חֹ֫לֶד

# Analysis of חֹ֫לֶד (choled) The Hebrew word *choled* appears in biblical Hebrew with a single, straightforward meaning: weasel. This small carnivorous mammal is identified as an unclean animal in the dietary laws of ancient Israel. The word's presence in the biblical text reflects the ancient Israelite classification system for animals, where certain creatures were designated as forbidden for consumption based on specific physical characteristics. The extremely limited occurrence of *choled*—appearing only once in the entire biblical corpus—suggests this was not a term of frequent theological or narrative importance. Rather, it functioned as a practical classification term used in legal or instructional contexts. The single attestation indicates that while the ancient Israelites had a specific word for this particular animal, they had little occasion to reference it beyond the context of animal purity laws. This sparse usage pattern is typical of many animal names in biblical Hebrew that served primarily functional rather than symbolic or repeated rhetorical purposes.