Quick Definition
chameleon
Strong's Definition
properly, a hard breather, i.e. the name of two unclean creatures, a lizard and abird (both perhaps from changing color through their irascibility), probably the tree-toad and the water-hen
Derivation: from H5395 (נָשַׁם);
KJV Usage: mole, swan.
TWOT Reference: 1433b
Outline of Biblical Usage
STEPBible — Tyndale Abridged Hebrew Lexicon
תִּנְשֶׁ֫מֶת (tan.she.met) — chameleon. 1) an unclean animal of some kind 1a) an unclean bird 1a1) perhaps the ibis, water-hen, species of owl, barn owl 1b) an unclean lizard 1b1) perhaps the chameleon 1c) perhaps an extinct lizard or bird, exact meaning unknown
UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew
noun f · נשׁם
Birds
barn owl exact meaning unknown; probably: = type of owl with a very pale color, light fawn or gray on the wings and back, and almost white on the chest and under the wings; it has small eyes, a large head for its size, and a very striking heart-shaped white facial disk outlined in brown; it often roosts in barns, deserted houses, caves, and tombs; it lives mainly on rats, mice, and other small nocturnal creatures; ◄ Tyto alba; ► unclean and therefore not to be eaten
Small Animals
chameleon = type of lizard with a basically green color, but which can change color to match its environment; it is slow moving; it feeds on insects by catching them with its long, sticky, elastic tongue, which it flicks at the prey; it is also able to use its tail to wrap around twigs and other things to support itself when the wind blows or when climbing at a steep angle; ◄ Chamaeleo chamaeleon; ► unclean and therefore not to be eaten
1 LEV 11:18 · DEU 14:16 RSV NRSV "water hen" | NIV NJPS "white owl" | NJB "ibis" | REB "little owl" 2 LEV 11:30 RSV NIV NJPS NRSV REB "chameleon" | NJB "tinshamet"
UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
תִּנְשֶׁ֫מֶת n.f. an animal unclean bird, the ibis, water-hen
unclean, lizard, or chameleon
base