Matthew Henry on Leviticus 11:20-42
Here is the law, 1. Concerning flying insects, as flies, wasps, bees, etc.; these they might not eat (Lev 11:20), nor indeed are they fit to be eaten; but there were several sorts of locusts which in those countries were very good meat, and much used: John Baptist lived upon them in the desert, and they are here allowed them, Lev 11:21, Lev 11:22. 2. Concerning the creeping things on the earth; these were all forbidden (Lev 11:29, Lev 11:30, and again, Lev 11:41, Lev 11:42); for it was the curse of the serpent that upon his belly he should go, and therefore between him and man there was an enmity put (Gen 3:15), which was preserved by this law. Dust is the meat of the creeping things, and th…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 11:30
the ferret--the Hebrew word is thought by some to signify the newt or chameleon, by others the frog.
the chameleon--called by the Arabs the warral, a green lizard.
the snail--a lizard which lives in the sand, and is called by the Arabs chulca, of an azure color.
the mole--Another species of lizard is meant, probably the chameleon.
Adam Clarke on Leviticus 11:30
The ferret - אנקה anakah, from אנק anak, to groan, to cry out: a species of lizard, which derives its name from its piercing, doleful cry. See Bochart, vol. ii., col. 1066.
The chameleon - כח coach. Bochart contends that this is the waril or guaril, another species of lizard, which derives its name from its remarkable strength and vigor in destroying serpents, the Hebrew כח cach signifying to be strong, firm, vigorous: it is probably the same with the mongoose, a creature still well known in India, where it is often domesticated in order to keep the houses free from snakes, rats, mice, etc.
The lizard - לטאה letaah. Bochart contends that this also is a species of lizard, called by the Arabs…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Gill on Leviticus 11:30
And the ferret,.... Whatever creature is here meant, it has its name in Hebrew from the cry it makes; and so the ferret has but one note in its voice, which is a shrill, but small, whining cry: it is used to drive rabbits out of their holes: the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render the word by "mygale", the weasel mouse, or "mus areneus" of the Latins, the shrew or shrew mouse: it has something of the mouse and weasel, from whence it has its name in Greek, being of the size of the one, and the colour of the other: but Bochart (b) is of opinion, that a sort of lizard called "stellio", an evet or newt, is meant; one sort of which, according to Pliny (c), makes a bitter noise and screak…
