Youth Corner: Our Bible Quiz on Flying

Ancient man, no less than modern man, looked upon the winged creatures with a sense of envy for their ability to fly and soar far into the beyond. The imagination of many Biblical writers moved them to give expression to this yearning of moving up into the heights of air and space. We bring here a number of questions referring to this imaginative pursuit as well as several hints to aviation as we know it today. Try your hand at this, though difficult. A knowledge of Hebrew is sometimes needed to catch the answer. We are indebted to Colonel Zeev Segal of the Israel Zahal Reserve Army, a member of the Israel Society for Biblical Research, who composed these questions for the Israel military aviation periodical (חיל האויר) in the July 1973 issue.

1. How does the Psalmist express the yearning of man to fly into the skies, free as a bird?
2. The Hebrew word for landing of an airplane is נחיתה. Where in the Psalms do we find this root word?
3. The mystery of flying engaged the wise king Solomon who expressed his wonder poetically. Where in Proverbs do we find his amazement at the mysteries of nature and man?
4. Soon after the establishemnt of the State of Israel, the entire Jewish community of Yemen was moved to Israel from their exile. This mission was called “The Magic Carpet”, but the Yemenites, closer in spirit to the Bible, immediately found the appropriate verse for the fulfillment of their age-long dream. What was this verse (Pentateuch)?

Answers

Printed on page 16 of the issue.

1. ואמר מי יתן לי אבר כיונה אעופה ואשכונה הנה ארחיק נדוד… (תהלים נ״ה, 7–8)
   And I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander off . . . (Psalms 55:7-8).
2. The root means descent. כי חציך נחתו בי ותנחת עלי ידך (תהלים ל״ח, 3)
   For Thine arrows are gone deep into me and Thy hand is come down upon me (Psalms 38:3).
3. שלשה אלה נפלאה ממני וארבעה לא ידעתים. דרך הנשר בשמים, דרך נחש עלי צור, דרך אניה בלב ים, ודרך גבר בעלמה (משלי ל׳, 18–19).
   There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea and the way of a man with a young woman (Proverbs 30:18-19).
4. The verse quoted by the Yemenites as they flew to their new homeland Israel were the words expressed by Moses to his people Israel:
   ואשא אתכם על כנפי נשרים ואביא אתכם אלי (שמות י״ט, 4)
   You have seen . . . how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you unto Myself (Exodus 19:4).