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Bible Encyclopedias
Hyena
The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia
or âBiblical Data:
The translation by the Septuagint of "áºabua'" (Jeremiah 12:9); the rendering of the Vulgate being "avis tincta," and that of the English versions "speckled bird." The rendering of the LXX., which is adopted by most commentators, is supported not only by the Arabic "á¸abu'," but also by the parallel passage (ib. 12:8), which implies that by "áºabua'" some strong, fierce animal, similar to the lion, is intended (comp. Ecclus. [Sirach] 13:18). The striped hyena (Hyæna striata) is common in every part of Palestine; and its former frequency is perhaps indicated by the place-name "Zeboim" (1 Samuel 13:18; Nehemiah 11:34; comp. also the personal name "Zibeon," Genesis 36:20).
âIn Rabbinical Literature:
The Talmud has, besides "áºabua'," three other names for the hyena, "bardales," "napraza," and "appa"; and this variety of names has its counterpart in a variety of metamorphoses, each lasting seven years, through which the male hyena passes, namely, of a bat, an "'arpad" (e., some other form of bat), a nettle, a thistle, and lastly an evil spirit ("shed"; B. Ḳ. 16a). A similar popular fable, about the hyena changing its sex every year, is found in Pliny, "Historia Naturalis," 8:30,44; Ãlianus, "De Animalium Natura," 1:25. As regards dangerousness, the hyena is placed in the same category as the wolf, lion, bear, leopard, and serpent (B. Ḳ. 15b); Yer. B. Ḳ. 2, 6).
- Tristram, Natural History of the Bible, p. 107;
- Lewysohn, Zoologie des Talmuds, p. 76.
These files are public domain.
Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Hyena'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tje/h/hyena.html. 1901.
