An enigmatic creature name in Isaiah's prophecy of Edom's desolation. Traditional interpretation identifies it as the arrow-snake, said to spring from trees onto passersby, though some modern scholars suggest an owl based on the detail that it 'makes its nest and lays eggs and hatches them.' The zoological puzzle is less important than the theological point: where human civilization collapses under divine judgment, wild creatures reclaim the ruins. Whether reptile or bird, this creature belongs to the wilderness, not the city. Its nesting in abandoned Edom symbolizes the reversal of human dominion when nations oppose God's purposes.