A sharp-eyed reader pointed out that they couldn't find a reference to
ferret in Leviticus 11:29-30.  That struck me as odd, because I had just
read it prior to including it in the original post, but knowing and
trusting the person, I decided to investigate a bit more.  (I actually
thought, great, so now I'm going to be flamed by God...) So off to the
library-religion section-I flew.
 
She was right. So was I. Some versions use "ferret" and some do not. For
example:
 
King James (29-30): "....and the tortoise after his kind.  And the
ferret,...."
 
Modern Language (29-30): "....every species of turtle, the ferret,...."
 
Living Bible (29-30): "....The great lizard, the gecko...."
 
NIV Bible (29-30): "....any kind of great lizard, the gecko,...."
 
I saw another dozen or so different translations, about half went one way
and half the other.  Which one is right?  There is no way in the world that
I am going to get into a Bible translation argument, so I will report BOTH
viewpoints in my paper.  I do have a close friend I plan on asking (Well,
not that close--he lives in Tel Aviv ;-) ) to translate the old Hebrew for
me.  I will report his translation when I find out.  Even then, it is a
modern translation for a word thousands of years old....
 
This is the PERFECT example of the dangers of using old literature
(scientific or otherwise) to support critical writing.  What was common
knowledge 1000 BC can be a mystery today.  (This is why reporting references
is SO IMPORTANT!  This is also how science is supposed to work; a statement
with reference is given, someone checks the reference and disagrees, then
through the discussion of the facts the truth comes out).  Ferret or Gecko?
Or something else?  Only further research will tell.
 
Another person asked if ANY ancient source could be trusted.  IMHO?  Yes,
but there are problems with translations or with the exact referent.  When
Linnaeus (1758) described the ferret, the animal he looked at may or may not
be the one we play with.  He may have been describing a hybrid or a polecat.
The original animal was lost or otherwise not preserved, which makes it hard
for those of us wanting to show the domestic ferret is, indeed, a different
species than the European polecat.  So while care has to be taken, usually
by describing the circumstances and controversies, the old sources can still
be used.
 
I haven't mentioned any names because after I mentioned 'dissection" I
recieved about 2500 nasty e-mails from a single source.  I don't want to
place these people in danger of the same thing over "religion." But I do
want to say thanks for the opportunity to clarify the subject.
 
Any fuzzy-loving ancient-Hebrew scholars out there?
 
About 40 of you FMLers are waiting for e-mail responses from me.  Sorry for
the delay; I will respond, but I've had some problems with focusing my eyes
(side effect of immune-supressents) so I have to crank everything up to 16pt
and print it out on paper.  Know how many pages the FML uses when printed 16
pt?  Learning from my mistakes, I now just convert it to word 6, then make
it bigger, but I'm a little behind.  (Enjoy the straight line ;-))
 
TLE- The beasties just don't know the jerky is edible.  Neither did the 5 I
adopted from you, BUT they have changed their minds big time.  Now with 13
jerky loving monsters, I can't make it fast enough (or afford to).  I tear
off small 'threads' for them, which may increase the aroma.  Gus was the
last holdout; he would just watch the others eat it until he decided they
were having way too much fun.  Now he loves it, and has learned his name
since then.  He thinks its "Gus-Jerky!" Its the only name he comes to.
 
Bob and the 13 Puddlebutts
Moose, Stella, Daye, Tori, Bear, Apollo, Foster, Buddy, Razz, Gus, Simon,
Nosette, and Balistic.
[Posted in FML issue 1413]