The Hebrew word translated as 'hare' is arneveth. It is a gnawing animal of the Leporidae family, closely related to but larger than the rabbit. Unlike rabbits, hare young are usually not born in underground burrows; they are fully furred, active, and have open eyes at birth. The average length of a hare is about 2 ft (0.6 m), and it has a grayish or brownish color. It features a divided lip, a cocked tail, long ears, and elongated hind limbs and feet. Hares can reach speeds of up to 43 mph (70 km/h).
The Law of Moses prohibited hares as food, referring to them as chewers of the cud (Leviticus 11:4, 6; Deuteronomy 14:7). Although hares and rabbits lack a multichambered stomach and do not regurgitate food for rechewing—characteristics associated with ruminants—the Hebrew term for 'chewing' literally means 'bringing up.'
The modern scientific classification was not the basis for what the Israelites in Moses' day understood as 'cud chewing'. According to The Imperial Bible-Dictionary: "It is obvious that the hare does in repose chew over and over the food which it has taken at some time; and this action has always been popularly considered a chewing of the cud. Even our poet Cowper, a careful observer of natural phenomena, who has recorded his observations on the three hares which he domesticated, affirms that they 'chewed the cud all day till evening.'" - Edited by P. Fairbairn, London, 1874, Vol. I, p. 700.
Francois Bourliere (The Natural History of Mammals, 1964, p.41) notes, "The habit of 'refection,' or passing the food twice through the intestine instead of only once, seems to be a common phenomenon in rabbits and hares. Domestic rabbits usually eat and swallow their night droppings without chewing, which in the morning can form up to half the total contents of the stomach. In wild rabbits, refection occurs twice daily, and the same habit is reported for the European hare... It is believed that this habit provides the animals with large amounts of B vitamins produced by bacteria in the food within the large intestine." - Mammals of the World by E.P. Walker (1964, Vol. II, p. 647) suggests, "This may be similar to 'chewing the cud' in ruminant mammals."
The Law of Moses prohibited hares as food, referring to them as chewers of the cud (Leviticus 11:4, 6; Deuteronomy 14:7). Although hares and rabbits lack a multichambered stomach and do not regurgitate food for rechewing—characteristics associated with ruminants—the Hebrew term for 'chewing' literally means 'bringing up.'
The modern scientific classification was not the basis for what the Israelites in Moses' day understood as 'cud chewing'. According to The Imperial Bible-Dictionary: "It is obvious that the hare does in repose chew over and over the food which it has taken at some time; and this action has always been popularly considered a chewing of the cud. Even our poet Cowper, a careful observer of natural phenomena, who has recorded his observations on the three hares which he domesticated, affirms that they 'chewed the cud all day till evening.'" - Edited by P. Fairbairn, London, 1874, Vol. I, p. 700.
Francois Bourliere (The Natural History of Mammals, 1964, p.41) notes, "The habit of 'refection,' or passing the food twice through the intestine instead of only once, seems to be a common phenomenon in rabbits and hares. Domestic rabbits usually eat and swallow their night droppings without chewing, which in the morning can form up to half the total contents of the stomach. In wild rabbits, refection occurs twice daily, and the same habit is reported for the European hare... It is believed that this habit provides the animals with large amounts of B vitamins produced by bacteria in the food within the large intestine." - Mammals of the World by E.P. Walker (1964, Vol. II, p. 647) suggests, "This may be similar to 'chewing the cud' in ruminant mammals."
