Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 1.djvu/589

Rh ANIMALS 523 ANIMALS almost insufferable nuisance; the common house-fly, with the gnat, vexes men, while gail-Hies of every description tsetse, cestru, hippoboscUta, tabanus iiiaro- aiiiu.s, etc.. infest animals. (2) Zehlnilih is likewise the collective name of the Palestinian fly, but more specifically of the gad-fly. Thoujih a trifle less aniioj-inK than in Kgj'pt, flies were, however, deemed a plague severe enough in Palestine to induce the natives to have recourse to the power of a special god. Ba'al-zeblulbh, the master of the flies, that they and their cattle be protected against that scourge. Fowl. — This word which, in its most general sense, applies to anything that flies in the air (Gen., i, 20, 21), and which frequently occurs in the Bible with tliis meaning, is also sometimes useil in a narrower sense, as, for instance. III K., iv, 23, where it stands for all fatted birds that may be reckoned among the delicacies of a king's table; so likewi.se Gen., xv, 11 and Is., xviii, G, where it means birds of prey in general. In this latter signification allusions are made to their habit of perching on bare or dead trees, or of flocking togetlur in great num- bers. Fo.K. — Thus is usually reudereil the Hebrew, shii'al, which signifies Ixjth fox and jackal, even the latter more often than the former. The fox, however, was well known by the ancient Hebrews, and its cunning was as proverbial among them as among us (Ezech.. xiii, 4; Luke, xiii, 32). Fkog. — Though not rare in Palestine, this wortl is only mentioned in the O. T. in connection with the .second plague of Egyjit. Two species of frogs are known to live in the Holy Land: the rana esculenta, or common edible frog, and the hi/la arbnrea, or green tree-frog. The former throngs wherever there is water. In -■Vpoc, xvi, 13, the frog is the emblem of unclean spirits. G.vzELLE (Hebr., ^ebi, i. e. beauty) has been known at all times as one of the most graceful of all animals. Several species still exist in Palestine. Its ilifferent characteristics, its beauty of form, its swiftness, its timidity, the splendour and meekness of its eye. are in the present time, as well as during the age of the O. T. writers, the subjects of many comparisons. However, the name of the gazelle is scarcely, if at all, to be found in the Hible; in its stead we read roe, hart, or deer. Like a few other names of graceful and timid animals, the word gazelle has always been in the East a term of endear- ment in love. It wa-s also a woman's favourite name (I Par., viii. 9; IV K., .xii, 1; II Par., xxiv, 1; Acts, ix, .36). Gecko. — Probable translation of the 'inaqah of the Hebrews, generally renilercd in our versions by shrew-mou.se. for which it .seems it should be substituted. The gecko, ptyoilnclijlun gecko of the naturalists, is common in Palestine. Gier- E.GLE. — So docs ..V. render the Hebrew, rahdtn (Lev., xi, 18) or rCihamah (l)eut., xiv, 17). By the gier-eagle, the Egj'ptian vulture (neophron percnop- teru.'<). or Pharao's hen, is generally believed to be signifieil. However, whether this bird should be really recognized in the Hebrew, riihrim, is not ca.sy to decide; for while, on the one hand, the resemblance of the .rabic name for the Egj-ptian -ulture with the Hebrew word rafu'im .seems fairly to support the iilentification, the mention of the rnhi'im in a list of wading birds, on the other hand, casts a serious doubt on its correctness. Giraffe. — See Camelo- PAUDAHs (sup.). G.v.T. — The same insect called sciniph in Ex., viii, 16. 