To what particular animal the name shaphan really belongs, has been much disputed among the learned. In our version, it is rendered by the word coney or rabbit; in which our translators have followed the greater part of modern interpreters. Several circumstances seem to favour this interpretation; it is twice connected in the law of Moses with the hare, as if it were a kindred animal; the noun in the plural, is rendered hares by the Seventy, in which they have been followed by many ancient interpreters of great name: the meaning of shaphan, seems to correspond with the timidity of the rabbit; and it is certain, that the Rabbinical writers formerly interpreted the original word in this manner. Besides, the rabbit is a gregarious animal, of a diminutive size, and found in great numbers in the plain of Jericho.b But these facts are not sufficient to establish the point for which they are brought forward; for, instead of seeking a habitation in the fissures of the rocks, the rabbit delights to burrow in the sandy downs. Sometimes indeed, he digs a receptacle for himself in rocky eminences, where the openings are filled with earth, but he generally prefers a dwelling in the sand, a situation for which he is evidently formed by Nature. The words of David clearly shew, that the instincts and habits of the shaphan, as naturally and constantly lead him to the rocks for shelter, as those of his associate impel him to rove among the mountains. He does not allude to an occasional residence, but to a fixed and permanent abode; not to the wanderings of a few, but to the habitual choice of a whole species. But the rabbit as uniformly seeks the sandy plain, as the wild goat the summit of the mountain:

"Gaudet in effossis habitare cuniculus antris."

b Doubdan. Voyage de la Terre sainte, p. 505.

Martial.

The shaphan, according to Solomon, discovers great wisdom and sagacity in retiring from the plain country, to the natural fastness which the almighty Creator has provided for its reception; but it is no mark of wisdom in the rabbit, that he forsakes occasionally the sandy plain, which he is naturally formed to occupy, and retires to the rocks which are so little suited to his habits and manners. This is an act of rashness or folly, not of wisdom. The wise man is also noting the sagacity of a whole species, not of a rambling individual; but the species is to be found on the plain, not among the rocks. Nor is the rabbit a feeble creature; he runs with considerable swiftness; and he is provided with the means of digging his burrow, which he employs with so great energy, particularly when alarmed by the approach of danger, that he buries himself in the sand with surprising rapidity. To exert his strength, according to existing circumstances, is all the sagacity which he discovers; and this it must be admited, is not peculiar to him, but common to the hare, the hedgehog, and many other animals. He betrays no foresight, except in preparing his dwelling, and he is never known to supply the want of strength by any contrivance. The shaphan, as described both by David and Solomon, exhibits a very different character, and therefore, cannot be the same animal. But if we apply these characters to the daman Israel, or as Mr. Bruce calls it the ashkoko, the identity of this animal with the shaphan of the Scriptures, will instantly appear: “ The daman is a harmless creature, of the same size and quality with the rabbit, and with the like incurvating posture and disposition of the fore-teeth. But it is of a browner colour, with smaller eyes, and a head more pointed, like the marmot's; the fore-feet likewise are short, Dr. Shaw's Trav. vol. ii, p. 160, 161.

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and the hinder are nearly as long in proportion as those of the jerboa. Though this animal is known sometimes to burrow in the ground, yet he is so much attached to the rock, that he is seldom or never seen on the ground, or from among large stones in the mouth of caves, where he fixes his constant residence. He is gregarious, as the wise man intimates, and lives in families; he is a native of Judea, Palestine, and Arabia, and consequently, must have been familiar to Solomon, and other inspired writers. The royal Psalmist, in a passage already quoted, describes him with great propriety, and joins him with other animals which were perfectly known in that country. Solomon favours us with a more detailed account of his character: "There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise; the sephanim are a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks." This exactly corresponds with the character which natural historians give us of the daman Israel, which they represent as equally feeble in body and temper. The toes of his fore-feet very much resemble the fingers of the human hand; his feet are perfectly round, very pulpy or fleshy, liable to be excoriated or hurt, and of a soft fleshy substance. They are quite indequate to dig holes in the ground, much more to force their way into the hard rock. Unable or afraid to stand upright on his feet, he steals along every moment as it were apprehensive of danger, his belly almost close to the ground, advancing a few steps at a time, and then pausing, as if afraid or uncertain whether he should proceed. His whole appearance and behaviour indicate a mild, feeble, and timid disposition;

d Plin. Hist. Natur. lib. viii, cap. 37, and lib. x, cap. 65. Nat. Animal. lib. xv, cap. 26.

Elian de

which is confirmed by the ease with which he is tamed. Conscious as it were of his total inability to dig in the ground, or to mingle with the sterner beasts of the field, he builds his house on rocks, more inaccessible than those to which the coney retires, and in which he resides in greater safety, not by exertions of strength, for he has it not, but by his own sagacity and judgment. Solomon has therefore justly characterized him “a feeble animal, but exceeding wise."

The Arabian writers confound the daman Israel, with the jerboa, which seems to be a species of rat. It ruminates, builds its house on the rocks, or digs its abode on the ground, but always in some high and rocky place, where it may be safe from the influx of waters, and the foot of the wild beast. If we may believe the Arabic writer quoted by Bochart, these diminutive animals discover no little sagacity in the conduct of public affairs, particularly in appointing a leader, whose business it is to give them notice on the approach of danger, and who in case of neglect is punished with death, and succeeded by another more attentive to their safety. Mr. Bruce, on the contrary, contends with great earnestness, that the habits of the jerboa are quite different from those which Solomon ascribes to the shaphan; he asserts, that the jerboa always digs his habitation in the smoother places of the desert, especially where the soil is fixed gravel; for in that chiefly he burrows, dividing his hole below into many mansions. He is not gregarious like the shaphan, nor is he distinguished for his feebleness, which he supplies by his wisdom. Although, therefore, he ruminates in common with some other animals, and abounds in Judea, he • Shaw's Trav. vol. i, p. 323. f Hieroz. lib. iii, c. 33, p. 1001.

cannot be the shaphan of the Scripture. Hence, it is probable, that the Arabian writers improperly confounded the daman Israel, or shaphan, and the jerboa; and it may be considered as nearly certain, that the shaphan of Solomon is not the rabbit, but the daman Israel, which, though bearing some resemblance to it, is an animal of a different species.

The Mouse."

This animal is so very diminutive, that the Jewish naturalist places it among the reptiles, refusing it the honour of appearing among the quadrupeds. But, small and apparently insignificant as it is, in the oriental regions it often produces greater calamities than are experienced from all the beasts of prey with which they are infested. Formidable by its activity, its voraciousness, and its countless numbers, it lays waste the fields of Palestine and Syria, devours their harvests, and spreads famine and wretchedness among the helpless inhabitants. The extent and severity of the distress in which its ravages frequently involve the people of those countries, are sufficiently attested by the offering of five golden mice, from the lords of the Philistines, to appease the wrath of God, and avert the plague under which they had so greatly suffered. The account of this transaction is recorded in the first book of Samuel, and runs in these terms: "Then said they, what shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice, which mar the land; and

* See Zoolog. Essays, Christ. Mag. vol. vi.

Bochart. Hieroz. lib. iii, p. 1017. Plin. Hist. Natur. lib. x, cap. 65. VOL. II.

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