Bible Encyclopedias
Land-Crocodile

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(Revised Version (British and American) land - crok´ṓ - dı̄l ( כּח , kōaḥ ; Septuagint χαμαιλέων , chamailéōn , Leviticus 11:30; the King James Version Chameleon ): Kōaḥ is found only here, meaning an animal, the fifth in the list of unclean "creeping things." Elsewhere is it translated "strength" or "power," and it has been thought that here is meant the desert monitor, Varanus griseus , a gigantic lizard, which is common in Egypt and Palestine, and which attains the length of 4 ft. "Chameleon," which the King James Version has here, is used by the Revised Version (British and American) for tinshemeth (the King James Version "mole"), the eighth in the list of unclean "creeping things" (compare nāsham , "to breathe"; translated "swan" in Leviticus 11:18 margin). While it is by no means certain what animal is meant, there could be no objection to "monitor" or "desert monitor." "Land-crocodile" is objectionable because it is not a recognized name of any animal. See CHAMELEON; LIZARD .