Hare

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Arnebeth Reckoned unclean on the ground that it "chews the cud, but divideth not the hoof" ( Leviticus 11:6;  Deuteronomy 14:7). It brings up from the (esophagus and chews again its food; but there is no genuine rumination, neither it nor the hyrax ("coney") or Shaaphan have the special stomach of the ruminants. Rodent animals, as the hare and the hyrax, keep down the undue growth of their teeth, which grow during life, by grinding with their jaws. The sacred legislator did not design the classification of a scientific naturalist or a comparative anatomist, but to furnish a popular mode of recognizing animals the flesh of which was not to be eaten. The rule in  Deuteronomy 17:27, "whatsoever goeth upon his paws" (as the dog, cat, and beasts of prey), sufficiently excludes from the clean the hyrax and the hare. The Parsees still abominate the hare.

The hare, though having a divided foot, has not a cloven hoof, which was a requisite for legal cleanness. True ruminants have four stomachs, molar teeth, and a jawbone suited for the circular movement of chewing the cud. The hare has none of these marks, and has in the upper jaw incisor teeth, which ruminants have not. But hares retain the cropped food within the hollows of their cheeks and masticate it at leisure, which in phenomenal language is "chewing the cud," and is so described by even so close an observer of nature as the poet Cowper. The ancient Britons rejected it as food. The Palestinian hare, Lepus Syriacus , was of a fur buff or yellowish-grey color, the hare of the desert ( Lepus Sinaiticus ) darker and smaller. The rabbit ( Lepus Cuniculus ) seems to be unknown in Syria and Palestine.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

The Hebrew word is arnebeth, and the Arabic name for hare is ernebah  ; the LXX also translate it as the hare. There can be little doubt therefore that this is the right signification. A difficulty thereupon arises in its being forbidden as unclean, because it chewed the cud but did not divide the hoof.  Leviticus 11:6;  Deuteronomy 14:7 . It is now a well-known fact that the hare does not chew the cud, its teeth and stomach not being suited for such a process. Various suggestions have been made in explanation, the most probable is that as the animal appears to chew the cud it is classed with those who did so. Scripture usually speaks of things in nature is they appear to the senses of man, and not according to strict science.

The hare is almost constantly moving its jaws as if it were a ruminant. The poet Cowper kept some young hares in his house, and he says of one, "I made it my custom to carry him always after breakfast into the garden, where he hid himself generally under the leaves of a cucumber vine, sleeping, or chewing the cud, till evening." The two principal species in Palestine are the Lepus syriacus and the Lepus aegyptiacus.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

ארנבת , Arabic arneb,   Leviticus 11:6;  Deuteronomy 14:7 . This name is derived, as Bochart and others suppose, from ארה , to crop, and ניב , the produce of the ground; these animals being remarkable for devouring young plants and herbage. This animal resembles the rabbit, but is larger, and somewhat longer in proportion to its thickness. The hare in Syria, says Dr. Russel, is distinguished into two species, differing considerably in point of size. The largest is the Turkman hare, and chiefly haunts the plains; the other is the common hare of the desert: both are abundant. The difficulty as to this animal is, that Moses says the arnabeth chews the cud, which our hares do not: but Aristotle takes notice of the same circumstance, and affirms that the structure of its stomach is similar to that of ruminating animals. The animal here mentioned may then be a variety of the species.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Leviticus 11:6 (c) This little animal may be used to represent the professing Christian whose talk is orthodox, but whose walk is heterodox. The hare of the Bible, or the rabbit, did chew the cud (the talk), but did not divide the hoof (the walk). It does not walk smoothly, nor evenly, but by jumps. Its color blends with its surroundings. So the professing Christian who is not really born again seeks to live and act as a real Christian, when he is in that environment, and vice versa. The walk and the talk must both be according to the Word of GOD, and produced by the Spirit of GOD.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Hare. (Hebrew, ( arnebeth .) Occurs only in  Leviticus 11:6, and  Deuteronomy 14:7, amongst the animals disallowed as food by the Mosaic law. The hare is at this day called Arnel by the Arabs in Palestine and Syria. It was erroneously thought by the ancient Jews to have chewed the cud. They were no doubt misled, as in the case of the Shaphfan ( Hyrax ), by the habit these animals have of moving the jaw about.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( v. t.) To excite; to tease, or worry; to harry.

