H5847 H5847
Bat; a flying mammal classified as unclean in Levitical law
The bat appears in Scripture's lists of unclean creatures, prohibited as food under Levitical law. Leviticus 11:19 and Deuteronomy 14:18 both include it among birds (though modern taxonomy classifies it as a mammal, ancient classification grouped it with flying creatures). The word is a quadriliteral form, possibly related to Phoenician and North African terms. Most strikingly, Isaiah 2:20 envisions a day when people will cast their idols 'to the moles and to the bats'—creatures of darkness and hidden places. The image suggests the utter worthlessness of idols, fit only to be abandoned in the caves where bats dwell.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Three occurrences: two in Levitical dietary law, one in prophetic imagery. The multilingual glosses consistently render 'bat,' showing clear identification of the creature. Isaiah's usage is powerful: bats as creatures of darkness receive the discarded idols, a fitting end for false gods. The law's classification with birds reflects ancient phenomenological taxonomy based on observable characteristics (flight) rather than modern biological taxonomy. The conjunction forms ('and the bat') show the word in lists. 3×
AR["الْخُفَّاشَ", "وَ-الْخُفَّاشُ", "وَ-لِلخَفَافِيشِ"]·ben["-বাদুড়", "ও-বাদুড়ের-কাছে"]·DE["[ולעטלפים]", "der-bat", "und-der-bat"]·EN["and-the-bat", "the-bat"]·FR["[ולעטלפים]", "et-le-bat", "le-bat"]·heb["ה-עטלף", "ו-ה-עטלף", "ו-ל-עטלפים"]·HI["और-चमगादड़", "और-चमगादड़ों-को", "चमगादड़"]·ID["dan-kelelawar", "kelelawar"]·IT["[ולעטלפים]", "e-il-bat", "il-bat"]·jav["kelelawar", "lan-dhateng-lawa", "lan-kalong."]·KO["그-박쥐를", "그리고-그-박쥐를", "박쥐들-에게"]·PT["e-o-morcego", "e-para-os-morcegos", "o-morcego"]·RU["и-летучим-мышам", "и-летучую-мышь", "летучую-мышь"]·ES["el-murciélago", "y-a-los-murciélagos", "y-el-murciélago"]·SW["na-popo", "popo"]·TR["ve-yarasa", "ve-yarasalara", "yarasayı"]·urd["اور-چمگادڑ", "اور-چمگیڑڑوں-کو", "چمگادڑ"]
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
† עֲטַלֵּף n.[m.] bat (quadrilit., Ges§ 85 w Sta§ 243, 8; NH id.; Ph. οθολαβαδ GesMon. Ph. 391; LewyFremdw. 17 cp. ἀττέλεβος, name of a locust in N. Africa Herod. iv. 172);—י׳ abs. Lv 11:19 (H), = Dt 14:18 (unclean creature); pl. עֲטַלֵּפִים Is 2:20.