Richard Whitekettle, «Rats are Like Snakes, and Hares are Like Goats: A Study in Israelite Land Animal Taxonomy», Vol. 82 (2001) 345-362
Israelite taxonomic thought drew a contrast between a land animal taxon referred to by the words Cr#$ or #&mr that contained animals such as rats and snakes (Land Animals I), and a land animal taxon referred to by the words hmhb or hyx that contained animals such as hares and goats (Land Animals II). This essay shows that the Land Animals I taxon was characterized by locomotory movement in the horizontal plane and the Land Animals II taxon was characterized by locomotory movement in the vertical plane. Thus, the contrast was between land animals that were perceived to move along the ground (Land Animals I) and land animals that were perceived to move over the ground (Land Animals II).
II. Textual Descriptions of Cr#$/#&mr Land Movement
The words Cr#$ and #&mr were sometimes used to refer to non-mechanical aspects of locomotion. For example, in several texts, the water or ground is said ‘to teem’ (Cr#$/#&mr) with a large population of animals (Cr#$, Gen 1,20-21; Exod 7,28; Ps 105,30; #&mr, Lev 20,25b). In several other texts, the fertile increase and spread of either human beings or animals is referred to with the words hrp, hbr, and Cr#$ (Human Beings, Gen 9,7; Exod 1,7; Land Animals and Aerial Animals, Gen 8,17). From this, it might be thought that the Land Animals I taxon contains animals that are found in large numbers and move together; by contrast, then, the Land Animals II taxon would contain animals that are found in small numbers and move individually. However, the solitary nature of a lizard (a member of the Land Animals I taxon) and the communal nature of sheep (members of the Land Animals II taxon) shows that this is not how the two classes of Land Animals were distinguished from one another.
There are two texts which suggest something of the mechanical qualities of Cr#$/#&mr movement. Hab 1,14b states that #&mr Animals have no ruler, a reference, possibly, to a haphazard movement pattern, perhaps, especially, of a large group of animals10. Ps 104,20 mentions Wild Land Animals of the Forest (r(y-wtyx) moving about (#&mrt) at night, which suggests furtive, scurrying movement. From this, it might be thought that the Land Animals I taxon contains animals that move in a haphazard, furtive and scurrying manner; by contrast, then, the Land Animals II taxon would contain animals that move in an organized, intentional, and deliberate manner. However, the deliberate movements of a spider (a member of the Land Animals I taxon) and the furtive, nervous movements of a hare (a member of the Land Animals II taxon) demonstrate that this is not how the Israelites distinguished between Land Animals I and Land Animals II.