Proverbs 30:26

The conies The Heb. word means the hiders, so called from their "making their houses," hiding themselves, "in the rocks."

It is now generally agreed that the animal in question is not, as the name coney, by which it is called also in Leviticus 11:5; Psalms 104:18, implies, a rabbit, but belongs to a different species, being "in its anatomy a true pachyderm, allied to the rhinoceros and the tapir, inferior to them as it is in size." "It is about the size of a well-grown rabbit, with short ears, round head, long plantigrade feet, no tail, and nails instead of claws. With its weak teeth and short incisors, there seem few animals so entirely without the means of self-defence. But the strong rocks are a refuge for the conies (Proverbs 30:26; Psalms 104:18), and tolerably secure they are in such rocks as these (near Ain Feshkah) on the shore of the Dead Sea. No animal ever gave us so much trouble to secure." Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 250. Speaker's Comm. on Leviticus 11:5. See also Smith's Dict. of Bible, Art. Coney.