Hares and Hogs Eat Feces But They Don't Chew Cud!


Copyright © 2012 by Gun Lap
Bugs Porky

Fundamentalist Christians believe that the Bible is a perfect book. However, it is actually fairly easy to prove that the Bible contains flaws if we know where to look, and if we can get fundamentalists to look at the evidence with an open mind! The last part is the really hard part, which I won't deal with in this article. Here I just want to discuss one flaw in the Bible.

The error shows up in Leviticus 11:6 which says, "And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you." (Leviticus 11:6, KJV).

The person who wrote this instruction (attributed to Moses) made a false assumption. Rabbits chew their food thoroughly because their food is hard to digest. The writer must have noticed rabbits chewing their food and assumed that the rabbits were chewing cud. However, rabbits do not chew cud.

The same error is repeated in Deuteronomy 14:7: "However, of those that chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you." (NIV).

Note the words chew and cud. As we go along, we'll see that both are important.

The definition for cud (see the footnotes) shows that cud refers to material that is (i) chewed, and (ii) regurgitated. Also note that chewing cud is something done by ruminants, animals that regurgitate food from their stomach and re-chew it.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary is honest enough to admit that the hare is not ruminating. "Neither the hare nor the coney are really ruminating. They only appear to be so from working the jaws on the grasses they live on." In other words, rabbits do not chew cud! They merely chew their food like other animals do. (The JFB commentary is free on the Web at http://bible.cc/leviticus/11-6.htm).

Rabbits are not ruminants. Bible apologists try to make it sound like rabbits chew cud or that chew does not mean chew and cud does not mean cud.

Rabbits do not chew cud. What rabbits do is they swallow (not chew) their own partially digested feces (not cud). In order to fully digest their food, it passes through their system twice. But they do not regurgitate it and they do not re-chew it, they just swallow it the second time.

Rabbits excrete two types of pellets: hard and soft. The hard pellets are not re-ingested, the soft pellets are.

Rabbits are herbivores that feed by grazing on grass, forbs, and leafy weeds. In consequence, their diet contains large amounts of cellulose, which is hard to digest. Rabbits solve this problem by passing two distinct types of feces: hard droppings and soft black viscous pellets, the latter of which are immediately eaten. Rabbits reingest their own droppings (rather than chewing the cud as do cows and many other herbivores) to digest their food further and extract sufficient nutrients. [Wikipedia Rabbit, Jan 26, 2012, emphasis mine].

Note that the re-ingested pellets are NOT chewed by the rabbit, but are eaten whole.

These pellets remain intact for up to six hours in the stomach; the bacteria within continue to digest the plant carbohydrates. The soft feces form here and contain up to five times the vitamins of hard feces. After being excreted, they are eaten whole by the rabbit and redigested in a special part of the stomach. This double-digestion process enables rabbits to use nutrients that they may have missed during the first passage through the gut, as well as the nutrients formed by the microbial activity and thus ensures that maximum nutrition is derived from the food they eat. This process serves the same purpose within the rabbit as rumination does in cattle and sheep. [Wikipedia Rabbit, Jan 26, 2012, emphasis mine].

Here is how one Bible apologist tries to answer the question, "Do rabbits chew the cud?" He admits that rabbits don't chew cud but then tries to use the Hebrew to get himself out of the problem.

The simple answer to this is "no"--not in the way that cows, goats and sheep do. But the purpose of the question is deeper than this. My negative answer above would appear, at first sight, to be contradictory to what Scripture says, and it is for this reason that the question is much beloved by those who want to undermine belief in the Bible. "And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you." (Leviticus 11:6)

This verse clearly states that the hare (or rabbit in some versions--and these two animals are related and clearly part of the same kind) chews the cud. Yet we know that the rabbit or hare--and I am going to refer to rabbits from now on--is not a ruminant; an animal that chews the cud like cows, sheep and goats. [So he plainly admits that rabbits don't chew cud, but then he still proceeds to explain why he is right and all the translators are supposedly wrong].

