mouse
akh.bar denotes the animal named among land swarmers, and also its gold images in a Philistine offering.
The term most often occurs in the account of gold images connected with a guilt offering and the ark; elsewhere it names an animal among land swarmers and among things eaten in Isaiah 66:17.
Senses in use
-
Gold images in the Philistine offering · dominant
In 1 Samuel 6:4 and 1 Samuel 6:18, the plural construct form occurs in clauses about five gold items corresponding to Philistine cities. In 1 Samuel 6:5 the images are associated with devastation of the land, and in 1 Samuel 6:11 they are placed with the ark and a box; the APB renders these clauses with “gold mice.”
-
Animal named in land and eating lists · common
In Leviticus 11:29, the masculine singular absolute form appears in a list of creatures called unclean among swarmers on the land. In Isaiah 66:17, the same singular absolute form occurs in a clause about eating swine's flesh, the detestable thing, and this animal; the APB renders it “the mouse.”
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB renders the term as “mice” in the Philistine offering account, including “gold mice” where the verse specifies gold, and as “the mouse” in the singular animal-list contexts. These renderings confirm the verse contexts rather than establish finer distinctions.