Bible Dictionaries
Badgers' Skins

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

BADGERS’ SKINS . Mentioned (in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ) as the upper covering of the Tabernacle, etc. ( Exodus 25:5; Exodus 26:14 etc.), and materials for making sandals ( Ezekiel 16:10 ). It is almost certain the word tahash is mistranslated ‘badger,’ as badgers, though found in Southern Palestine, are not common enough, nor are their skins suitable for such use to have been made of them. The RV [Note: Revised Version.] sealskins (mg. porpoise-skins ) hardly eases the difficulty zoologically, although having some support from etymology. Delitzsch, from the similarity of tahash to the Assyr. [Note: Assyrian.] tahshan = ‘wether,’ thinks it probable that the word means the same in Hebrew. A recent suggestion that the Heb. word tahash is taken from the Egyp. ths , meaning ‘leather,’ seems the most reasonable explanation.

E. W. G. Masterman.

Bibliography Information
Hastings, James. Entry for 'Badgers' Skins'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​hdb/​b/badgers-skins.html. 1909.