Hebrew word · H8580

תִּנְשֶׁ֫מֶת

vehatinshamet

chameleon

The name is built on the root נשׁם, "to breathe, pant, gasp" (the same root as neshamah, "breath"). It names two different creatures in the Torah. (1) A bird, here and in Lev 11:18. (2) A small "swarming" land creature in Lev 11:30, usually taken to be the chameleon, which puffs itself up with air.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) an unclean animal of some kind

1a) an unclean bird

1a1) perhaps the ibis, water-hen, species of owl, barn owl

1b) an unclean lizard

1b1) perhaps the chameleon

1c) perhaps an extinct lizard or bird, exact meaning unknown

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Deuteronomy 14:16

Range of meaning

The name is built on the root נשׁם, "to breathe, pant, gasp" (the same root as neshamah, "breath"). It names two different creatures in the Torah. (1) A bird, here and in Lev 11:18. (2) A small "swarming" land creature in Lev 11:30, usually taken to be the chameleon, which puffs itself up with air. Some have suggested the mole. For the bird, HALOT and most modern scholars favor the barn owl (Tyto alba), known for its hissing and snoring sounds. Other proposals are a waterbird (the swamphen) and a swan.

Against the English

BSB, NIV and NASB say "white owl," ESV and NLT "barn owl," and WEB "horned owl." The KJV and YLT have "swan." The owl renderings are reasonable guesses based on the root and on the surrounding owls. "Swan" comes from the ancient Greek and Latin translations, not from the Hebrew.

How it drifted

The KJV's "swan" follows the Latin Vulgate (cygnus), which in turn follows the Greek tradition (kyknos). Swans are only rare winter visitors to the region. Nothing in the Hebrew points to a swan.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 11:18 (bird) and Lev 11:30 (reptile). The Septuagint in Lev 11:18 has porphyriōn (the purple swamphen). In Deuteronomy its list at this point reads heron, swan and ibis, in an order that does not match the Hebrew one-to-one. The Vulgate of Lev 11:18 has cygnus (swan). In medieval Jewish tradition, Rashi glosses the bird tinshemet with the Old French word for "bat" and the reptile tinshemet as "mole." This shows that even the rabbis had lost the sure identification.

From the study of Leviticus 11:30

Range of meaning

From nāšam, 'to breathe, pant' (cf. nᵉšāmāh, 'breath'). It names two different creatures in the same chapter: an unclean bird in Lev 11:18 and Deut 14:16 (usually 'white owl' or 'barn owl'), and here a ground creature, usually identified as the chameleon. Both the hissing owl and the chameleon, which puffs itself up and hisses, fit a 'breather' name.

Against the English

Modern versions: 'chameleon'. KJV and YLT: 'mole', following the Septuagint's aspalax and the Vulgate's talpa. The KJV gives 'swan' for the bird in verse 18.

How it drifted

The Greek tradition took this as the mole. Rashi also gives the Old French word for mole. The KJV inherited that reading.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint: aspalax (mole-rat / mole). Vulgate: talpa (mole). The root is the common Hebrew root for breath. Ancient writers such as Pliny reported that the chameleon lives on air, which would fit a 'breather' name.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 2

  1. Leviticus 11:18 הַתִּנְשֶׁ֥מֶת the barn owl

    the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,

  2. Leviticus 11:30 וְהַתִּנְשָֽׁמֶת׃ and the chameleon

    the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the skink, and the chameleon.

    Here: It comes from the root nasham, 'to breathe or pant', so it may mean 'the puffer' or 'the hisser'. That fits the chameleon, which inflates itself and hisses, and which ancient people believed lived on air. The same word names an unclean bird in Lev 11:18 (probably an owl). The Greek and Latin translations and the KJV made it 'mole' here.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 14:16 וְהַתִּנְשָֽׁמֶת׃ and the barn owl

    the little owl, the great owl, the white owl,

    Here: The name probably comes from the root נשׁם ("to breathe, pant, snort"), so roughly "the panting/hissing one." As a bird it is most often taken to be the barn owl, which hisses and snores. The same word names a small reptile in Lev 11:30, which is why the supplied lexicon glosses it "chameleon." Here, in a list of birds, a bird is meant. Here it carries no object marker, which is a stylistic variation and does not change the meaning.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.