H5579 H5579
fin (of a fish); a distinguishing mark of ritually clean aquatic creatures
A technical term from the Levitical dietary laws designating the fin of a fish or aquatic creature. It appears exclusively in the parallel legal texts of Leviticus 11:9-12 and Deuteronomy 14:9-10, always paired with scales (qasqeseth) as the two markers that determine whether a water-dwelling creature is clean and permissible to eat. Creatures with both fins and scales are clean; those lacking either are 'an abomination.' The remarkable consistency across languages—English 'fin,' Spanish 'aleta,' French 'nageoire,' German 'fin'—reflects the precision of this biological-legal category.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The fin of an aquatic creature, functioning as one of two required markers (alongside scales) for ritual cleanness in the dietary laws. All five occurrences appear in Leviticus 11:9-12 and Deuteronomy 14:9-10, where the presence of both fins and scales determines edibility. English 'fin,' Spanish 'aleta,' French 'nageoire,' and German 'fin' all point to the same anatomical feature. The term carries no metaphorical extension—it is purely a taxonomic criterion within Israel's holiness code. 5×
AR["زَعَانِفُ"]·ben["এবং-আঁশ", "পাখনা"]·DE["fin"]·EN["fin"]·FR["nageoire"]·heb["סנפיר"]·HI["और-शल्क", "पंख", "में-जल"]·ID["sirip"]·IT["fin"]·jav["sirip", "sisik-sirip"]·KO["지느러미가", "지느러미와"]·PT["barbatana"]·RU["плавник", "плавника", "плавники", "плавников"]·ES["aleta"]·SW["mapezi"]·TR["yüzgeci"]·urd["پر"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† סְנַפִּיר n.[m.] fin (NH id.; quadrilit. according to Sta§ 243; Fl LevyNHWB iii. 725 a cp. Aramaic סִמְפּוֹרִין points, nails, and der. this from סַמֵּר vb. nail, with infixed פ (LevyChWBii. 570 b));—Lv 11:9, 10, 12 = Dt 14:9, 10.