrich Eggs in Israel's Negev

"JERUSALEM, Israel – The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently
announced the discovery of eight ancient ostrich eggs in the Negev Desert.
The eggs are more than 4,000 years old and were found near a fire pit in
the sand dunes of southern Israel."

"Ostriches have been extinct in the wild since the late 19th century, but
the IAA points out that their eggs have been discovered on archaeological
sites from several different historical eras, indicating they were an
important food source."

"We find ostrich eggs in archaeological sites in funerary contexts, and
as luxury items and water canteens. Naturally, they were used as a source
of food: one ostrich egg has the nutritional value of about 25 normal
chicken eggs!"

"It is interesting," Gorzalczany noted, "that whilst ostrich eggs are
not uncommon in excavations, the bones of the large bird are not found.
This may indicate that in the ancient world, people avoided tackling
the ostrich and were content with collecting their eggs."
-

I would avoid tackling an ostrich myself.

This latest discovery, brings to mind a passage in the
book of (Job 39:13-18) that talks about the ostrich.

13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?
Or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?

14Which leaveth her eggs in the earth,
And warmeth them in dust,

15And forgetteth that the foot may crush them,
Or that the wild beast may break them.

16She is hardened against her young ones, as though they
were not her's:Her labour is in vain without fear;

17Because God hath deprived her of wisdom,
Neither hath he imparted to her understanding.

18 When she lifts herself on high, She scorns the horse and its rider.
-

ostrich reproduction

The female ostrich are known for neglect of her young.
“usually only half of the eggs survive due to predators.”

Predators also included nomadic people of the desert .
-


The Jewish view of this bird [compared to other nations listed]

"The fact that the female ostrich may leave the nest unattended
(because the eggs are too thick-shelled to be easily broken open by
predators) is the reason why the bird is contrasted with the parental
instinct of the stork in the Book of Job (Job 39:13–18.[5][6])

This is also the reason why the Book of Lamentations (Lamentations 4:3)
refers to the female ostrich as heartless.[5] The Arabian ostrich is
possibly[7] among the birds forbidden to Jews as unclean under the
kashrut in Leviticus (Leviticus 11:16), though the Israelites would
just as likely have known the birds from the North African subspecies,
which was extant in the Nile Valley of Egypt at that time."