Leviticus 11:29

These also [shall be] unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth,.... As distinguished from those creeping things that fly, these having no wings as they; and which were

These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, These also shall be unclean unto you among the

Leviticus 11:29 These also [shall be] unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,Ver. 29. And the tortoise.] Which hath its name in Hebrew of a coach or wagon. The thick shell wherewith it is covered is said to be so hard, that a loaded wagon may go over it and not break it. And such is a hard heart, that cannot repent, or relent never so little.

(29) These also shall be unclean.—Better, And these shall be the most unclean. As Leviticus 11:24-28 have been occupied with the discussion of the defilement caused by the carcases of unclean quadrupeds, which, as we have seen, belong to the first class of the animal kingdom, the Lawgiver now enumerates those “creeping things” of the fourth class, which likewise cause defilement by touching them. The eight animals here adduced (Leviticus 11:29-30) are therefore a continuation of the things that go on their belly, mentioned in Leviticus 11:20-23. They only differ in this respect, that in Leviticus 11:20-23 the creeping things have also wings, whilst those described here are creeping things without wings. In a stricter sense, however, Leviticus 11:29, &c, is a resumption of Lev 11:20. The weasel.—Though the Hebrew name (choled), which literally denotes “the gliding” or “slipping in” animal, does not occur again in the Bible, yet the ancient versions and the description given of it by the administrators of the law in the time of Christ place it beyond a doubt that it is meant for weasel. According to these authorities the animal in question lodges in the holes of walls and in ditches, is inordinately voracious, kills other animals of prey much bigger than itself, and carries them off in its mouth. It is especially obnoxious to poultry, for which reason the ventilating holes in hen roosts are made so small that it should not be able to get through them, it has pointed and crooked teeth, with which it pierces through the skull and brain of the hens; it attacks sleeping children and human corpses, and laps water from a vessel. It delights in pilfering bright objects, which it hides in holes. It will be seen that this description given by the administrators of the law during the second Temple, of the animal meant by choled can only apply to the weasel, and not to the mole. This is fully supported by the ancient versions, though the word denotes “mole” in Arabic, and is sometimes also used in this sense in the Talmud. And the mouse.—Besides this passage, this word (achbar), which is taken to denote “the field,” or ‘corn-destroyer,” also occurs four times in Samuel (1 Samuel 6:4-5; 1 Samuel 6:11; 1 Samuel 6:18), and once in Isaiah (Isaiah 66:17) and is uniformly translated “mouse.” That this is the true rendering is fully confirmed by the ancient versions and the administrators of the law during the second Temple. Their insatiable voracity and great fecundity make mice destroy the entire produce of a harvest in an incredibly short time. For this reason they became the symbol of destruction in the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and obtained the appellation, “the scourge of the field” in the Bible (1 Samuel 6:5).

Verse 29. The weasel] חלד choled, from chalad, Syr., to creep in. Bochart conjectures, with great propriety, that the mole, not the weasel, is intended by the Hebrew word: its property of digging into the earth, and creeping or burrowing under the surface, is well known. The mouse] עחבר achbar. Probably the large field rat, or what is called by the Germans the hamster, though every species of the mus genus may be here prohibited. The tortoise] צב tsab. Most critics allow that the tortoise is not intended here, but rather the crocodile, the frog, or the toad. The frog is most probably the animal meant, and all other creatures of its kind.

29–38. Uncleanness caused by Creeping Things 29. the weasel†] According to early Versions, and the Mishna the Heb. word should be thus translated; but some prefer the rendering ‘mole.’ the great lizard†] tortoise A.V. The cognate words in Arab. and Syr. support the rendering of R.V.

The identification of “the creeping things” here named is not always certain. They are most likely those which were occasionally eaten.

29. The weasel — The choledh is found only in this catalogue, and seems to include the weasel, ichneumon, and the mole. They are all remarkably abundant in Palestine, especially the last two.