חֹ֫מֶט (cho.met)
cho.met
lizard
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun cho.met refers to a specific type of lizard found in the biblical list of unclean creeping things in Leviticus 11:30. It appears only once in the entire Old Testament, marking it as a rare lexical item within Scripture. The text categorizes it among animals that are forbidden for consumption, placing it alongside other small creatures like the gecko and the chameleon.
Because of its solitary occurrence, the exact species remains uncertain to modern scholars. Lexical sources suggest it may denote an extinct animal or a creature whose identity has been lost to time, noting that the precise meaning is unknown. This ambiguity highlights how some biblical terms reflect local fauna that are no longer recognizable by name today.
Its placement in Leviticus serves a descriptive rather than zoological purpose. The word functions as part of a ritual boundary system, distinguishing clean from unclean animals for the Israelite community. While we cannot identify the exact reptile, its inclusion underscores the detailed nature of ancient dietary laws and the specific attention given to the natural world in biblical holiness codes.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word cho.met appears just once in the Hebrew Bible, listed among unclean creeping things in Leviticus 11:30. Its rarity reminds us that Scripture engages with the specific details of the ancient world, even when some terms remain mysterious to us today.
For your faith, this obscurity is not a barrier but an invitation to trust God’s wisdom. The Israelites were called to holiness through obedience to these distinctions, regardless of whether they could identify every creature perfectly. You can find comfort in knowing that God values faithful adherence to His word, even when the full picture of history is hidden from us.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ the/ skink1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וְ/הַ/חֹ֖מֶט1×
Key Verses
-
Leviticus 11:30
the gecko, and the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink, and the chameleon.
This verse places cho.met within a specific list of unclean animals, highlighting its role in the ritual boundaries given to Israel.