List of Animals in The Bible - B

B

• Baboon, a kind of dog-faced, long-haired monkey, dwelling among ruins (gen. Cynocephalus); it was an object of worship for the Egyptians. Some deem it to be the "hairy one" spoken of in Is., xiii, 21 and xxxiv, 14, but it is very doubtful whether it ever existed west of the Euphrates.

• Badger Tahashim. — No mention of the badger (meles taxus) is found in the D.V., whereas the A.V. regularly gives it as the English equivalent for táhásh. Skins of táháshim are repeatedly spoken of as used for the outer cover of the tabernacle and the several pieces of its furniture. The old translations, and the D.V. after them, understood the word táhásh to mean a color (violet; Exodus 25:5; 26:14; 35:7, 23; 36:19; Numbers 4:10, 25; Ezekiel 16:10); but this is a "misrepresentation" according to Talmudic writers; so also is the rendering of the A.V.; for though the badger is common in Israel, yet the Hebrew name "most probably" (according to 19th and early 20th century scholars) indicates the dugong (designated halicore hemprichii 1832, and halicore tabernaculi 1843), a sirenian living in the Red Sea, the skin of which is used to the present day by Bedouin Arabs for such purposes as those alluded to in the Bible. Nevertheless, this is in contradiction to Leviticus 11:10 (KJV) "And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you." And Leviticus 11:27 says clearly (including the badger), "And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even." Leviticus explicitly commands the Jews, "Ye shall not make yourselves abominable..." (11:41–47) The opinion that tahash denotes the dugong is declining in recent decades in favor of "blue-processed skins" (Navigating the Bible II) and "(blue-)beaded skins" (Anchor Bible.) see Tahash.

• Basilisk occurs in the D.V. as an equivalent for several Hebrew names of snakes:

• • (1) Péthén (Ps. xc, 13), the cobra; had the Latin and English translators been more consistent they would have rendered this Hebrew word here, as in the other places, by asp;
  • (2) Céphá' and Cíphe 'ônî (Prov., xxiii, 32; Is., xi. 8; xiv, 29; Jer., viii, '17;
  • (3) 'éphe'éh (Isaiah 59:5), a kind of viper impossible to determine, or perhaps the echis arenicola;
  • (4) flying sãrãph (Isaiah 14:29; 30:6), a winged serpent (?), possibly also a reptile like the draco fimbriatus, which, having long ribs covered with a fringe-like skin, is able to glide through the air for short distances.

• Bat. — The bat, fourteen species of which still exist in Israel is reckoned among unclean "winged things" (Leviticus 11:19; Deuteronomy 14:18). Its abode is generally in dark and desolate places such as ruins and caverns.

• Bear. — The bear spoken of in the Bible is the ursus syriacus, scarcely different from the brown bear of Europe. Since the destruction of the forests, it is now rarely seen south of Lebanon and Hermon, where it is common. Not infrequently met in the Holy Land during the Old Testament times, it was much dreaded on account of its ferocious and destructive instincts; to dare it was accordingly a mark of uncommon courage (1 Samuel 17:34–36). Its terror-striking roars and its fierceness, especially when robbed of its cubs, are repeatedly alluded to.

• Beast, Wild. — The expression occurs twice in the D.V., but much oftener in the A.V., and R. V., where it is in several places a substitute for the awkward "beast of the field", the Hebrew name of wild animals at large. The first time we read of "wild beasts" in the D.V., it fairly stands for the Hebrew word zîz, albeit the "singular wild beast" is a clumsy translation. The same Hebrew word in Ps. xlix, 11, at least for consistency's sake, should have been rendered in the same manner; "the beauty of the field" must consequently be corrected into "wild beast". In Is., xiii, 21, "wild beasts" is an equivalent for the Hebr. Ciyyîm, i. e. denizens of the desert. This word in different places has been translated in divers manners: demons (Isaiah 34:14), dragons (Psalm 73:14; Jeremiah 1:39); it possibly refers to the hyena.

• Bee. — Israel, according to Scripture, is a land flowing with honey (Exodus 3:8). Its dry climate, its rich abundance, and variety of aromatic flowers, and its limestone rocks render it particularly adapted for bees. No wonder then that honey bees, both wild and hived, abound there. All the different species known by the names of bombus, nomia, andrena, osmia, megachile, anthophora, are widely spread throughout the country. The hived honey bee of Israel, apis fasciata, belongs to a variety slightly different from ours, characterized by yellow stripes on the abdomen. Wild bees are said to live not only in rocks, but in hollow trees (1 Samuel 14:25), even in dried carcasses (Judges 14:8). Syrian and Egyptian hives are made of a mash of clay and straw for coolness. In Old Testament times, honey was an article of export (Genesis 43:11; Ezekiel 27:17). Bees are spoken of in Bible as a term of comparison for a numerous army relentlessly harassing their enemies. Debôrah, the Hebrew name for bee, was a favourite name for women.

• Beetle, given by A.V. (Leviticus 11:22) as an equivalent for Hebrew, árbéh, does not meet the requirements of the context: "Hath the legs behind longer wherewith it hoppeth upon the earth", any more than the bruchus of D.V., some species of locust, the locusta migratoria being very likely intended.

• Behemoth, is generally translated as "great beasts"; in its wider signification it includes all mammals living on earth, but in the stricter sense is applied to domesticated quadrupeds at large. However in Job, xl, 10, where it is left untranslated and considered a proper name, it indicates a particular animal. The description of this animal has long puzzled the commentators. Many of them now admit that it represents the hippopotamus; it might possibly correspond as well to the rhinoceros.

• Bird. — No other classification of birds than into clean and unclean is given. The Jews, before the Babylonian captivity, had no domestic fowls except pigeons . Although many birds are mentioned, there occur few allusions to their habits. Their instinct of migration, the snaring or netting them, and the caging of song birds are referred to.

• Bird, Dyed. — So does the English version, Jer., xii, 9, wrongly interpret the Hebrew 'áyit. which means beast of prey, sometimes also bird of prey.

• Bird, Singing. — This singing bird of Soph., ii, 14, according to the D.V., owes its origin to a mistranslation of the original, which most probably should be read: "And their voice shall sing at the window"; unless by a mistake of some scribe, the word qôl, voice, has been substituted for the name of some particular bird.

• Birds, Speckled, Hebrew çãbhûá' (Jeremiah 12:9). A much discussed translation. The interpretation of the English versions, however meaningless it may seem to some, is supported by the Targum, the Syriac, and St. Jerome. In spite of these authorities many modern scholars prefer to use the word hyena, given by the Septuagint and confirmed by Sirach, xiii, 22 as well as by the Arabic (dábúh) and rabbinical Hebrew (çebhôá'), names of the hyena.

• Bison, According to several authors, the re'em of the Bible. It belongs to the same genus as the aurochs, but being indigenous to America (whence its name, bos americanus), and specifically different from the aurochs, cannot possibly have been known by the Hebrews.

• Bittern (botháurus vulgaris), a shy, solitary, wading bird related to the heron and inhabiting the recesses of swamps, where its startling, booming cry at night gives a frightening impression of desolation. In the D.V., bittern stands for Hebr. qã'ãth (Leviticus 11:18; Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14), although by some inconsistency the same Hebrew word is rendered Deut., xiv, 17, by cormorant, and Ps. ci (Hebr., cii), 7, by pelican. The pelican meets all the requirements of all the passages where qã'ãth is mentioned, and would perhaps be a better translation than bittern.

• Blast certainly, designates, Deut., xxviii, 42, a voracious insect; the Hebrew çelãçál, "chirping", suggests that the cricket was possibly meant and might be substituted for blast. In Ps. lxxvii (Hebr., lxxviii), 46, blast stands for hãsîl, "the destroyer", perhaps the locust in its caterpillar state, in which it is most destructive.

• Boar, Wild. — The only allusion to this animal is found Ps. lxxix (Hebr., lxxx), 14; however, the wild boar was undoubtedly always, as it is now, common in Israel, having its lair in the woods, and most destructive to vineyards.

• Bruchus. — Though it occurs once (Leviticus 11:22) as an equivalent for Hebrew, 'ârbéh (probably the locusta migratoria), the word bruchus is the regular interpretation for yéléq, "licker". The Biblical bruchus may be fairly identified with the beetle, or some insect akin to it. Anyway the yéléq of Jer., li, 14, 27, should have been rendered in the same manner as everywhere else.

• Bubale, antilope bubalis, or alcephalus bubalis, which should not be confounded with the bubale, bos bubalus, is probably signified by the Hebrew, the'ô, interpreted by the Douay translators, wild goat, in Deut., xiv, 5, and wild ox, Is., li, 20. It still exists in Israel, but was formerly much more common than now.

• Buffalo (bos bubalus). — So does the D.V. translate the Hebrew, yáhmûr, III K., iv, 23 (Hebrews 1 Samuel 5:3). Being a denizen of marshy and swampy lands, the buffalo must have been scarcely known by the Hebrews. Moreover, its coarse, unpleasant smelling flesh seems to exclude the identification with the animal referred to in the above mentioned passage, where we should probably read roebuck.

• Buffle. — Another word for buffalo, D.V., Deut., xiv, 5. According to good authorities, the oryx, or white antelope, might be here intended, the Hebrew word yáhmûr possibly meaning, as its Arabic equivalent does, both the roebuck and the oryx.

• Bull. — A symbol of fierce and relentless adversaries .

• Bullock. — The bullock, as yet unaccustomed to the yoke, is an image of Israel's insubordinate mind before he was subdued by the captivity (Jeremiah 31:18).

• Buzzard (Hebr., rã'ah). — Probably the ringtail of D.V. and the glede of A.V. (Deuteronomy 14:13); possibly, through a scribe's error, might be identified with the kite, dã'ah, of Lev., xi, 14. The buzzard, three species of which exist in Israel, has always been common there.