Horse-Leech

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

עלוקה , from a root which signifies to adhere, stick close, or hang fast,   Proverbs 30:15 . A sort of worm that lives in water, of a black or brown colour, which fattens upon the flesh, and does not quit it till it is entirely full of blood. Solomon says, "The horse-leech hath two daughters, Give, give." This is so apt an emblem of an insatiable rapacity and avarice, that it has been generally used by different writers to express it. Thus Plautus makes one say, speaking of the determination to get money, "I will turn myself into a horse-leech, and suck out their blood;" and Cicero, in one of his letters to Atticus, calls the common people of Rome horse-leeches of the treasury. Solomon, having mentioned those that devoured the property of the poor as the worst of all the generations which he had specified, proceeds to state the insatiable cupidity with which they prosecuted their schemes of rapine and plunder. As the horse-leech had two daughters, cruelty and thirst of blood, which cannot be satisfied, so the oppressor of the poor has two dispositions, rapacity and avarice, which, never say they have enough, but continually demand additional gratifications.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Horse-Leech ( ‘aluqah , cf. Arab. [Note: Arabic.] ‘alaqeh ). The horse-leech ( HÅ“mopis sanguisuga ) and the medicinal leech ( Hirudo medicinalis ) are very common in Palestine and are the cause of much trouble, even sickness and death, to man and beast. They abound in many springs, streams, and pools, and lodge themselves, while still small, in the mouths of those drinking. Thence they not infrequently find their way to the pharynx, and even larynx, where they live and grow for many months. They cause frequent hæmorrhages, and, if not removed, lead to progressive anæmia and death. Their voracious appetite for blood, possibly referred to in   Proverbs 30:15 , is well illustrated by their habits as internal parasites. It is probable, however, that the reference here is not to the leech of common life, but to the mythological vampire, the ghul of the Arabs.

E. W. G. Masterman.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Horse-leech, the adherer. A well-known kind of worm very common in all the stagnant waters of Palestine.  Proverbs 30:15. It fastens itself within the nostrils or mouths of animals as they drink, and will suffer itself to be nearly torn in two before relaxing its hold. Its thirst for blood—never satisfied till its body is completely filled—may illustrate the insatiable cravings of lust, avarice, and cruelty.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Horse-leech. (Hebrew, 'alukah ). Occurs once only, namely,  Proverbs 30:16. There is little doubt that 'alukah , denotes some species of leech, or rather is the generic term for any blood-sucking annelid.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) A farrier; a veterinary surgeon.

(2): ( n.) A large blood-sucking leech (Haemopsis vorax), of Europe and Northern Africa. It attacks the lips and mouths of horses.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Proverbs 30:15

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Horse–Leech occurs only in . The horse-leech is properly a species of leech, discarded for medical purposes on account of the coarseness of its bite.

Although the Hebrew word is translated 'leech'in all the versions, there has been much dispute whether that is its proper meaning. Against the received translation it has been urged that upon an examination of the context in which it occurs, the introduction of the leech seems strange; that it is impossible to understand what is meant by its 'two daughters;' and that instead of the incessant craving apparently attributed to it, the leech drops off when filled: hence it has been attempted to give a different sense to the Hebrew word, and to render it 'destiny.' But there seems no good reason for altering the received translation. In the preceding verse the writer speaks of 'a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw-teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men;' and then, after the abrupt and picturesque style of the East, the leech is introduced as an illustration of the covetousness of such persons, and of the two distinguishing vices of which it is the parent, avarice and cruelty. May not also the 'two daughters' of the leech 'crying, Give, give be a figurative description of the two lips of the creature (for these it has, and perfectly formed) which are a part of its very complicated mouth?' It certainly is agreeable to the Hebrew style to call the offspring of inanimate things daughters, for so branches are called daughters of trees (, margin). A similar use of the word is given in —'All the daughters of musick shall be brought low,' meaning the lips, front teeth, and other parts of the mouth. It is well remarked by Professor Paxton that 'this figurative application of the entire genus is sufficient to justify the interpretation. The leech, as a symbol in use among rulers of every class and in all ages for avarice, rapine, plunder, rapacity, and even assiduity, is too well known to need illustration.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Horse-Leech'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/h/horse-leech.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.