Leviticus 11:5
in Leviticus 11The rock badger, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the coney, because he cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you.
KJV
And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
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This verse in Leviticus 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The coney - The Old English name for a rabbit. The animal meant is the Hyrax Syriacus. It bears some resemblance to the guinea-pig or the marmot, and in its general appearance and habits Pro 30:26; Psa 104:18, it might easily be taken for a rodent. But Cuvier discovered that it is, in its anatomy, a true pachyderm, allied to the rhinoceros and the tapir, inferior to them as it is in size.
This site's exposition
spake unto Moses and to Aaron
on Leviticus 11:1-8
The speech is addressed to Aaron as well as to Moses, because Leviticus 10:10-11 had just made the priest the man who puts difference between clean and unclean and teaches it to Israel. Land animals are settled by a test rather than by a list, two signs held together, a parted hoof and a chewed cud. The four creatures named in verses 4 to 7 are the near misses, each carrying one sign and lacking the other, so the rule is argued from its hardest cases. Verse 8 forbids touching the carcase as well as eating the flesh, and that is where the chapter turns from diet to contact.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
As for the names of the following creatures, seeing the Jews themselves are uncertain and divided about them, it seems improper to trouble the unlearned readers with disputes about them.
And the coney,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But the animals that may be eaten are those which "part the hoof as well as chew the cud," and this is another means of freeing the flesh of the animal from noxious substances.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
It has no tail, singular, long hairs bristling like thorns among the fur on its back; its feet are bare, its nails flat and round, except those on each inner toe of the hind feet, which are sharp and project like an awl.
The coney - שפן shaphan, not the rabbit, but rather a creature nearly resembling it, which abounds in Judea, Palestine, and Arabia, and is called by Dr. Shaw daman Israel, and by Mr. Bruce ashkoko. As this creature nearly resembles the rabbit, with which Spain anciently abounded, Bochart supposes that the Phoenicians might have given it the name of שפניה spaniah, from the multitude of שפנים shephanim (or spanim, as others pronounce it) which were found there. Hence the emblem of Spain is a woman sitting with a rabbit at her feet. See a coin of Hadrian in Scheuchzer.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַשָּׁפָ֗ן | hashafan | the rock badger | H8227 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מַעֲלֵ֤ה | maaleh | [is] bringing up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| גֵרָה֙ | gerah | <of> cud | H1625 → | 11 times |
| ה֔וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וּפַרְסָ֖ה | ufarsah | and a hoof | H6541 → | 21 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַפְרִ֑יס | yafris | it divides in two | H6536 → | 14 times |
| טָמֵ֥א | tame' | [is] unclean | H2931 → | 88 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לָכֶֽם׃ | lakhem | to <the> you |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַשָּׁפָ֗ןthe rock badger
hashafanH8227 →
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מַעֲלֵ֤ה[is] bringing up
maalehH5927 →890 times
גֵרָה֙<of> cud
gerahH1625 →11 times
ה֔וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וּפַרְסָ֖הand a hoof
ufarsahH6541 →21 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַפְרִ֑יסit divides in two
yafrisH6536 →14 times
טָמֵ֥א[is] unclean
tame'H2931 →88 times
ה֖וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
לָכֶֽם׃to <the> you
lakhem
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Titus 1:16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:4
If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
- Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…
- Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
- Ezekiel 33:31
So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest…
- 2 Timothy 3:5–8
having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
- 1 John 2:4
Through
Proverbs 30:26the rock badgers are creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks;
it leads to
- Psalms 104:18
The high mountains are for the wild goats, the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.
- Psalms 104:18
Through
Psalms 104:18The high mountains are for the wild goats, the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.
it leads to
- Proverbs 30:26
the rock badgers are creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks;
- Job 39:1
“Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?
- Proverbs 30:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.