Exodus 25:5 badgers skin, sea cows, porpoises, goat skins or fine leather?

[brandplucked]

Exodus 26:14; 25:5


"Thou shalt make a covering for the tent of ram's skins dyed red, and a covering of BADGER'S skins".

Many commentators are all over the board on what the Hebrew word means here. Some even go so far as to say that the badger did not exist in Israel, Palestine or the desert area, yet all one has to do is do an internet search of "badger", oftenly referred to as "the pound for pound toughest animal on the face of the earth", and you will see that badgers DO exist in Israel and Palestine even today and have existed throughout history in almost every area on the face of the earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_Badger

http://www.allposters.com/-st/Badgers-Ph...99108_.htm

http://www.napak.com/honey_badger_II.html

Bible versions as well are totally confused when it comes to translating this word.

Bible translations that agree with the King James Bible's "badgers" are the NKJV 1982, Geneva 1599, Darby 1870,Young's, the 1936 Jewish translation (Hebrew Pub.Co. New York), Webster's 1833, KJV 21st Century 1994, Third Millenium Bible 1998, Rotherham's Emphasized Bible 1902, and the Spanish Reina Valera 1569, 1909, 1960 and 1995, and the Italian Diodati and the New Diodoti 1991, the New Life Bible 1992, Lesser Bible 1853, Natural Israelite Bible 2008 all agree with the KJB reading of BADGER'S SKINS.

[Coverings of Badgers' Skins
Exodus 26:14

Badgers' skins were tough, durable, non-porous, water repellent, and weather resistant. Protection was its purpose.

Beauty was inside the Tabernacle. The outside withstood the rain, storms, and the sun. Jesus withstood the torture, ridicule, and shame of the Cross for our sake. He weathered the storm that we might enjoy the beauty inside.

No dimensions were given for the two upper coverings of rams' skins dyed red or badgers' skins. The cleansing power of Jesus' blood (rams' skins dyed red) is immeasurable. The durable badgers' skins typify the boundless protection and security of believers in Christ.

Non-Christians never see the inner beauty of Christ. They only see the plain boring looking badgers' skins. We who are in Christ are able to enjoy the beauty of the gold!

Distributed by Hope of Israel Baptist Mission - Copyright 1997-2006.]

The NASB says the covering would be "of PORPOISE skins" while the NIV has "sea cows". The RSV and the 2001 ESV both have "GOATSKINS". The Catholic Douay tells us they were "violet colored skins"; Lamsa's 1936 translation says: "skins dyed with vermillion"; The 1917 JPS says "sealskins", Green's 'literal' has "DUGONG skins", and Wallace's NET version and the NRSV say "FINE LEATHER", and the Holman Standard says "manatee skins". Hey, they're all about the same, right? While wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years, badger's skins might be troublesome to get, but how many "porpoises" (NASB) or "sea cows" (NIV) do you think they could have scrounged up? Possibly porpoises or sea cows would have been found in the Red Sea, but the wandering Israelites were not near the Red Sea during their wilderness wanderings, but in the desert.


Will Kinney

[Upholder]

brandplucked Wrote:The NASB says the covering would be "of PORPOISE skins" while the NIV has "sea cows". The RSV and the 2001 ESV both have "GOATSKINS". The Catholic Douay tells us they were "violet colored skins"; Lamsa's 1936 translation says: "skins dyed with vermillion"; The 1917 JPS says "sealskins", Green's 'literal' has "DUGONG skins", and Wallace's NET version and the NRSV say "FINE LEATHER", and the Holman Standard says "manatee skins". Hey, they're all about the same, right? While wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years, badger's skins might be troublesome to get, but how many "porpoises" (NASB) or "sea cows" (NIV) do you think they could have scrounged up? Possibly porpoises or sea cows would have been found in the Red Sea, but the wandering Israelites were not near the Red Sea during their wilderness wanderings, but in the desert.

Porpoise skins? Sealskins? Sea cow skins?
Man! That must have been one very wet wilderness!

[brandplucked]

Upholder Wrote:

brandplucked Wrote:The NASB says the covering would be "of PORPOISE skins" while the NIV has "sea cows". The RSV and the 2001 ESV both have "GOATSKINS". The Catholic Douay tells us they were "violet colored skins"; Lamsa's 1936 translation says: "skins dyed with vermillion"; The 1917 JPS says "sealskins", Green's 'literal' has "DUGONG skins", and Wallace's NET version and the NRSV say "FINE LEATHER", and the Holman Standard says "manatee skins". Hey, they're all about the same, right? While wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years, badger's skins might be troublesome to get, but how many "porpoises" (NASB) or "sea cows" (NIV) do you think they could have scrounged up? Possibly porpoises or sea cows would have been found in the Red Sea, but the wandering Israelites were not near the Red Sea during their wilderness wanderings, but in the desert.

Porpoise skins? Sealskins? Sea cow skins?
Man! That must have been one very wet wilderness!

Agreed. They just get loopier and loopier.

God bless,
Will K