Is the Bible wrong? No, the Bible is not wrong. The Bible was not written in English. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. So it is to Hebrew that we should go to understand this conundrum. [That's what translators do, they read Hebrew].

The interpretation of the phrase "chewing the cud" depends on the Hebrew words used for chewing and for cud. The Hebrew word for cud is gerah. This does not really mean cud, but actually is a broader term, meaning something that has been swallowed. Thus, if your child swallowed a penny, but was able to bring it up again, this could be described as gerah--though it would clearly not be what we understood by the English term cud [and clearly not what the translators understood because they didn't translate it "something swallowed" but "cud"]. The Hebrew word that has been translated as chewing is alah, which actually means "to ascend" or "to raise." Therefore, the Hebrew phrase could really be interpreted as "the rabbit raises what it has swallowed [not excreted]... " [that would imply regurgitation, which is not what rabbits do] Does this broader phrase allow us to classify rabbits with cows, sheep and goats? Yes, it does [no it doesn't because rabbits don't regurgitate]. Cows, sheep and goats are ruminants. That is to say, they literally chew the cud, in the more narrow sense that the English phrase uses. The key issue is that they are re-eating something [that's his opinion of the key issue, but the Bible does not say that's the key issue, and if it was the key issue, the Bible would have said rabbits re-eat their food not chew the cud]. Their first swallowing did not complete the digestion process. Rabbits do something very similar. Rabbits actually produce two different sorts of fecal droppings. First, they produce a light brown dropping. This is actually partially digested food. The rabbits eat these droppings, which is why you might not often notice them. They re-digest these droppings, and then produce their second, darker colored droppings. In this way, the rabbits are raising [how are they raising anything?] and re-digesting something which they have already swallowed. Therefore, they [just like swine] fit completely within the terms of the broader Hebrew phrase, even though they cannot be said to "chew the cud" quite like cows do.

So the Bible is correct in its definitions, as always. There are no mistakes in Scripture, even though there can often be misunderstandings. [Taken from http://www.creationtoday.org/do-rabbits-chew-the-cud/, on Jan 26, 2012, emphasis mine]

To help refute that claim that the English translation is wrong, which is what this writer is really saying, I have footnotes at the end of this article which cite this verse and the companion verse in Deuteronomy in other translations. I used every translation available at bible.cc; 15 different translations in all.

The above explanation is nonsense, not only for the reasons I indicated above in square brackets, but because it overlooks the scripture which says hogs do not chew cud. If we are to interpret the "chewing cud" in "the broader Hebrew phrase" to include eating feces, the Bible would not say that hogs do not chew cud.

But the very next verses (Leviticus 11:7 or Deuteronomy 14:8) which people tend to overlook, shed more light on the matter. Let's look at it again and this time include the next verse. Deuteronomy 14:7-8 says:

Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax, for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean to you. Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses.

Can cud really refer to the pellets that that rabbits pass through their anus and swallow? That does not make sense because Deuteronomy 14:8, which we just read, says the swine does not chew cud, and we know that swine do eat feces. Disgusting but true (see the footnotes).

To help the reader compare the actual Hebrew words used for "chew" and "cud" when referring to the rabbit and the hog, we have included PDF files which show the Hebrew words. See the footnotes.

Summary:

The point about hogs not chewing cud (Leviticus 11:7, Deuteronomy 14:8) seems to be the key point that Bible apologists overlook.

