Bible Encyclopedias
Beetle

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

bē´t 'l (the Revised Version (British and American) CRICKET; חרגּל , ḥargōl ; See LOCUST ): This name occurs only in Leviticus 11:22 as one of four winged Jumping insects ( sherec hā -‛ōph ) which may be eaten. It certainly is not a beetle and is probably not a cricket. Probably all four are names of locusts, of which more than 30 species have been described from Syria and Palestine, and for which there are at least 8 Arabic names in use, though with little distinction of species. Closely allied to ḥargōl are the Arabic ḥarjalet , a troop of horses or a flight of locusts, from ḥarjal , "to gallop," and harjawān , "a wingless locust."