The Ziz is a mythological bird from Jewish religious texts known for its colossal size and power. The bird is one of three primordial beasts that will be slaughtered by angels during the apocalypse to be eaten by the righteous at a great banquet. The Ziz is the king of all birds, while the Behemoth is the king of all land animals, and the Leviathan is the ruler of all sea and water creatures.
The main feature of the Ziz is its massive size, which is possibly too large to measure. Its wingspan is so expansive that it blocks out the sun. On one occasion, a group of sailors spotted a bird in the sea; the water covered just its feet, and its head reached up into the sky. The sailors assumed the water must be shallow in that spot, so they decided to bathe there. However, just as the men were about to jump into the water, a heavenly voice warned them, “Alight not here! Once, a carpenter’s axe slipped from his hand at this spot, and it took seven years to reach the bottom.”
A broken egg from the Ziz can destroy multiple cities
The Ziz lays eggs like any regular bird, but one time, this caused a problem. The avian mother discarded a rotten egg, which accidentally fell to the ground and broke. The fluid from the egg flooded sixty cities and crushed 300 cedar trees. Thankfully, such accidents are considered rare, and typically, the Ziz can be seen as a force for good. It protects not only all the world’s smaller birds but also the whole earth from storms; its wings hold back the fiercest of winds.
These stories mainly originate from Aggadah writing, which is all Jewish or rabbinic writings that are not considered Jewish law. These tales, which often come from the Talmud or other religious texts, are to be treated as symbolic parables.
The Ziz features briefly in the Hebrew Bible
The Ziz is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in two verses in the Book of Psalms. Psalm 50:11 reads, “I know all the birds of the mountains and ziz saday [The Ziz creature] is mine,” which is God stating that He owns all the creatures of the sky, including the Ziz. In Psalms 80:13, God describes the wars on the peoples of Isreal as follows: “The boar from the forest ravages it, and ziz saday [The Ziz creature] feeds on it.” The part about the Ziz is often lost in translations from Hebrew to English.
The Behemoth and the Leviathan are more prominent in the Bible and feature more in religious texts, particularly those documenting the end-of-days, otherwise known as the apocalypse. The three giant creatures were created by God on the fifth day. Ziz and the other two beasts will only die when the apocalypse comes, and all three will be served as food for the saved people.
The only mention of Ziz in the Christian Bible is in Chronicles 20:16 of the King James Version, where it is the name for a mountain pass in the Holy Land. The passage reads, “Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.”
Does the legend of the Ziz originate in Sumerian folklore?
The Ziz has been likened to the Griffin and the Phoenix, both from ancient Greek mythology; however, its true origin may date back to Sumerian folklore. Historian Nili Wazana points to the Sumerian poem, Epic of Lugalbanda, which features Anzu, a mountain-dwelling bird of prey that plucks oxen from the fields and brings them back to her nest to feed her young.
The poem, written in the 3rd or 2nd millennia BC, claims that the flapping of Anzu’s wings can create whirlwinds and sandstorms. Wazana suggests there are enough similarities to believe Anzu might be a descendant of Ziz.
References
Buxtorf, Johann. “Synagoga Judaica,” the Bavarian State Library (1603), accessed July 4, 2024.
Ginsburg, Louis. “The Legends of the Jews,” accessed July 4, 2024.
Gutmann, Joseph. “Leviathan, Behemoth and Ziz: Jewish Messianic Symbols in Art,” in Hebrew Union College Press, accessed July 4, 2024.
Malul, Chen. “The Three Jewish Monsters Charged With Saving the World,” in The Librarians, accessed July 4, 2024.
Snow, Donna. “Bible References to Ziz: Road or Mythical Monster?” in Artesian Ministries, accessed July 4, 2024.
Wazana, Nili. “Anzu and Ziz: Great Mythical Birds in Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Rabbinic Traditions,” in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, accessed July 4, 2024.