Leviticus 11:30

30. The ferret Hebrew anakah. It is agreed on all sides that “the ferret” is not intended. The Septuagint translates it μυγαλη , “shrew-mouse,” common in Galilee. There is good reason for the rendering “lizard” or “gecko,” a species of lizard. It is supposed to be the wailing lizard.

Onkelos and the rabbins identify it with the hedgehog, abounding in all parts of Palestine, but certainly not to be classed with creeping things.

The chameleon Thus the Seventy and Jerome translate the Hebrew coach, literally signifying strength. Since it is used only here as the name of an animal it is impossible to tell its meaning. Bochart accepts the Arabic reading, “the monitor of the Nile,” a large, strong reptile common in Egypt and other parts of Africa. The land monitor is found in Southern Judea and in the Jordan valley, and is eaten by the natives.

The lizard This seems to be correctly translated, and, from the meaning of the Hebrew letaah, points to the adhesive or fanfoot lizard, which can run over the smoothest surfaces, even in an inverted position, like the house-fly on a ceiling. The number of species of lizard in Palestine is very great. There are land lizards and water lizards in abundance. The Revised Version has translated Leviticus 11:30 thus: “And the gecko, and the land crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand lizard, and the chameleon,” and adds in the margin, “words of uncertain meaning, but probably denoting four kinds of lizards.”

The snail The Hebrew chomet occurs only here. Hence we have no grounds for any opinion. The Seventy and Vulgate understand some kind of lizard. Two Arabic versions render it chameleon. The Veneto-Greek and the rabbins agree with the Authorized Version, and render it “snail.” Modern Jews, with all other Orientals, eat snails, not accounting them as unclean. Tristram argues that chomet is the sand-lizard of the Sinaitic Peninsula, the wilderness of Judea and the Jordan valley. “The snail” in Psalms 58:8 is from another Hebrew word.

The mole The Hebrew tinshemeth occurs in Leviticus 11:18 as an unclean bird. The chameleon, in the opinion of Bochart and Tristram, is intended here. The mole will be found in Leviticus 11:29. See note.