H8449 H8449
turtledove — a migratory bird offered as a sacrifice in Levitical law and used as a figure of vulnerability
Tor is an onomatopoetic name imitating the soft cooing of the turtledove (Streptopelia turtur), a migratory bird whose arrival heralded spring in ancient Palestine. Of its 14 occurrences, most appear in Levitical sacrificial regulations, where a pair of turtledoves served as the offering of the poor — the very sacrifice Mary and Joseph brought at Jesus' presentation (cf. Lev 12:8; Luke 2:24). Jeremiah notes its faithfulness in migration (Jer 8:7), the Song of Solomon celebrates the sound of its voice as a sign of spring (Song 2:12), and Psalm 74:19 poignantly figures God's people as a vulnerable turtledove. Translations are strikingly uniform: Spanish 'tortola,' French 'tourterelle,' German 'Turteltaube.'
Senses
1. turtledove — The turtledove (Streptopelia turtur), named onomatopoetically for its cooing call. Appears primarily in Priestly legislation as an acceptable sacrificial offering, typically paired with young pigeons (Lev 1:14, 5:7, 12:6, 15:14; Num 6:10). Outside the cult, it appears as a symbol of seasonal return (Jer 8:7, Song 2:12) and of Israel's vulnerability under divine care (Ps 74:19). Cross-linguistic evidence — Spanish 'tortola,' French 'tourterelle' — uniformly identifies this single bird species across all 14 occurrences. 14×
AR["-اليَمَامِ", "أَوْ-فَاخِتَيْنِ", "الْيَمَامَاتِ", "هَ-تُّور", "وَ-يَمَامَةً", "وَالـ-يَمَامَةُ", "يَمامَتِكَ", "يَمَامَةً", "يَمَامَتَيْنِ"]·ben["-ঘুঘুর", "এবং-ঘুঘু", "ঘুঘু", "ঝিনুক", "তোমার-ঘুঘুর", "সেই-ঘুঘু"]·DE["[התור]", "[ותר]", "dein-turtledove", "der-turtledoves", "turtledove", "turtledoves", "und-eine-Turteltaube"]·EN["Your-turtledove", "and-a-turtledove", "and-the-turtledove", "the-turtledove", "the-turtledoves", "turtledove", "turtledoves"]·FR["[ותר]", "de-la-tourterelle", "et-un-turtledove", "le-tourterelles", "tourterelle", "tourterelles", "turtledove"]·heb["ה-תור", "ה-תורים", "ו-תור", "ו-תר", "תורים", "תורך"]·HI["और-फ़क्त", "और-फाख्ता", "कबूतर", "पंडुक", "पंडुकियाँ", "पंडुकों", "फ़ाख्ता-की", "फाख्ताओं", "से-एक"]·ID["-tekukur", "burung-tekukur", "burung-tekukur-Mu", "dan-burung-tekukur"]·IT["[ותר]", "[תורך]", "e-un-turtledove", "il-il-turtledove", "il-tortore", "tortora", "tortore"]·jav["lan-manuk-derkuku", "lan-tekukur", "manuk-derkuku", "manuk-perkutut", "manuk-tekukur-Panjenengan", "perkutut"]·KO["그-비둘기들", "그-산비둘기-의", "그리고-산비둘기를", "그리고-산비둘기와", "당신-의-산비둘기", "산비둘기", "산비둘기나", "산비둘기들", "산비둘기들의", "산비둘기를"]·PT["a-rola", "as-rolas", "de-tua-rola", "e-rola", "rola", "rolas"]·RU["горлиц", "горлицу", "горлицы", "горлицы-Твоей", "и-горлица", "и-горлицу"]·ES["la-tórtola", "las-tórtolas", "tu-tórtola", "tórtola", "tórtolas", "y-tórtola"]·SW["Trim", "hua", "na-hua", "na-njiwa", "njiwa", "njiwa-wakubwa", "wa-hua", "ya-njiwa", "ya-njiwa-wako"]·TR["-kumrular", "kumru", "kumrulardan", "kumrunun", "kumrusunun", "ve-kumru"]·urd["اور-فاختہ", "اور-قمری", "اپنی-قمری-کی", "فاختہ-کی", "قمری", "قمریاں", "قمریوں"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. תֹּר, תּוֹר n.f. Lv 5:7 (m. Lv 14:30) turtle-dove (onomatop.);—abs. תֹּר Gn 15:9 (J; + גּוֹזָל), Je 8:7 (as migratory); as sacrif. offering (RSSem. i. 202; 2nd ed. 219, 294) [usually יוֹנָה (בְּנֵי) בֶּן] Lv 1:14; 5:7, 11; 12:6, 8; 14:22, 30; 15:14, 29; Nu 6:10 (all P; cf.also Gn 15:9); קוֹל הַתּוֹר Ct 2:12; sf. תּוֹרֶ֑ךָ ψ 74:19 (fig. of י׳’s people).—Vid. TristrNHB 201 ff. Shipley-CookEncy. Bib. Dove PostHast. DB Turtle-Dove.—i. תֹּר v. i. תּוֹר.