SNAIL (שַׁבְּלוּל, H8671, snail, all Eng. VSS. [Ps 58:8]; חֹ֖מֶט, snail KJV; sand lizard, ASV, RSV [Lev 11:30]. חֹ֖מֶט is in the list of unclean reptiles and the RSV tr. is preferred [see Lizard for discussion]). The context of Psalm 58:8 confirms the identity. “The snail which dissolves into slime” (RSV) is preferred to “the snail which melteth” (KJV, ASV). The visible trail formed by the snail’s secretion was thought to show that the snail was melting away. Many snails, with a wide range of food habits, live in most regions of Pal. and some have become pests in the irrigated fields, where the added water allows them to be active for a longer part of the year.