Hare

The hare (Hebrew 'arnebeth) is listed among the animals prohibited as food under the Mosaic dietary law (Leviticus 11:6; Deuteronomy 14:7). It is classified as "unclean" on the grounds that it "cheweth the cud" but does not part the hoof — making it unclean under the dual criteria of the Mosaic food code. Zoologically, the hare does not technically ruminate; it practices caecotrophy — the re-ingestion of soft cecal pellets — which the biblical text may have observed as an apparent chewing motion, sufficient for the practical categorization of ancient law without requiring modern biological precision. Two species of hare were common in Palestine: the Syrian hare (Lepus syriacus) and the Egyptian hare (Lepus aegypticus), both still found in the region.