In biblical literature, the term "nest" is often used both literally and metaphorically, symbolizing safety, security, and sometimes complacency. The concept of a nest is mentioned in various contexts throughout the Bible, reflecting the natural behavior of birds and the human desire for a secure dwelling.

Literal Usage

The literal use of "nest" in the Bible typically refers to the dwelling place of birds. In Deuteronomy 22:6-7 , the law instructs the Israelites regarding the treatment of a bird's nest: "If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, in any tree or on the ground, with chicks or eggs and the mother sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother with the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may prolong your days." This command reflects a concern for the preservation of life and the continuity of species, emphasizing compassion and respect for God's creation.

In Job 29:18 , Job uses the imagery of a nest to express his former sense of security and prosperity: "So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest and multiply my days as the sand.’" Here, the nest symbolizes a place of comfort and stability, which Job longs to return to amidst his suffering.

Metaphorical Usage

Metaphorically, the nest is used to describe human security and the potential danger of overconfidence. In Jeremiah 49:16 , the prophet warns the Edomites of their misplaced confidence: "The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD." This passage illustrates the futility of relying on one's own strength and the ultimate sovereignty of God over human affairs.

Similarly, in Obadiah 1:4 , the imagery of a high nest is used to convey false security: "Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD." This serves as a reminder of the limitations of human pride and the inescapable reach of divine judgment.

Symbol of Care and Protection

The nest also symbolizes God's care and protection for His people. In Psalm 84:3 , the psalmist observes the sparrow and the swallow finding a home near God's altar: "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she places her young near Your altars, O LORD of Hosts, my King and my God." This imagery conveys the idea of finding refuge and safety in the presence of God, much like a bird finds security in its nest.

In the New Testament, Jesus uses the imagery of a nest to highlight the cost of discipleship. In Matthew 8:20 , He states, "Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head." This underscores the transient nature of Jesus' earthly ministry and the sacrifices involved in following Him.

Conclusion

Throughout Scripture, the nest serves as a powerful symbol of both physical and spiritual realities. It represents the human longing for security and the divine provision of protection, while also warning against the dangers of pride and self-reliance. The biblical references to nests encourage believers to seek refuge in God and to trust in His sovereign care.1. (n.) The bed or receptacle prepared by a fowl for holding her eggs and for hatching and rearing her young.

2. (n.) Hence: the place in which the eggs of other animals, as insects, turtles, etc., are laid and hatched; a snug place in which young animals are reared.

3. (n.) A snug, comfortable, or cozy residence or situation; a retreat, or place of habitual resort; hence, those who occupy a nest, frequent a haunt, or are associated in the same pursuit; as, a nest of traitors; a nest of bugs.

4. (n.) An aggregated mass of any ore or mineral, in an isolated state, within a rock.

5. (n.) A collection of boxes, cases, or the like, of graduated size, each put within the one next larger.

6. (n.) A compact group of pulleys, gears, springs, etc., working together or collectively.

7. (v. i.) To build and occupy a nest.

8. (v. t.) To put into a nest; to form a nest for.

NEST

(qen; neossia, nossia; in the New Testament kataskenosis; Latin nidus): A receptacle prepared by a bird for receiving its eggs and young. Nests differ with species. Eagles use a large heap of coarse sticks and twigs on the cleft of a mountain (Job 39:27 Jeremiah 49:16 Obadiah 1:4); hawks prefer trees; vultures, hollow trees or the earth; ravens, big trees; doves and pigeons, trees or rocky crevices (Jeremiah 48:28); hoopoes, hollow trees; swallows, mud nests under a roof, on cliffs or deserted temples; owls, hollow trees, dark places in ruins or sand burrows (on the qippoz of Isaiah 34:15 see OWL); cranes, storks and herons, either trees (Psalm 104:17) or rushes beside water (storks often choose housetops, as well).

Each nest so follows the building laws of its owner's species that any expert ornithologist can tell from a nest which bird builded it. Early in incubation a bird deserts a nest readily because it hopes to build another in a place not so easily discoverable and where it can deposit more eggs. When the young have progressed until their quickening is perceptible through the thin shells pressed against the breast of the mother, she develops a boldness called by scientists the "brooding fever." In this state the wildest of birds frequently will suffer your touch before deserting the nest. Especially is this the case if the young are just on the point of emerging. The first Biblical reference to the nest of a bird will be found in Balaam's fourth prophecy in Numbers 24:21: "And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, and thy nest is set in the rock." Here Balaam was thinking of the nest of an eagle, hawk or vulture, placed on solid rock among impregnable crags of mountain tops. The next reference is among the laws for personal conduct in Deuteronomy 22:6: "If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young." Beyond question this is the earliest law on record for the protection of a brooding bird. It is probable that it was made permissible to take the young, as the law demanded their use, at least in the case of pigeons and doves, for sacrifice. In Job 29:18, Job cries,

"Then I said, I shall die in my nest,

And I shall multiply my days as the sand:"

that is, he hoped in his days of prosperity to die in the home he had builded for his wife and children. In Psalm 84:3 David sings,

"Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house,

And the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

Even thine altars, O Yahweh of hosts,

My King, and my God."

