H5909 H5909
Mouse or rat; a rodent classified as ritually unclean, and crafted in gold as a plague offering by the Philistines.
The noun עַכְבָּר (akhbar) designates a mouse or rat — the common rodent — with cognates in Aramaic (עַכְבְּרָא) and Arabic (عكابر). It appears in two vivid contexts: the Holiness Code's list of unclean swarming creatures (Lev 11:29), and the Philistine plague narrative where golden mice were fashioned as guilt offerings alongside golden tumors (1 Sam 6:4-18). Isaiah 66:17 mentions eating mice as part of pagan abomination rituals. Multilingual evidence — Spanish 'ratones,' French 'souris,' English 'mice' — uniformly confirms a single zoological referent throughout.
Senses
1. Mouse / rat (rodent) — A mouse or rat, the common rodent. Declared ritually unclean in the Holiness Code (Lev 11:29) alongside lizards and other swarming creatures. The most extended usage occurs in the Philistine plague narrative, where golden mice (עַכְבְּרֵי הַזָּהָב) were crafted as votive offerings to avert a plague that ravaged their land (1 Sam 6:4-5, 11, 18). Isaiah 66:17 condemns those who eat mouse flesh in syncretic rituals. Multilingual glosses — Spanish 'ratones,' English 'mice,' French 'souris' — all confirm a single biological referent across every occurrence. 6×
AR["فِيرَانَ", "فِيرَانِ", "فِيرَانِكُم", "وَ-الْفَأْرُ", "وَ-فِيرَانُ", "وَالْفَأْرِ"]·ben["-এবং-ইঁদুর", "ইঁদুর", "ইঁদুরের", "এবং-ইঁদুর", "এবং-ইঁদুরের", "তোমাদের-ইঁদুরের"]·DE["[והעכבר]", "dein-mice", "mice-von", "und-der-mouse", "und-mice-von"]·EN["and-mice-of", "and-the-mouse", "mice-of", "your-mice"]·FR["[והעכבר]", "et-le-mouse", "et-mice-de", "mice-de", "ton-mice"]·heb["ו-ה-והעכבר", "ו-ה-עכבר", "ו-עכברי", "עכברי", "עכבריכם"]·HI["और-चूहा", "और-चूहे", "चूहे", "चूहों-तुम्हारे"]·ID["dan-tikus", "dan-tikus-tikus", "tikus", "tikus-tikus", "tikusmu"]·IT["[והעכבר]", "e-il-mouse", "e-topi-di", "topi-di", "tuo-topi"]·jav["Lan-tikus-", "lan-tikus", "tikus", "tikus-", "tikus-panjenengan"]·KO["그리고-그-쥐를", "그리고-그-쥐와", "그리고-쥐들이", "너희의-쥐들의", "쥐들을", "쥐의"]·PT["e-o-rato", "ratos-de", "ratos-vossos", "¶ E-ratos-de"]·RU["и-hа-мышь", "и-мыши", "и-мышь", "мышей", "мышей-ваших"]·ES["Y-ratones-de", "ratones-de", "vuestros-ratones", "y-el-ratón"]·SW["na-panya", "panya", "panya-zenu"]·TR["Ve-fareleri", "fareler", "fareleri", "farelerinizin", "ve-fare", "ve-fareyi"]·urd["اور-چوہا", "اور-چوہے", "چوہوں-کی", "چوہے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† עַכְבָּר n.m. 1 S 6:4 mouse (NH id.; Aramaic עַכְבְּרָא; Syriac (in Lexx) ܥܽܘܩܒܪܳܐ, ܐܰܓܒܪܳܐ (PS22); Arabic عَكَابِرُ pl. mares murum Frey (Kam.), cf. also HomAS 338; Arabic of jerboa RSK 302; v. TristrNHB 122 FFP10 ff.);—abs. הָע׳ unclean Lv 11:29 (H), Is 66:17 (cf. RSSem i. 275, 2nd ed. 293); pl. cstr. עַכְבְּרֵי (ה)זָהָב 1 S 6:4, 11, 18; sf. צַלְמֵי עַכְבְּרֵיכֶם v 5.