גּוֹזָל

# גּוֹזָל (Gozal): The Young Bird The Hebrew word *gozal* refers specifically to a young bird, representing a distinct life stage in avian terminology. With only two occurrences in the biblical text, this term occupies a narrow but defined place in Hebrew's animal vocabulary, suggesting it served a precise descriptive function rather than a general term for birds. The limited attestation of *gozal* indicates it was likely used in contexts where the youth or vulnerability of a bird was semantically significant. Rather than functioning as a common everyday word for birds, its specificity suggests the biblical authors deployed it when the particular quality of immaturity or helplessness mattered to their narrative or theological point. This selective usage pattern is typical of specialized lexical items in ancient texts—terms preserved in writing primarily when their particular meaning becomes essential to meaning-making. Without access to the specific biblical passages where *gozal* appears, we can observe only that Hebrew possessed this specialized term alongside its broader bird vocabulary, allowing writers to make fine distinctions between young and adult birds when circumstances warranted such precision.