TORTOISE

TORTOISE
TORTOISE (Mod. Heb. צָב), a reptile. In Israel there are several species of both land and water tortoises; the latter lives in both sweet and salt water. Some commentators identify the צָב (ẓav), enumerated among the unclean reptiles (Lev. 11:29), with the tortoise, and on this basis it is so called in modern Hebrew. According to rabbinical sources, however, the ẓav is a species of lizard . Thus the expression "the ẓav after its kind" is explained as including the salamander and other reptiles which bear no resemblance to the tortoise (see Sifra 6:5). Similarly a resemblance between the ẓav and the snake is mentioned (Ḥul. 127a), and the ḥardon, a species of lizard of the family of Agamidae (TJ, Ber. 8:6, 12b). From this last source it is apparent that "the ẓav after its kind" includes the Agamidae family, of which six species are found in Israel, the largest of which is the Uromastix aegyptius called in Arabic dabb. It is found in the Negev and the Arabah and is herbivorous. The Bedouin hunt it and regard its flesh as a great delicacy. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Lewysohn, Zool, 230f.; F.S. Bodenheimer, Animal and Man in Bible Lands (1960), 10, 99; J. Feliks, Animal World of the Bible (1962), 10. (Jehuda Feliks)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • Tortoise — Datos generales Origen Chicago, Illinois, Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Tortoise — Tor toise, n. [OE. tortuce, fr. OF. tortis crooked, fr. L. tortus twisted, crooked, contorted, p. p. of torquere, tortum, to wind; cf. F. tortue tortoise, LL. tortuca, tartuca, Pr. tortesa crookedness, tortis crooked. so called in allusion to its …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tortoise — Жанр построк Годы 1990 по сей день Страна …   Википедия

  • tortoise — (n.) 1550s, altered (perhaps by influence of porpoise) from Middle English tortuse (late 15c.), tortuce (mid 15c.), tortuge (late 14c.), from M.L. tortuca (mid 13c.), perhaps from L.L. tartaruchus of the underworld (see TURTLE (Cf. turtle)).… …   Etymology dictionary

  • tortoise — [tôrt′əs] n. pl. tortoises or tortoise [ME tortuce < ML tortuca, altered (prob. by assoc. with L tortus, twisted) < VL * tartaruca < ? LGr tartarouchos, evil demon, orig., controlling Tartarus] a turtle, esp. one that lives on land, as… …   English World dictionary

  • tortoise — should be pronounced taw tǝs. The form taw toyz, with the second syllable like poise, is non standard …   Modern English usage

  • tortoise — ► NOUN ▪ a slow moving land reptile with a scaly or leathery domed shell into which it can retract its head and legs. ORIGIN Latin tortuca …   English terms dictionary

  • Tortoise — Taxobox name = Tortoises image width = 250px image caption = A Galápagos Giant Tortoise regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Reptilia ordo = Testudines subordo = Cryptodira superfamilia = Testudinoidea familia = Testudinidae subdivision… …   Wikipedia

  • Tortoise — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Tortoise (homonymie). Tortoise …   Wikipédia en Français

  • tortoise — /tawr teuhs/, n. 1. a turtle, esp. a terrestrial turtle. 2. a very slow person or thing. 3. testudo (def. 1). [1350 1400; var. of earlier (15th century) tortuse, tortose, tortuce, ME tortuca < ML tortuca, for LL tartarucha (fem. adj.) of Tartarus …   Universalium

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