Sparrow

A sparrow is a small bird that was also common in biblical times. Sparrows were caught and then sold at the market. For a small price you could buy a pair of sparrows to eat.

Sparrows like to stay near people. They normally build their nests in a hollow in a wall. Psalm 84:3-4 describes a sparrow building its nest in the altar of the Temple. Just like this sparrow, the psalmist would like to be close to God in the sanctuary.

Sparrows were common in the time of the Bible. According to the Law of Moses, these birds were permitted as food. Sparrows were probably cheap food because they could be caught easily.

Sparrows live in flocks and were caught alive with a snare (Amos 3:5; Psalm 124:7). The bird catchers then took the animals to the market to sell them for food.

In the New Testament we find the image of sparrows sold in the market. When Jesus is there, he tells his disciples, “For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent” (Matthew 10:29).

If God takes such good care of a small bird that is worth so little, he will certainly take good care of people, who are worth much more than a whole flock of sparrows.

In the Deuterocanonical book of Tobit, the sparrow plays an unhappy role. Sparrow droppings fall into Tobit’s eyes (Tobit 2:10), causing a white film to form on his eyes and eventually he goes blind.

Thankfully, Tobit’s son Tobias meets the angel Raphael, who tells Tobias what he must do for the white film to disappear and for his father to regain his sight.