And there you shall drink from the torrent. And I have instructed the ravens to feed you there. (1Kgs 17:4)
וְהָיָ֖ה מֵהַנַּ֣חַל תִּשְׁתֶּ֑ה וְאֶת־הָעֹרְבִ֣ים צִוִּ֔יתִי לְכַלְכֶּלְךָ֖ שָֽׁם׃
et ibi de torrente bibes; corvisque praecepi, ut pascant te ibi.
καὶ ἔσται ἐκ τοῦ χειμάρρου πίεσαι ὕδωρ, καὶ τοῖς κόραξιν ἐντελοῦμαι διατρέφειν σε ἐκεῖ.
Ravens in the Bible first appear in the flood story, because the raven was one of the birds that Noah released to see that the water was receding. In the Law, this bird was considered an unclean species because it fed on carrion, like a vulture. However, God used such a bird to provide for Elijah’s first needs.
Legend has it that these birds can leave their chicks in the nests, and then God “gives their food to beasts of burden and to young ravens that call upon Him” (Ps 147:9). Mythological records say that ravens in Paradise were white. After Adam’s sin, they turned black and became a symbol of putting off until tomorrow, because their single calls sound like the Latin “cras, cras”, which means “tomorrow, tomorrow”.
