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Bible, The
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The Holy Bible.
–The Hebrew word tachash is used in the Hebrew Scriptures in reference to a certain kind of animal hide, interpreted by various translators to be badger, seal, porpoise, or simply "violet" or "hyacinth"-colored hide; or, less commonly, narwhal, deer, goat, giraffe, "spotted" hide, etc. (see Aharoni, 1937 and Furman, 1940?, for discussion). According to Schoff (1920), the Talmud identifies it as a unique animal that existed only in the time of Moses. However, many commentators accept the likelihood that the dugong is meant (see, e.g., H. C. Hart, 1888; B. Orchard et al. (eds.), A Catholic commentary on Holy Scripture, New York, Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1953; G. S. Cansdale, 1970; The New English Bible; and E. Fox, Genesis and Exodus: a new English rendition, New York, Schocken Books, 1990).
The word occurs in two different Biblical contexts, each of which indicates that tachash leather was considered to be durable and of high quality. First, it was used by the ancient Hebrews for the outermost covering of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:5; 26:14; 35:7, 23; 36:19; 39:34; Numbers 4:25) as well as for individual coverings for the Ark, the Table of Showbread, the Altar, and the other furnishings and equipment of the Sanctuary (Numbers 4:6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14), in order to protect them from the weather and during transport (cf. 2 Samuel 7:2,6.). This use inspired the name Halicore tabernaculi R?ppell, 1834, for the Red Sea dugong.
Second, in the allegory of the marriage between God and Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:10), sandals of tachash leather are listed as part of the costly and luxurious trousseau of the bride. The use of dugong hide for shoes and sandals is attested in more recent times (R?ppell, 1834; Bertram & Bertram, 1973: 323; Preen, 1989a: 97, 114). The two Biblical contexts are evidently not unconnected: Schoff (1920: 51) notes that the bride's luxuries "were, item by item, substances that went into the construction, adornment, equipment and service of the tabernacle of Moses", so Ezekiel's allegory probably alludes consciously to the description of the Tabernacle.
Use of dugong products for sacred purposes by the Hebrews in Sinai would not be inconsistent with earlier practices in the region, as attested by a ritual site associated with dugong bones in eastern Arabia dated to the fourth millennium B.C.E. (M?ry et al., 2009).
Tachash has also been adopted as the vernacular name of the dugong in modern Hebrew, apparently following the conclusions of early Israeli zoologists and without any particular etymological or rabbinical authority (Dr. J. Shoshani, pers. commun.). Shoshani is inclined to doubt that the dugong is meant, on the grounds that the dugong is not kosher (it seems unlikely that the hide of an "unclean" animal would have been used for the Tabernacle) and that tachash appears to carry a connotation of "spotted" or "multicolored". Cognate words meaning "dolphin" or "sea-mammal" and "to stretch (leather)" occur in Arabic and ancient Egyptian, respectively. See J. H. Bondi, Dem hebr?isch-ph?nizischen Sprachzweige angeh?rige Lehnw?rter in hieroglyphischen und hieratischen Texten, Leipzig: 1-130, 1886.
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Related Index Records (5)
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Dugong dugon (Müller, 1776) Palmer, 1895
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Bible, The (possible use of hide by Hebrews.) |
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Economic Uses
(SEE ALSO: Archeological Sites, Sirenia at; Hunting and Capture; Medicinal Applications; Religious, Superstitious, or Ornamental Use or Observance; Weed Control)
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Bible, The (?DD; Hebrews; Red Sea; hide.) |
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Red Sea
(SEE ALSO: Africa; Asia)
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Bible, The (?DD.) |
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Religious, Superstitious, or Ornamental Use or Observance
(SEE ALSO: Economic Use; Mermaid Legend)
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Bible, The (?DD; Hebrews; use of hide in Tabernacle, etc.) |
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Vernacular Names
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Bible, The (?DD; Hebrew, tachash.) |
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