Note: Cud. The www.dict.org web site defines "cud" as follows: 

 
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Cud \Cud\ (k[u^]d), n. [AS. cudu, cwudu,cwidu,cweodo, of
     uncertain origin; cf, G. k["o]der bait, Icel. kvi[eth]r womb,
     Goth. qi[thorn]us. Cf. Quid.]
     1. That portion of food which is brought up into the mouth by
        ruminating animals from their first stomach, to be chewed
        a second time.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed,
              and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye
              eat.                                  --Levit. xi. 3
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A portion of tobacco held in the mouth and chewed; a quid.
        [Low]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. The first stomach of ruminating beasts. --Crabb.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     To chew the cud, to ruminate; to meditate; used with of;
        as, to chew the cud of bitter memories.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Chewed the thrice turned cud of wrath. --Tennyson.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) :

  cud
      n 1: food of a ruminant regurgitated to be chewed again [syn:
           cud, rechewed food]
      2: a wad of something chewable as tobacco [syn: chew, chaw,
         cud, quid, plug, wad]

Note that cud refers to material that is (i) chewed, and (ii) regurgitated. Also note that chewing cud is something done by ruminants, animals that regurgitate food from their stomach and re-chew it.

Note: Leviticus 11:6 Overkill. Here is Leviticus 11:6 in 15 different translations. I went to bible.cc (on Jan 26, 2012) and copied every translation of this verse that they had on line at that time. Here is the complete list. Every single translation uses the world "cud" which we saw from the definition of above refers to food brought up from the stomach of a ruminant. Some people like to say that "cud" does not mean "cud" but every translation disagrees with that assessment. Not one translation translates it "feces" or "cud or feces" or "undigested food". They all use the modern English "cud" which refers to food brought up from the stomach of a ruminant.

New International Version: "The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you."

New Living Translation: "The hare chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean."

English Standard Version: "And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you."

New American Standard Bible: "the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you;"

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.): "And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you."

GOD'S WORD Translation: "You must never eat rabbits. (Rabbits are unclean because they chew their cud but do not have divided hoofs.)"

King James 2000 Bible: "And the hare, because it chews the cud, but divides not the hoof; it is unclean unto you."

American King James Version: "And the hare, because he chews the cud, but divides not the hoof; he is unclean to you."

American Standard Version: "And the hare, because she cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, she is unclean unto you."

Douay-Rheims Bible: "The hare also: for that too cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof."

Darby Bible Translation: "and the hare, for it cheweth the cud, but hath not cloven hoofs it shall be unclean unto you;"

English Revised Version: "And the hare, because she cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, she is unclean unto you."

Webster's Bible Translation: "And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof: he is unclean to you."

World English Bible: "The hare, because she chews the cud but doesn't part the hoof, she is unclean to you."

Young's Literal Translation: "and the hare, though it is bringing up the cud, yet the hoof hath not divided--unclean it is to you;"

Note: Deuteronomy 14:7 Overkill. Now here is Deuteronomy 14:7 in the same 15 translations (also taken from bible.cc on the same date). All these translations use the English word "cud" rather than "feces" or "cud or feces" or anything of that sort.

New International Version (1984): "However, of those that chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you."

New Living Translation (2007): "but if the animal doesn't have both, it may not be eaten. So you may not eat the camel, the hare, or the hyrax. They chew the cud but do not have split hooves, so they are ceremonially unclean for you."

English Standard Version (2001): "Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you."

New American Standard Bible (1995): ""Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these among those which chew the cud, or among those that divide the hoof in two: the camel and the rabbit and the shaphan, for though they chew the cud, they do not divide the hoof; they are unclean for you."

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.): "Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you."

GOD'S WORD Translation (1995): "But some animals chew their cud, while others have completely divided hoofs. You may not eat these [kinds of] animals. They include camels, rabbits, and rock badgers. (Although they chew their cud, they don't have divided hoofs. They are unclean for you.)"

King James 2000 Bible (2003): "Nevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that have cloven hooves; as the camel, and the hare, and the rock badger: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you."

American King James Version: "Nevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean to you."

American Standard Version: "Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that have the hoof cloven: the camel, and the hare, and the coney; because they chew the cud but part not the hoof, they are unclean unto you."

Douay-Rheims Bible: "But of them that chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, you shall not eat, such as the camel, the hare, and the cherogril: because they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, they shall be unclean to you."

