This noun refers to the cleft or split hoof, a key characteristic in determining clean animals according to Levitical law. Leviticus 11:3 defines clean land animals as those that have 'split hooves, cleft-footed' and chew the cud. Verse 7 mentions the pig which has a split hoof but doesn't chew the cud (thus unclean). Verse 26 repeats the criterion. Deuteronomy 14:6 uses the same language. The multilingual glosses (Spanish hendidura 'split', French fendu 'split', German split/cleft) confirm this as the divided hoof. The cleft hoof became a symbolic marker distinguishing clean from unclean, ordering creation according to divine categories—a physical sign pointing to ritual and perhaps moral distinctions embedded in the created order itself.