Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, July 10th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
Attention!
For 10¢ a day you can enjoy StudyLight.org ads
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

New Century Version

Leviticus 11:30

geckos, crocodiles, lizards, sand reptiles, and chameleons.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Chameleon;   Creeping Things;   Ferret;   Food;   Lizard;   Mole;   Sanitation;   Snail;   Thompson Chain Reference - Animals;   Beasts;   Reptiles;   Snail;   Unclean;   The Topic Concordance - Meat;   Uncleanness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Beasts;   Reptiles;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Beasts;   Chameleon;   Ferret;   Lizard;   Mole;   Snail;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Uncleanness;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Chameleon;   Ferret;   Lizard;   Mole;   Snail;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Chameleon;   Lizard;   Mole;   Snail;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Animals;   Chameleon;   Clean, Cleanness;   Creeping Things;   Ferret;   Leviticus;   Snail;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Chameleon;   Clean and Unclean;   Creeping Things;   Ferret;   Land Crocodile;   Lizard;   Mole;   Snail;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Chameleon;   Ferret,;   Lizard,;   Mole;   Snail;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Sparrow;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chameleon;   Clean and unclean;   Ferret;   Mole;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Chameleon,;   Ferret,;   Lizard;   Mole;   Snail;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Ferret;   Lizard;   Mole;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Arabia;   Chameleon;   Ferret;   Gecko;   Land-Crocodile;   Lizard;   Mole;   Sand-Lizard;   Snail;   Text of the Old Testament;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Chameleon;   Clean and Unclean Animals;   Crocodile;   Ferret;   Mole;   Small and Large Letters;   Snail;   Vegetarianism;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
the anakah, and the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink, and the tanshemet.
King James Version
And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.
Lexham English Bible
and the gecko and the land crocodile and the lizard and the sand lizard and the chameleon.
New English Translation
the Mediterranean gecko, the spotted lizard, the wall gecko, the skink, and the chameleon.
Amplified Bible
the gecko, the crocodile, the lizard, the sand reptile, and the chameleon.
New American Standard Bible
the gecko, the crocodile, the lizard, the sand reptile, and the chameleon.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Also the rat, and the lizard, and the chameleon, and the stellio, and the molle.
Legacy Standard Bible
and the gecko and the crocodile and the lizard and the sand reptile and the chameleon.
Complete Jewish Bible
the gecko, the land crocodile, the skink, the sand-lizard and the chameleon.
Darby Translation
and the groaning lizard, and the great red lizard, and the climbing lizard, and the chomet, and the chameleon.
Easy-to-Read Version
geckos, crocodiles, lizards, sand reptiles, and chameleons.
English Standard Version
the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.
George Lamsa Translation
And the ferret, and the mole, the yellow lizard, and the chameleon, and the snail.
Christian Standard Bible®
geckos, monitor lizards,
Literal Translation
and the gecko, and the monitor, and the lizard, and the sand lizard, and the barn owl.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
the Hedgehogge, the Stellio, the Lacerte, the Snale, and the Moule,
American Standard Version
and the gecko, and the land-crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand-lizard, and the chameleon.
Bible in Basic English
And the ferret and the land crocodile and the lizard and the sand-lizard and the chameleon.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The Hedhogge, the Stellio, the Lacert, the Snayle, and the Moole.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
and the gecko, and the land-crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand-lizard, and the chameleon.
King James Version (1611)
And the Ferret, and the Cameleon, and the Lyzard, and the Snaile, and the Molle.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
the ferret, and the chameleon, and the evet, and the newt, and the mole.
English Revised Version
and the gecko, and the land-crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand-lizard, and the chameleon.
Berean Standard Bible
the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the skink, and the chameleon.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
mygal, camelion, and stellio, and lacerta, and a maldewerp.
Young's Literal Translation
and the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole;
Update Bible Version
and the gecko, and the land-crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand-lizard, and the chameleon.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the ferret and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.
World English Bible
the gecko, and the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink, and the chameleon.
New King James Version
the gecko, the monitor lizard, the sand reptile, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.
New Living Translation
the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.
New Life Bible
the gecko, the crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.
New Revised Standard
the gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and the ferret and the chameleon and the wall-lizard, - and the winding lizard, and the mole.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The shrew, and the chameleon, and the stellio, and the lizard, and the mole.
Revised Standard Version
the gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
and the gecko, and the crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand reptile, and the chameleon.

