WEASEL (חֹ֫לֶד, H2700, Lev 11:29, all Eng. VSS). This tr. is generally accepted, though no positive evidence supports it. Some inferences can be drawn from the context of the single occurrence. It is one of “the creeping things that creep on the earth,” a phrase which aptly describes a weasel’s movement. The mouse follows, and is of the same order of size. Their scent glands make weasels unsuitable for food. A further reason for their being declared unclean is that in Egypt they were sacred to the moon. In Greece and Rome they were kept to control mice before cats became available. Weasels are not uncommon in Pal. and the tr. may well be correct.