Bar yokni
Giant bird from the Talmud, known for its enormous size.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
The bar yokni (Hebrew: בר יוכני or בר יכני, meaning 'son of the nest') is a giant bird that appears several times in the Talmud. In a third-century account of extraordinary phenomena, the bird is said to be so large that one of its eggs, when dropped from a height, flooded sixty cities and crushed three hundred cedar trees. Elsewhere, both the egg and the bird are used as examples of enormous size. According to Elijah Levita, this bird was believed to be set aside as food for the righteous in the Messianic era. The Talmud itself identifies the bar yokni with the ostrich from the Book of Job, describing how the bird carries its egg high to its nest and sets it down gently. Other scholars link the bar yokni to the ziz and to the vâraghna, the fastest bird in the Zend Avesta.
- mentioned_in
- Talmud
- associated_texts
- Book of Job, Zend Avesta
- identified_with
- ostrich, ziz, vâraghna
- known_for
- giant size, egg causing destruction
- cultural_role
- example of huge size, Messianic sustenance
Lore & Background
The bar yokni appears in several Talmudic passages, where it is used to illustrate extraordinary phenomena. A source from the early third century recounts that the bird was so large that one of its eggs, when dropped from a height, flooded sixty cities and destroyed three hundred cedar trees. In two other passages, both the egg and the bird are cited as examples of huge size.
The Talmud identifies the bar yokni with the ostrich mentioned in the Book of Job, describing how this bird, after laying its egg, flies with it at a great height to its nest, where it puts it gently down. Other scholars connect the bar yokni with the ziz and the vâraghna, the swiftest bird mentioned in the Zend Avesta. An assertion suggesting that this bird would be reserved as a source of sustenance for the righteous during Messianic times appears in the writings of Elijah Levita.
Reader's Guide
The bar yokni holds a place in Jewish folklore as a symbol of immense scale and divine provision. Its appearances in the Talmud serve to illustrate the concept of the extraordinary, with the egg's catastrophic fall emphasizing the bird's size. The identification with the ostrich from the Book of Job roots the creature in biblical tradition, while connections to the ziz and the vâraghna link it to broader ancient Near Eastern mythology. The later assertion by Elijah Levita that the bar yokni would feed the righteous in Messianic times adds an eschatological dimension, suggesting a role in future redemption. As a legendary being, the bar yokni contributes to the tapestry of mythical creatures in Jewish literature, inviting comparison with other giant birds like the roc. Its legacy endures as a testament to the imaginative use of scale in religious and folk narratives.
Did You Know?
- The bar yokni is mentioned several times in the Talmud.
- One account claims its egg flooded sixty cities and destroyed three hundred cedar trees.
- The Talmud identifies the bar yokni with the ostrich from the Book of Job.
- Elijah Levita wrote that the bar yokni would be food for the righteous in Messianic times.
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