Contextual Overview

20 "‘Don't eat insects that have wings and walk on all four feet; they also are to be hated. 21 "‘But you may eat certain insects that have wings and walk on four feet. You may eat those that have legs with joints above their feet so they can jump. 22 These are the insects you may eat: all kinds of locusts, winged locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers. 23 But all other insects that have wings and walk on four feet you are to hate. 24 Those insects will make you unclean, and anyone who touches the dead body of one of these insects will become unclean until evening. 25 Anyone who picks up one of these dead insects must wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. 26 "‘Some animals have split hoofs, but the hoofs are not completely divided; others do not chew the cud. They are unclean for you, and anyone who touches the dead body of one of these animals will become unclean. 27 Of all the animals that walk on four feet, the animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you. Anyone who touches the dead body of one of these animals will become unclean until evening. 28 Anyone who picks up their dead bodies must wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; these animals are unclean for you. 29 "‘These crawling animals are unclean for you: moles, rats, all kinds of great lizards,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Genesis 11:1
At this time the whole world spoke one language, and everyone used the same words.
Genesis 11:2
As people moved from the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.
Genesis 11:3
They said to each other, "Let's make bricks and bake them to make them hard." So they used bricks instead of stones, and tar instead of mortar.
Genesis 11:11
After that, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
Genesis 11:12
When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son Shelah was born.
Genesis 25:21
Isaac's wife could not have children, so Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord heard Isaac's prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant.
Genesis 29:31
When the Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, he made it possible for Leah to have children, but not Rachel.
Judges 13:2
There was a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan, who lived in the city of Zorah. He had a wife, but she could not have children.
1 Samuel 1:2
Elkanah had two wives named Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
Psalms 113:9
He gives children to the woman who has none and makes her a happy mother. Praise the Lord !

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the ferret,.... Whatever creature is here meant, it has its name in Hebrew from the cry it makes; and so the ferret has but one note in its voice, which is a shrill, but small, whining cry: it is used to drive rabbits out of their holes: the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render the word by "mygale", the weasel mouse, or "mus areneus" of the Latins, the shrew or shrew mouse: it has something of the mouse and weasel, from whence it has its name in Greek, being of the size of the one, and the colour of the other: but Bochart b is of opinion, that a sort of lizard called "stellio", an evet or newt, is meant; one sort of which, according to Pliny c, makes a bitter noise and screaking:

and [the] chameleon; this is a little creature like a lizard, but with a larger and longer head; it has four feet, and on each foot three claws; its tail is long; with this, as well as with its feet, it fastens itself to the branches of trees; its tail is flat, its nose long, and made in an obtuse point; its back is sharp, its skin plaited and jagged like a saw, from the neck to the last joint of the tail, and upon its head it hath something like a comb; in other respects it is made like a fish; that is to say, it has no neck d; what is said of its living on air, and changing colour according to what it is applied, are now reckoned vulgar mistakes: but whatever creature is here meant, it seems to have its name in Hebrew from its strength, wherefore Bochart e takes the "guaril" or "alwarlo" of the Arabs to be meant; which is the stoutest and strongest sort of lizard, and is superior in strength to serpents, and the land tortoise, with which it often contends:

and the lizard; so Jarchi interprets the word by a "lizard"; it has a larger letter than usual in it, that this creature might be taken notice of, and guarded against as very pernicious, and yet with some people it is eaten: Calmet says f, there are several sorts of lizards, which are well known: there are some in Arabia of a cubit long, but in the Indies there are some, they say, of twenty four feet in length: in America, where they are very good, they eat them: one lizard is enough to satisfy four men: and so in the West Indies, says Sir Hans Sloane g, I was somewhat surprised to see serpents, rats, and lizards sold for food, and that to understanding people, and of a very good and nice palate; and elsewhere h, he says, all nations inhabiting these parts of the world (the West Indies) do the same: "Guanes" or "lizards" are very common in Jamaica, and eaten there, and were of great use when the English first took this island, being, as I was assured, says he, commonly sold by the first planters for half a crown apiece: Dr. Shaw i says, that he was informed that more than 40,000 persons in Cairo, and in the neighbourhood, live upon no other food than lizards and serpents, though he thinks k, because the chameleon is called by the Arabs "taitah", which differs little in name from לטאה, "letaah", here; that therefore that, which is indeed a species of the lizard, might, with more propriety, be substituted for it:

