Fatted Fowl

בִּרבֻּרַים אֲבוּסַים, barbu-nim' abusim', Sept. ὀρνίθων ἐκλεκτῶν σ τευτά, Vulg. aves altiles) are included in 1Ki 4:23 [5:3], among the daily provisions for Solomon's table. Gesenius (Thes. Heb. p. 246) prefers to translate this " fatted geese," referring the word to the root בָּרִר "to be pure," because of the pure whiteness of the bird. He gives reasons for believing that the same word in the cognate languages included also thee meaning of swan (comp. Bochart, Hieroz. ii, 127). Michaelis (Supplem. p. 226) less aptly interprets field animals (from the Chald. בִּר a field). Whether domestic poultry was much raised by the Hebrews has been a matter of dispute; but no good reason can be assigned why they should not in this respect have been as well supplied as their neighbor's the Egyptians, who gave great attention to them. SEE HEN. As it is pretty generally conceded that some kind of bird is intended by the barbur here designated, none can in this particular compete' with the dung-hill fowl; and the fattening implies their domestication, while the fact of their daily consumption at the royal table argues their extensive cultivation and common use. Geese, however, may very probably be intended. as they were an esteemed article of food anciently, especially among the Egyptians, whose monuments abound with illustrations of their rearing and culinary application. SEE FOWL.