The rock badger, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.
Parallel translations
- WEB The cony, because he chews the cud but doesn’t have a parted hoof, he is unclean to you.
- KJV And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
- NKJV the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you;
- NASB Likewise, the rock hyrax, for though it chews cud, it does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you.
- NLT The hyrax chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The cony (rock badger) is unclean because it appears to chew the cud but lacks a split hoof. It too fails the twofold test.
Overview
The description reflects how the animal appeared to Israelite observers, classifying creatures by visible, everyday traits rather than modern zoology. The point is practical discernment for daily life, not scientific taxonomy. Like the other examples, it reinforced Israel's distinct identity and dependence on God's word for ordinary decisions.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 104:18The high mountains are for the wild goats, the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.
- Prov 30:26the rock badgers are creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks;
- Job 36:14They die in their youth, among the male shrine prostitutes.
- 2 Tim 3:5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
- Matt 7:26But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
- Rom 2:18–24if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;
- Titus 1:16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
- Phil 3:18–19For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 11:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.