coney Summary and Overview

(Heb. shaphan; i.e., "the hider"), an animal which inhabits the mountain gorges and the rocky districts of Arabia Petraea and the Holy Land. "The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks" (Prov. 30:26; Ps. 104:18). They are gregarious, and "exceeding wise" (Prov. 30:24), and are described as chewing the cud (Lev. 11:5; Deut. 14:7). The animal intended by this name is known among naturalists as the Hyrax Syriacus. It is neither a ruminant nor a rodent, but is regarded as akin to the rhinoceros. When it is said to "chew the cud," the Hebrew word so used does not necessarily imply the possession of a ruminant stomach. "The lawgiver speaks according to appearances; and no one can watch the constant motion of the little creature's jaws, as it sits continually working its teeth, without recognizing the naturalness of the expression" (Tristram, Natural History of the Bible). It is about the size and color of a rabbit, though clumsier in structure, and without a tail. Its feet are not formed for digging, and therefore it has its home not in burrows but in the clefts of the rocks. "Coney" is an obsolete English word for "rabbit."

(shaphan), a gregarious animal of the class Pachydermata, which is found in Israel, living in the caves and clefts of the rocks, and has been erroneously identified with the rabbit or coney. Its scientific name as Hyrax syriacus. The hyrax satisfies exactly the expressions in #Ps 104:18; Pr 30:26| Its color is gray or brown on the back, white on the belly; it is like the alpine marmot, scarcely of the size of the domestic cat, having long hair, a very short tail and round ears. It is found on Lebanon and in the Jordan and Dead Sea valleys.

CO'NEY (the hider), a small animal (Hyrux Syriacus) found in Syria and Arabia, and much resembling the rabbit in size, general appearance, and habits. Ps 104:18 ,-Prov 30:26. Its Hebrew name is appropriate, from its dwelling in the rocks. The coney, however, does not burrow, but, like the rhinoceros and hippopotamus (with which naturalists class it), has hoofs rather than nails upon its toes. It is almost tailless, has short ears, is clothed in tawny fur, and is a very timid and harmless creature. Solomon justly pronounced the coneys "exceeding wise." So great is their wariness that they have never been trapped and can but rarely be shot. They are accustomed to feed in small companies upon the herbage near their fastnesses, but it is said they always first post a sentinel, and at a squeak of alarm, on the least indication of danger, they all plunge into their retreats. The references to this animal in the Coney. (Hyrax Syriacus. After Houghton.) Law (Lev 11:5; Deut 14:7) are to be understood in a popular sense. Though not strictly a ruminant animal, the coney, like the hare and rabbit, has a habit of moving its jaws as if chewing, while it does not completely divide the hoof, as does the ox or deer. The coney "is an exceedingly active creature, leaping from rock to rock with wonderful rapidity, its little sharp hoofs giving it a firm hold of the hard and irregular surface of the stony ground. Even in captivity it retains much of its activity, and flies about its cage with a rapidity that seems more suitable to a squirrel than to an animal allied to the rhinoceros and hippopotamus. ... It is a tolerably prolific animal, rearing four or five young at a birth, and keeping them in a soft bed of hay and fur, in which they are almost hidden. If surprised in its hole and seized, the Hyrnx will bite very sharply, its long, chisel-edged teeth inflicting severe wounds on the hand that attempts to grasp it. But it is of a tolerably docile disposition, and in a short time learns to know its owner, and to delight in receiving his caresses." J.G. Wood.

shaphan, from the root "to hide"; the S. Arab, thofun; the Syrian Arab, weber. A pachydermatous animal, gregarious, greybacked, white on the belly, with long hair, short tail, and round ears; common on the ridges of Lebanon; living in caves and clefts; the Hyrax Syriacus, not the rabbit or coney. Proverbs 30:26; "the coneys are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks:" exactly true of the hyrax; with weak teeth, short incisors, and nails instead, it seems defenseless, but its security is in rocky hiding places, such as Ain Feshkah on the Dead Sea shore. "No animal" (says Tristram). "gave us so much trouble to secure." It is described as "chewing the cud" (Leviticus 11:5; Deuteronomy 14:7), in phenomenal language, because the motion of its jaws is like that of ruminating animals; so also the hare. Though in some respects like the rodentia, it is really akin to the rhinoceros; its molar teeth differ only in the size; its body is as large as the rabbit. The "exceeding wisdom" of the coneys is illustrated in their setting an old male sentry near their holes to warn his companions when danger approaches, by a whistling sound.