Darby Bible Translation: "Only these ye shall not eat of those that chew the cud, or of those with hoofs cloven and split open: the camel, and the hare, and the rock-badger; for they chew the cud, but have not cloven hoofs they shall be unclean unto you;"

English Revised Version: "Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that have the hoof cloven: the camel, and the hare, and the coney, because they chew the cud but part not the hoof, they are unclean unto you:"

Webster's Bible Translation: "Nevertheless, these ye shall not eat, of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean to you."

World English Bible: "Nevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of those who have the hoof cloven: the camel, and the hare, and the rabbit; because they chew the cud but don't part the hoof, they are unclean to you."

Young's Literal Translation: "Only, this ye do not eat, of those bringing up the cud, and of those dividing the cloven hoof: the camel, and the hare, and the rabbit, for they are bringing up the cud but the hoof have not divided; unclean they are to you;"

Note: Swine and Rabbits Really Do Eat Feces. The Wikipedia article Coprophagia discusses this practice of eating feces by swine, rabbits, and some other species.

Pigs, like the above insects [dung-beetles, flys, etc], will eat the feces of herbivores that leave a significant amount of semi-digested matter, including their own.... Capybara, rabbits, hamsters and other related species do not have a complex ruminant digestive system. Instead they are hindgut fermenters that digest cellulose via microbial fermentation. In addition, they extract further nutrition from grass by giving their food a second pass through the gut. Soft fecal pellets of partially digested food are excreted and generally consumed immediately. [Wikipedia, Coprophagia, Jan 26, 2012].

Note: PDF Files of The Hebrew. The Hebrew for Leviticus 11 can be found here and the Hebrew for Deuteronomy 14 can be found here. Sometimes the Hebrew omits a word, but we can supply the missing word from the context. It helps to start reading at the beginning of each chapter. The basic idea is that either an animal "chews cud" or it does not, so the meaning of "chew" and "cud" or "chewing cud" remains the same throughout each chapter even if it is sometimes expressed a little differently. In other words, if we argue that rabbits chew cud then we should also argue that hogs chew cud, but the Bible says rabbits do and hogs don't. Instead of finding inventive ways to get around the plain meaning of this and other Bible errors, Bible apologists should just read it for what it says. The logical explanation is that there is a mistake in the Bible, and the most logical explanation for the mistake is that because rabbits appear to chew cud, some uninspired writer made a false assumption.

Source for the PDF files: http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Hebrew_Index.htm on Jan 27, 2012.

Note: Another Apologist at Work. Here is another Bible apologist attempting to explain the matter.

Further, if the ancient Hebrews defined "cud-chewing" as that process where half digested vegetation was re-chewed by an animal for easier re-digestion (and that is a very specific and scientific definition), I would say the hare fits here fine. [Found at http://www.comereason.org/bibl_cntr/con055.asp on Jan 26, 2012].

This author tries to make it fit but he overlooks two facts: (i) rabbits don't re-chew the fecal matter, and (ii) his use of the term "cud-chewing" would also apply to hogs, and the Bible says hogs don't chew cud.

Strangely, the writer refers to rabbits chewing even though one of the experts he quotes says rabbits don't chew the droppings but swallow them whole.

Rabbits are sometimes called "pseudo-ruminants"... The rhythmic cycle of coprophagy of pure cecal contents practiced by all rabbits allows utilization of microbial protein and fermentation products, as well as recycling of certain minerals. Whereas the feces commonly seen excreted by rabbits are fairly large, dry and ovoid, excreted singly, and consist of fibrous plant material, cecotrophs are about half that size, occur in moist bundles stuck together with mucus, and are very fine textured and odiferous. They are seldom seen, as the rabbit plucks them directly from the anus as they are passed and swallows them whole. [Found at http://www.comereason.org/bibl_cntr/con055.asp on Jan 26, 2012, emphasis mine].