258 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
ahd Dr. Sutherland Black, besides the same translations as quoted 
by Gesenius, there are other ones, viz. sub 4, that ‘‘ Thahash ”’ 
means ‘‘ Thaish’’ (Ram = he-Goat), which is considered by the 
editors as “‘ less probable,” because rams’ skins, dyed red, are 
separately mentioned in the same verse under the name “alim”’; 
and sub 5, what the editors consider as ‘‘ most probable,”’ is to be 
translated by ‘‘ Egyptian leather.’ I cannot see the probability 
of this translation ; it could be well applied in Ezekiel xvi. 10, 
in connection with ‘‘ Vaenahlekh,”’ which means, “I will attire 
ye with shoes of Thahash,”’ but never could be applied in 
Exodus in connection with the word ‘ oroth,’” which means 
“skins,” and proves that the word ‘“‘ Thahash”’ connected with 
it means the name of the animal whereof the skin comes, like 
‘‘oroth alim,’”’ meaning ‘“‘skins of rams.” The ‘ Jewish Ency- 
clopeedia’ is inclined to take it as ‘‘ wether skins,” but I fully 
agree with the ‘ Encyclopedia Biblica’ and call this translation 
‘less probable,” for the reasons mentioned. 
I will now quote the descriptions of ‘‘ Thahash” by the 
Talmud, and thus it will be seen that the ‘‘Okapi”’ is probably 
identical with the ‘“‘ Thahash ”’ of the Bible. 
‘Talmud-Bably, Tractat Sabbath,’ 23 a: RabbiJoseph, answer- 
ing the question put before him whether the ‘‘ Thahash”’ which 
was living at the time of Moses (t.e. an animal not known 
afterwards) was a clean or unclean one, says: ‘“‘ As to it, there 
cannot be even a question raised, as we are taught elsewhere 
that only skins coming from clean animals were permitted to be 
used for things destined for holy purposes.”* This answer was 
objected to for the following reason: Rabbi Nehemiah has said, 
‘‘ There was in the Tabernacle one cover alike to ‘ Tala-elon ’ or 
‘ Kala-elon’ (which means ‘ Weasel’ or ‘ Marten’), and these 
animals certainly are unclean ones; wherefore the explanatory 
answer from Rabbi Joseph, ‘ The cover only resembles in colour 
the said animals, but not the very skins of these unclean ones.’ ”’ 
To this Rabbi Joseph added: ‘‘ Accordingly, the translation of 
‘Onkoloss’ of the word ‘Thahash’ by ‘ Sossgavna’ is to be 
understood as of an ‘enchanting colour.’” Further, ‘Talmud- 
* Clean animals are to be discriminated from unclean ones by the 
following marks: ‘‘ Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and 
cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat” (Leviticus xi. 3). 
