This term, appearing only in Isaiah 2:20, is deeply uncertain textually. The traditional Hebrew reads 'to dig' plus 'rats,' yielding something like 'to the mole-rats to dig,' which is grammatically awkward. Many scholars emend the text to read 'to the moles' (la-chaparpparot), understanding moles as the animals that would receive the discarded idols. The context depicts people throwing away their silver and gold idols 'to the moles and to the bats' on the day of divine judgment. Both animals—moles as underground dwellers and bats as cave inhabitants—represent dark, hidden, contemptible places where worthless idols would be cast.