These lines are rich and ripe with meaning, for in those days all the world protected a temple nest, even to the infliction of the death penalty on anyone interfering with it. This was because the bird was supposed to be claiming the protection of the gods. Hebrew, Arab and Egyptian guarded all nests on places of worship. Pagan Rome executed the shoemaker who killed a raven that built on a temple, and Athens took the same revenge on the man who destroyed the nest of a swallow. Isaiah compared the destruction of Assyria to the robbing of a bird's nest: "And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped" (Isaiah 10:14; compare Isaiah 16:2). Matthew quotes Jesus as having said, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20 equals Luke 9:58). Gene Stratton-Porter

2682. kataskenosis -- a lodging
... Word Origin from kataskenoo Definition a lodging NASB Word Usage nests (2). nest.
From kataskenoo; an encamping, ie (figuratively) a perch -- nest. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2682.htm - 6k

2681. kataskenoo -- to pitch one's tent, encamp, dwell
... Word Origin from kata and skenoo Definition to pitch one's tent, encamp, dwell
NASB Word Usage live (1), nest (2), nested (1). lodge, rest. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2681.htm - 6k

7064. qen -- a nest
... 7063, 7064. qen. 7065 . a nest. Transliteration: qen Phonetic Spelling:
(kane) Short Definition: nest. Word Origin from an unused ...
/hebrew/7064.htm - 6k

7077. qanan -- to make a nest
... 7076, 7077. qanan. 7078 . to make a nest. Transliteration: qanan Phonetic
Spelling: (kaw-nan') Short Definition: nested. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/7077.htm - 6k

7931. shakan -- to settle down, abide, dwell
... establish (5), inhabitants (1), inhabited (1), lay (1), lie (1), lies down (1),
live (9), lived (3), lives (1), living (1), lying down (1), nest (2), pitched (1 ...
/hebrew/7931.htm - 6k

Stirring the Eagle's Nest.
... STIRRING THE EAGLE'S NEST. "As an eagle ... Mark it. Have you ever seen an eagle
stir up her nest? You know what happens. There in the ...
/.../food for the lambs or helps for young christians/stirring the eagles nest.htm

But Others, unto whom These Words are no Longer a Nest...
... Book XII Chapter XXVIII But others, unto whom these words are no longer
a nest? But others, unto whom these words are no longer ...
/.../augustine/the confessions of saint augustine/chapter xxviii but others unto.htm

Three Pictures of one Reality
... And the picture rises at once of her fluttering over the nest, where the
callow chickens are, unable to fly and to help themselves. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/three pictures of one reality.htm

The Eagle and Its Brood
... 'As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her
wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings.'"Deuteronomy 32:11. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/the eagle and its brood.htm

And as She Stood Looking Towards London, Diamond Saw that She was ...
... Get in, Diamond.". And Diamond parted her hair with his hands, crept between,
and feeling about soon found the woven nest. It was ...
/.../macdonald/at the back of the north wind/chapter 4 and as she.htm

Assurance of Salvation.
... Mr. Spurgeon says: "I never heard of a stork that when it met with a fir tree demurred
as to its right to build its nest there; and I never heard of a coney ...
/.../moody/the way to god and how to find it/chapter vii assurance of salvation.htm

Psalm LXXXIV.
... "For," saith he, "the sparrow hath found her a house, and the turtle-dove
a nest, where she may lay her young" (ver.3). What is this? ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm lxxxiv.htm

Fun and Mischief. His Little Cousin and the "Gnats. " the Aurora ...
... He had not. We proposed to show him a fine lot"a big nest of them. We affirmed
that they were nice, harmless things to play with. ...
/.../chapter iv fun and mischief.htm

On the Animals
... [Ps.67(68):14(13)]. The nest is the church, the high peace of the blessed; in the
psalm: and the turtledove is in its nest where it places its chicks. ...
/.../eucherius/the formulae of st eucherius of lyons/iv on the animals.htm

How to Fertilize Love
... When it is away from its nest, it is one of the sweetest of the northern warblers,
and so it is often called the northern mocking-bird; but when it is close to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/naylor/heart talks/talk forty-one how to fertilize.htm

Nest (22 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) A snug, comfortable, or cozy residence or situation; a retreat, or place
of habitual resort; hence, those who occupy a nest, frequent a haunt, or are ...
/n/nest.htm - 18k

Ostrich (9 Occurrences)
... the natives carry them away, only taking care not to leave the Marks of their footsteps,
since, when the ostrich comes and finds that her nest is discovered ...
/o/ostrich.htm - 18k

Partridge (2 Occurrences)
... leave him, and at his end he shall be a fool." If this reference is supposed to
indicate that partridges are in the habit of brooding on the nest of their kind ...
/p/partridge.htm - 13k

Sparrow (4 Occurrences)
... It only happens when the bird's mate has been killed or its nest and young destroyed,
and this most cheerful of birds sitting solitary and dejected made a deep ...
/s/sparrow.htm - 13k

Kenites (8 Occurrences)
... Balaam, seeing them from the heights of Moab; puns upon their name, which resembles
the Hebrew ken, "a nest," prophesying their destruction although their nest...
/k/kenites.htm - 13k

Nested (3 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah 22:23 O dweller in Lebanon, making a nest among cedars, How gracious hast
thou been when pangs come to thee, Pain -- as of a travailing woman. ...
/n/nested.htm - 7k

Brood (19 Occurrences)
... Deuteronomy 22:6 When a bird's nest cometh before thee in the way, in any tree,
or on the earth, brood or eggs, and the mother sitting on the brood or on the ...
/b/brood.htm - 13k

Eagle (27 Occurrences)
... its swiftness of flight (Deuteronomy 28:49; 2 Samuel 1:23), its mounting high in
the air (Job 39:27), its strength (Psalm 103:5), its setting its nest in high ...
/e/eagle.htm - 28k

Bird (65 Occurrences)
... The reference in Psalm 84:3 to the swallow and the sparrow may be only a comparison
equivalent to, "What her house is to the sparrow, and her nest to the ...
/b/bird.htm - 28k

Quail (5 Occurrences)
... Their habits are very similar. They nest on the ground and brood on from
12 to 20 eggs. ... Their average was about 16 birds to each nest. ...
/q/quail.htm - 13k

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Nest: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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