Paw
Webster's Dictionary [1]
(1): ( n.) The foot of a quadruped having claws, as the lion, dog, cat, etc.
(2): ( n.) The hand.
(3): ( v. t.) To scrape or beat with the forefoot.
(4): ( v. t.) To pass the paw over; to stroke or handle with the paws; hence, to handle fondly or rudely.
(5): ( v. i.) To draw the forefoot along the ground; to beat or scrape with the forefoot.
King James Dictionary [2]
PAW, n. L. pes, pedis Eng. foot.
1. The foot of beasts of prey having claws, as the lion, the tiger, the dog, cat, &c. Leviticus 11 2. The hand in contempt.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [3]
pô ( כּף , kaph , literally, "palm," יד , yādh , literally, "hand"): The former ( kaph ) is applied to the soft paws of animals in contradistinction to the hoofs ( Leviticus 11:27 ); the latter is thrice used in 1 Samuel 17:37 : "Yahweh that delivered me out of the paw ( yādh ) of the lion, and out of the paw ( yādh ) of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand ( yādh ) of this Philistine." The verb "to paw" (חפר , ḥāphar ) is found in the description of the horse: "He paweth (margin "they paw") in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth out to meet the armed men (margin, "the weapons")" ( Job 39:21 ). The word is usually translated "to delve into," "to pry into," "to explore."
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [4]
is the rendering in the A.V. of the Heb. כִּ , Kaph ( Leviticus 11:27), the palm or hollow "hand" (as elsewhere rendered), and יָד , Yad ( 1 Samuel 17:37), the open hand (as elsewhere rendered), applied to an animal, in the latter case metaphorically in the sense of power.