17 and Ps. civ (Hebr., cv), 31, and known under the famihar name of mosquito, ri(/«x pipiciis. is taken in the New Testament as an example of a trifle. Goat. — Though the sacred writers spoke of the ewe more frequently than of the goat, yet with the latter they were verj- well ac- quainteil. It w.as indeed, especially in the hilly regions e.ist of the Jorilan, an important item in the wealth of the Israelites. The goat of Palestine, particularly the capra membrica, aiTords numerous illustrations and allusions. Its remarkably long ears are referreil to by .mos, iii, 12; its glossy dark hair furnishes a graphic comparison to the author of Cant., iv, 1; vi, 4; this hair was woven into a strong cloth; the skin tanned with the hair on served to make bottles for milk, wine, oil, water, etc. The kid was an almost es.sential part of a feast. The goat is menlioneil in Dan., viii, 5, as the .symbol of the Maceilonian empire. The grand Gospel .scene of the .separation of the just and the wicked on the last day is borrowed from the customs of the shepherds in the East. Go.T, Wii.d, Job, xxxix, 1; I K., xxiv, 3, where it is an equivalent fori/"' il, translated, Ps., ciii (Hebr., civ), 18, by hart, Prov., v, 19. by fawn, is most probably the ibex syriacus, a denizen of the rocky summits [Ps. ciii (Hebr., civ), IS]. It was regarded as a model of grace (Prov., v, 19), and its name, Jaliel, Jahala, w;i.s frequently given to persons (Judges, v, 6; I, Esd., ii, 56, etc.). Gras.s- HOPPER. is probably the best rendering for the He- brew, liagiib [Lev., xi, 22; Num., xiii, 34 (Hebr., xiii, ,33); Is., xl, 22; Eccles., xii, 5, etc.], as in the ..V.,if the Hebrew word be interpreted "hopper" as Credncr suggests; the D.Y. uses the word locust. The grasslioppcr is one of the smaller species of the locust tribe. Griffon. — So D.V., Lev., xi, 13 (whereas Deut., xiv, 12, we read "grvpe") translates the Hebrew, ptT^s, the "breaker" whereby the 1am- mergeyer or Deartled vulture, gi/ptrtus t)arl>atus. the largest and most magnificent of the birds of prey is probably intended. The opinion that the Hible liere speaks of the fabulous grilTon, i. e. a monster begotten from a lion and an eagle, and characterized by the beak, neck, and wings of an eagle and the legs and rump of a lion, is based only on a misinter- pretation of the word. Griffon-Vultuke, a probable translation in several cases of the Hebrew, nfshcr, regularly rendered by eagle. This most majestic bird (ipjps jidvus), the type, as it seems, of the cagle- headeil figures of A.s,syrian sculpture, is most likely referred to in Mich., i, 16, on account of its bare neck and head. Grvpe, Deut., xiv, 12. See Griffon (*-u».). Haje. — See Asp (sup.). H.tJiE. — Mentioned Lev., xi, 6; Deut., xiv, 7, in the list of the unclean quad- rupeils. Several species live in Palestine: tepus si/riacus in the north; tepus judccw in the south and the Jordan valley, together with tepus sinaiticus, lepus agi/ptiacu.'i ami tepus isabellinus. The state- ment of the Hible that the hare "cheweth the cud" is a classical ilitficulty. It should be noticed that this is not the rea.son why the hare is reckoned among the unclean animals; but the cause thereof should be sought for in the fact that though it chews the cud, which certainly it appears to do, it tloes not divide the hoof. IIart and Hind. — Either the fallow-deer, still occasionally found in the Holy Land, or the red deer, now extinct, or the deer generally. It has afTorded many illustrations to the HibUcal writers and poets, especially by its fleetness (Cant., ii, 9; Is., xxxv, 6), its surefootedness [Ps. xvii (Hebr., xviii), 34; Hab., iii. 19], its affection (Prov., v, 19), and its habit of hiding its young (Job, xxxix, 1). II.WVK (Hebr.. 7i<"f) is, in the Scrip- tures, a general denomination including, with the falcon, all the smaller birds of prey, the kestrel, merlin, sparrow-hawk, hobbv, and others, most com- mon in Palestine. NiGHT-flAWK, A.V. for Hebrew, /<'i/iHi«.s, more exactly translated in D.V. by owl; some bird of the latter kind is indeed undoubtedly intended, probably the bam owl (»trij flatnmea). Sparrow-Hawk (Jalco nims), one of the hawks of Palestine, wi common that it might be regardetl, ia reference to the Hible. as the hawk par excellence. Hedoehoo. — See Kricius (sup.). Hen. — See Cock (sup.). Heron. — Mentioned Lev., xi, 19, in the list of unclean birds, but probably iu the wrong