(2): ( n.) A rodent of the genus Lepus, having long hind legs, a short tail, and a divided upper lip. It is a timid animal, moves swiftly by leaps, and is remarkable for its fecundity.

(3): ( n.) A small constellation situated south of and under the foot of Orion; Lepus.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

HARE (  Leviticus 11:6 ,   Deuteronomy 14:7 ). Four species of hare are known in Palestine, of which the commonest is the Lepus syriacus . The hare does not really ‘chew the cud,’ though, like the coney, it appears to do so; it was, however, unclean because it did not ‘divide the hoof.’ Hares are to-day eaten by the Arabs.

E. W. G. Masterman.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Hare.  Deuteronomy 14:7. Of the hare, which resembles the rabbit, five species or varieties are found in Palestine. This animal was declared unclean by the Jewish law,  Leviticus 11:6, "because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof." For popular guidance this description was better than a more scientific one, and is explained under Coney.

King James Dictionary

HARE, n. A quadruped of the genus Lepus, with long ears, a short tail, soft hair, and a divided upper lip. It is a timid animal, often hunted for sport or for its flesh, which is excellent food. It moves by leaps, and is remarkable for its fecundity.

1. A constellation.

HARE, To fright, or to excite, tease and harass, or worry. Not used. See Harry.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Leviticus 11:6 Deuteronomy 14:7

There are two species in Syria, (1) the Lepus Syriacus or Syrian hare, which is like the English hare; and (2) the Lepus Sinaiticus, or hare of the desert. No rabbits are found in Syria.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Of the same genus as the rabbit, prohibited to the Jews for food,  Leviticus 11:6 , because, though it "cheweth the cud," it "divideth not the hoof." No species of hare is known which strictly chews the cud. There were several varieties of the hare in Syria.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Leviticus 11:6 Deuteronomy 14:7

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Copyright StatementThese files are public domain. Bibliography InformationMcClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Hare'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/h/hare.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Syrian Hare

Hare occurs in , and , and in both instances it is prohibited from being used as food, because it chews the cud, although it has not the hoof divided. The hare however does not actually chew the cud, but has incisor teeth above and below, set like chisels, and calculated for gnawing, cutting, and nibbling, and when in a state of repose is engaged in working the incisor teeth upon each other. This practice is a necessary condition of existence, for the friction keeps them fit for the purpose of nibbling, and prevents their growing beyond a proper length. As hares do not subsist on hard substances, but on tender shoots and grasses, they have more cause, and therefore a more constant craving, to abrade their teeth; and this they do in a manner which, combined with the slight trituration of the occasional contents of the cheeks, even modern writers, not zoologists, have mistaken for real rumination. It follows therefore we should understand the original in the above passages rendered 'chewing the cud,' as merely implying a second mastication, more or less complete. The act of 'chewing the cud' and 're-chewing' being considered identical by the Hebrews, the sacred lawgiver, not being occupied with the doctrines of science, no doubt used the expression in the sense in which it was then understood. It may be added, that a similar opinion, and consequent rejection of the hare as food, pervaded many nations of antiquity.

There are two distinct species of hare in Syria: one, the Syrian hare, nearly equal in size to the common European, having the fur ochry buff; and the hare of the desert, smaller and brownish. They reside in the localities indicated by their names, and are distinguished from the common hare, by a greater length of ears, and a black tail with white fringe. There is found in Egypt, and higher up the Nile, a third species, represented in the outline paintings on ancient monuments, but not colored with that delicacy of tint required for distinguishing it from the others, excepting that it appears to be marked with the black speckles which characterize the existing species.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hâr ( ארנבת , 'arnebheth (  Leviticus 11:6;  Deuteronomy 14:7 ); compare Arabic 'arnab , "hare"): This animal is mentioned only in the lists of unclean animals in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, Where it occurs along with the camel, the coney and the swine. The camel, the hare and the coney are unclean, 'because they chew the cud but part not the hoof,' the swine, "because he parteth the hoof ... but cheweth not the cud." The hare and the coney are not ruminants, but might be supposed to be from their habit of almost continually moving their jaws. Both are freely eaten by the Arabs. Although 'arnebheth occurs only in the two places cited, there is no doubt that it is the hare. Septuagint has δασύπους , dasúpous , "rough-footed," which, while not the commonest Greek word (λαγῶς , lagō̇s ), refers to the remarkable fact that in hares and rabbits the soles of the feet are densely covered with hair. 'Arnab , which is the common Arabic word for "hare," is from the same root as the Hebrew 'arnebheth ̌ .

 Leviticus 11:4-7 :   Leviticus 11:4 , English Versions of the Bible "camel"; Septuagint τὸν κάμηλον , tón kámēlon  ; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible , 390-405 ad) camelus  ; Hebrew הגּמל , ha - gāmāl ̌ .  Leviticus 11:5 , English Versions of the Bible "coney"; Septuagint τὸν δασύποδα , tón dasúpoda  ; Vulgate, choerogryllus  ; Hebrew השׁפן , ha - shāphān ̌ .  Leviticus 11:6 , English Versions of the Bible "hare"; Septuagint τὸν χοιρογρύλλιον , tón choirogrúllion Vulgate, lepus  ; Hebrew הארנבת , ha - 'arnebeth ̌ .  Leviticus 11:7 , English Versions of the Bible "swine"; Septuagint τὸν ὗν , tón hún  ; Vulgate, sus  ; Hebrew החזיר , ha - ḥăzı̄r ̌ .

 Deuteronomy 14:7 : English Versions of the Bible "camel"; Septuagint τὸν κάμηλον , tón kámēlon Vulgate, camelum  ; Hebrew הגּמל , hagāmāl  ; English Versions of the Bible "hare"; Septuagint δασύποδα , dasúpoda  ; Vulgate, leporem  ; Hebrew הארנבת , hā'arnebeth  ; English Versions of the Bible "coney"; Septuagint χοιρογρύλλιον , choirogrúllion  ; Vulgate, choerogryllum  ; Hebrew השׁפן , hashāphān ̌ .

 Deuteronomy 14:8 : English Versions of the Bible "swine"; Septuagint τὸν ὗν , tón hún Vulgate, sus  ; Hebrew החזיר , haḥezı̄yr ̌ .

It is evident from the above and from the meanings of δασύπους , dasúpous and χοιρογρύλλιος , choirogrúllios as given in Liddell and Scott, that the order of Septuagint in   Leviticus 11:5 ,  Leviticus 11:6 does not follow the Hebrew, but has apparently assimilated the order of that of   Deuteronomy 14:7 ,  Deuteronomy 14:8 . In  Psalm 104:18 , Septuagint has χοιρογρυλλιος , choirogrullios for שׁפן , shāphān  ; also in  Proverbs 30:26 .

Since the word "coney," which properly means "rabbit," has been applied to the hyrax, so, in America at least, the word "rabbit" is widely used for various species of hare, e.g. the gray rabbit and the jack-rabbit, both of which are hares. Hares have longer legs and ears and are swifter than rabbits. Their young are hairy and have their eyes open, while rabbits are born naked and blind. Hares are widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, and there is one species in South America. Rabbits are apparently native to the Western Mediterranean countries, although they have been distributed by man all over the world.

Lepus syriacus, the common hare of Syria and Palestine, differs somewhat from the European hare. Lepus judeae is cited by Tristram from Northeastern Palestine, and he also notes three other species from the extreme south.