and the snail; so the word is rendered by Jarchi, on the place, and by Kimchi, and Philip Aquinas, and David de Pomis, in their lexicons; and these creatures, though forbid to the Jews, yet are not only used for medicine, but also for food by many: snails of several kinds, we are told, are eaten with much satisfaction in Italy and France: in Silesia they make places for the breeding of them at this day, where they are fed with turnip tops, c. and carefully preserved for the market and the Romans took care of them in the same manner l: Bochart m thinks a kind of lizard is meant, which lies in sand, called by the Arabs "chulaca", or "luchaca", because the word here used signifies, in the Talmudic n language, sandy ground:

and the mole; and so it is interpreted by Onkelos and Jarchi here, and by David de Pomis, and Philip Aquinas, in their lexicons: the same word is used for a certain sort of fowl, which we translate the "swan";

Leviticus 11:18 but here of a creeping thing: whatever is intended by it, it seems to have its name from its breath; either in a contrary signification, if understood of the mole, which either holds its breath, or breathes not while under ground; or from its breathing more freely, wherefore Bochart o takes it to be the "chameleon"; which, as Pliny p says, is always gaping with its mouth for air; and it has been a vulgar notion, though a wrong one, that it lives upon it: the Targum of Jonathan interprets it by the "salamander"; now whoever ate any of the above eight creeping things, according to the Jewish canons, was to be beaten q.

b Ut supra, (Hierozoic. par. 1.) l. 4. c. 2. c Nat. Hist. l. 29. c. 4. d Calmet, in the word "Chameleon". e Ut supra, (Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 4.) c. 3. f Dictionary, in the word "Lizard", Vid. Hieron. adv. Jovinian. l. 2. g Natural History of Jamaica, vol. 1. Introduct. p. 25. h Ibid. vol. 2. p. 333. i Travels, p. 412. k Ibid. p. 178. l Sir Hans Sloane's Nat. Hist. ib. p. 23, 24. m Ut supra, (e) c. 5. n T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 31. 1. Gloss. in fol. 54. 1. o Ut supra, (Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 4.) c. 6. p Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 33. q Maimon. Maacolot Asurot, c. 2. sect. 7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The identification of “the creeping things” here named is not always certain. They are most likely those which were occasionally eaten. For the “Tortoise” read “the great lizard,” for the “ferret” the “gecko” (one of the lizard tribe), for the “chameleon” read the “frog” or the Nile lizard: by the word rendered “snail” is probably meant another kind of lizard, and by the “mole” the “chameleon.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 30. The ferret — אנקה anakah, from אנק anak, to groan, to cry out: a species of lizard, which derives its name from its piercing, doleful cry. See Bochart, vol. ii., col. 1066.

The chameleon — כח coach. Bochart contends that this is the [Arabic] waril or guaril, another species of lizard, which derives its name from its remarkable strength and vigour in destroying serpents, the Hebrew כח cach signifying to be strong, firm, vigorous: it is probably the same with the mongoose, a creature still well known in India, where it is often domesticated in order to keep the houses free from snakes, rats, mice, &c.

The lizard — לטאה letaah. Bochart contends that this also is a species of lizard, called by the Arabs [Arabic] wahara, which creeps close to the ground, and is poisonous.

The snail — חמט chomet, another species of lizard, according to Bochart, called [Arabic] huluka by the Arabians, which lives chiefly in the sand. - Vol. ii., col. 1075.

The mole. — תנשמת tinshameth, from נשם nasham, to breathe. Bochart seems to have proved that this is the chameleon, which has its Hebrew name from its wide gaping mouth, very large lungs, and its deriving its nourishment from small animals which float in the air, so that it has been conjectured by some to feed on the air itself. - Vol. iii., col. 1073. A bird of the same name is mentioned Leviticus 11:13, which Bochart supposes to be the night-owl. - Vol. iii., col. 286.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile