Ancient Hebrew Names of Animals, 319 



honest fame, to promote the interests of his honoured off- 

 spring (for his blocks are in their hands, and cannot be 

 copied), whose friendship, I trust, through Ufe will be insepar- 

 able with that of 



John F. M. Dovaston 

 Westfelton, near Shrewsbury^ 

 August 12. 1829, 



Art. II. A Dissertation on the Ancient Hebrew Names of 

 Animals. By Mr. Archibald Gorrie, Annat Gardens, 

 Perthshire. * 



Sir, 



To those acquainted with Hebrew literature, it is well 

 known, that nouns, in that primitive language, are generally 

 expressive of some real or supposed quaHty in the object; 

 thus 



mw Adaniy man, from nm deme, likeness, or similitude. 

 See Genesis^ i. 26. 



nM Ari, a lion, from the verb rnw are, to pluck or tear off; 

 the manner in which the lion tears its prey. 



bo3 Gemel, a camel from "^oa gemel, retribution ; the animaVs 

 revengeful temper. (Bochart, vol. ii. p. 75.) 



DID Shush, the horse, from «?« ses, to be brisk, active, 

 sprightly. (Parkhurst's Heb, Lex., ^u®.) 



"ipa Beker, a herd of bulls and cows, from ipa beker, to look 

 steadily ; from the attentive or steady manner in which cattle 

 survey objects, whence Homer's epithet, applied to Juno, 

 fioooTTis, ox-eyed. 



n32-i« Arnbet, from mw are, to crop, and n^3 nib, the produce 

 of the ground. Bochart says that hares have at different 

 times desolated the islands Leros, Astypalaea, and Carpathus. 

 (See his works, vol. ii. p. 63. and p. 995.) 



ibn Heled, the weasel, from I'^n heled, to creep in. (Park. 

 Heb. Lex., n'?n.) 



Although the English translation of the bible may be suf- 

 ficiently correct, as far as regards the names of domesticated 

 animals which have acquired a degree of notoriety, by being 

 made subservient to the use of man, or the names of beasts 

 of prey which were objects of universal terror ; yet the native 

 birds of Palestine do not excite so general interest, and hence 

 the many different opinions entertained by writers on that 

 subject. The translators of the authorised English version 

 of the bible seem to have paid much attention to the well 



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