H8476 H8476
A marine animal (dugong, porpoise, or seal) whose tough hide was used for the tabernacle's outer covering
An animal prized in the ancient Near East for its durable hide, the tachash provided the outermost protective layer of the tabernacle. Most modern scholars identify it with the dugong or porpoise of the Red Sea, though ancient versions guessed badger or hyacinth-colored leather. Spanish translations render it 'tejon' (badger), while French opts for 'marsouin' (porpoise), reflecting centuries of uncertainty. In Ezekiel 16:10, God recalls clothing Jerusalem in tachash-leather sandals, a detail that elevates the material from mere utility to a symbol of lavish divine care.
Senses
1. tachash-hide animal (porpoise/dugong/seal) — The tachash as a living creature, a marine mammal (dugong, porpoise, or seal) whose skin was harvested for the tabernacle coverings. Nearly all fourteen occurrences fall here. The plural 'orot hat-techashim' (Exod 25:5; 35:7) and the construct 'or tachash' (Num 4:6-14) consistently point to the animal as the source of a specific hide. Cross-lingual evidence is revealing: English uses 'porpoise' or 'sea-cow,' Spanish prefers 'tejon' (badger), French 'marsouin' (porpoise), and German 'Meerkuehe' (sea-cow), illustrating that no tradition is fully settled on the species. 13×
AR["أخسٍ", "التَّخَسِ", "التَّخَشِ", "تَخَشٍ", "تُخُسٍ"]·ben["তহশ-মৃগদের", "তহশদের", "শুঁশুকদের", "শূশ", "শূশের"]·DE["Meer-Kuehe", "der-Meer-Kuehe", "der-porpoise", "porpoise", "porpoises"]·EN["porpoise", "porpoises", "sea-cows", "the-porpoise", "the-sea-cows"]·FR["le-marsouin", "le-mer-vaches", "marsouin", "mer-vaches", "porpoise", "porpoises"]·heb["ה-תחש", "ה-תחשים", "תחש", "תחשים"]·HI["तखश-की", "सील-मछली-की", "सुइस-का", "सुइस-के", "सूँस-की"]·ID["lumba-lumba"]·IT["il-mare-vacche", "il-porpoise", "mare-vacche", "porpoise", "porpoises"]·jav["lumba-lumba", "lumba-lumba,", "tahasy", "takhas-punika"]·KO["그-해달의", "그-해표", "해달의", "해표"]·PT["o-tachash", "tachash", "tachashim", "tahash", "texugos"]·RU["тахаша", "тахашей"]·ES["el-tejón", "los-tejones", "tajash", "tejones", "tejón"]·SW["pomboo", "tahashi", "za-pomboo"]·TR["-taş-porsuklarının", "tahaşların", "taş-porsuklarının", "yunus-balığı", "yunus-balığı-derisinin-"]·urd["تحش-کی", "تخس", "تخس-کی", "کے-تخس-کا"]
Exod 25:5, Exod 26:14, Exod 35:7, Exod 35:23, Exod 36:19, Exod 39:34, Num 4:6, Num 4:8, Num 4:10, Num 4:11, Num 4:12, Num 4:14 (+1 more)
2. tachash-leather / tachash-skin (material) — A metonymic shift from animal to material: tachash-leather as processed hide. In Ezekiel 16:10, the word denotes the finished product rather than the living creature, describing sandals of fine leather that God gave to Jerusalem. English renders it simply 'leather,' while Spanish uses 'piel de tejones' (badger skin) and French retains the loanword 'tahash,' showing how translators handle the shift from animal to artifact differently. 1×
AR["جِلْدَ-تُخَسٍ"]·ben["শীলচর্ম"]·DE["[תחש]"]·EN["leather"]·FR["tahash"]·heb["תחש"]·HI["सूँस-चमड़ा"]·ID["kulit-lumba-lumba,"]·IT["[תחש]"]·jav["kulit-lumba-lumba"]·KO["가죽을"]·PT["de-couro-fino"]·RU["кожей-тахаша"]·ES["piel-de-tejones"]·SW["vya-ngozi"]·TR["ve-ayakkabı-giydirdim"]·urd["عمدہ-چمڑے-کی-جوتی"]
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
† I. תַּ֫חַשׁ n.m. taḫaš, a kind of leather or skin, and perhaps the animal yielding it (prob. the dugong, cf. Arabic تُخَسٌ dolphin, Thes 1500 Di-Ry Ex 25:5 PostHastDB badger; Assyrian taḫšu (Dl Baer Ezech. xvi), for which DlProl. 77 ff.; HWB 705 conj. meaning sheep(skin); Bondi Egyptiaca 1 ff. cp. Egypt. ṯḥś, leather; v. summary of views M’Lean-ShipleyEncy. Bib. badgers’ skins);—abs. ת׳ Nu 4:6…