BAT (עֲטַלֵּף, H6491; All Eng. VSS). This tr. is generally accepted. Some commentators consider that the bat is also referred to in Leviticus 11:20 from their manner of crawling, “All fowls that creep” (KJV). עﯴף, H6416, “insects” (RSV). Bat is first mentioned as forbidden food (Lev 11:19). Some twenty species of bat are recorded for Pal.; they live in all regions, being plentiful around the desert edge and in oases. Their powerful musky smell and their habit of building up large deposits of droppings at their roosts discourage their use as food, but they do much good by killing insects, and their guano is collected as manure. Though most eat insects, the Egyp. fruit bat feeds on fruits and can be a pest in orchards; this and other large bats are regularly eaten in some countries. Bats are active at night and sleep hanging upside down; their unusual habits and appearance make them the subject of strange legends, sometimes with evil association. Isaiah 2:20, “will cast forth their idols...to the bats.” Also Epistle of Jeremiah 22, describing the idols worshiped by the Israelites “upon their bodies and heads sit bats.” Few people other than experts distinguish between the many bats and one would not expect to find more than one Heb. word.

Bibliography D. Harrison, Footsteps in the Sand (1959).