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	'''Tahash''' or '''Tachash''',<ref group="nb">Hebrew {{IPA\|/{{IPAlink\|t}}-{{IPAlink\|χ}}-{{IPAlink\|ʃ}}/}} '''''T'''''a'''''H'''''a'''''S''''', ''tahas'', '''תחש''' '''Tahash''', '''Tachash''': spelled (Hebrew letters) '''ת''' "'''T'''av"-'''ח''' "'''H'''eth"-'''ש''' "'''S'''hiyn" (approximate articulation "'''tawv'''"-"'''khayth'''"-"'''sheen'''") '''תחש''' "'''T-H-S'''" or "'''T-CH-SH'''": pronounced '''takh'''ash, takh'-ash, (or "tak'-Hash") with hard "ch" as in "'''CH'''anukkah / '''H'''anukkah," German '''ch''' = Greek '''X''' (nearly "kh") as in "'''XP'''" ("chi-rho", i.e. "khee-hro"), or the Scottish word "lo'''ch'''," not the soft "ch" as in "church." The editors of the Soncino Babylonian Talmud (1961), the New American Bible (NAB) (1971), and the Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd ed. (2007) have rendered the eighth letter of the ] '''ח''' ("'''KH'''ayth—'''CH'''eyth—'''H'''eth") as "'''h'''": hence, . According to the more ''ancient articulation'', tahash is properly {{IPA\|/{{IPAlink\|t}}-{{IPAlink\|ħ}}-{{IPAlink\|s}}/}} or {{IPA\|/{{IPAlink\|t}}-{{IPAlink\|h}}-{{IPAlink\|s}}/}} (''see ]''). The changes in meaning and in pronunciation, ancient and modern, will be discussed in the article.</ref> (]: תחש) is the source of ''''orot tahashim''' (Hebrew: וערות תחשים), referred to in the Bible, used as the outer covering of the ] and to wrap sacred objects used within the Tabernacle for transport.<ref>Compare the Jewish translation '''''"Tachash"'''''— and ; and the Christian translation '''''"Tahash"'''''— and </ref> Tahash is traditionally interpreted to be an animal, with 'orot tahashim being tahash skins or leather. Sages, scholars and linguists have debated the Biblical meaning of תחשים for centuries.
			}}

	===Literal translation===
	Tachash, extremely literally, is translated as:
	: '''תאה''' — tah —"''circumscribed", "set apart/marked/distinct", "very/markedly/distinctively''"—plus
	: '''חש''' — khoosh, hish — "''swift/quick''" / "''dark/black/hide(away)''"—literally: —'''ת''' - '''הש''' / '''ת''' - '''חש'''— :
	: '''תחש''' — tah-hash, takh-ash — "''very swift''" / "''richly, distinctively black''", "''truly reserved''", "''deep dark retreating''".<ref group="nb">The word " '''תחש''' " ( ''ancient Phoenician spelling: '' ]]] ) '''literally means''' ''set apart/marked(-ly)/distinct(-ly)'' – – ''pronounced '' — '''''plus''''' — ''Lo!, behold!'' – – ''pronounced '' – '''and''' – ''swift/quick, dark/black/hide(away)'' – – ''pronounced ''. — For monosyllabic root תא ) '''ת''' ) as a prefix to a biliteral root '''חש''' or '''הש''' see ''':''' "...''a combination of two roots (is) a simple method of forming expressions to correspond to more complex ideas.''"</ref>
	Tachash skins are "''skins of astonishment (quick)''" and "''skins of reserved dark retreat (hiding)''".<ref group="nb">''See below'': ] and ]. Use the links provided there.</ref>

	] shows that in over 45 centuries a ] has occurred in the meaning of Hebrew '''''tahas'''''. Its pronunciation has changed, from Biblical {{IPA\|}} to Israeli {{IPA\|}} (]). Its spelling has changed, from Phoenician ]]] to Masoretic תחש. The English form of the word has also changed, from ''tachash'' to ''tahash''.

	===Animal===
	Traditionally, the word Tachash has been translated to be an animal, the species of which is a matter of some debate.

	The ''New American Bible (USCCB)'' (1971) translates ''''' 'orot tachashim''''' literally as "'''tahash skins'''" (Exodus 25:5):

	:::::"5 ''rams' skins dyed red, and '''tahash''' skins; acacia wood;''"





	===Processes & color===
	Another hypothesis is that the Hebrew term '''וערות תחש'''י'''ם''', lit. "skins of tachashim", refers to very fine dyed leather (of sheep or goats). Witnesses before the 1st century BCE understood skins of tahashim to be ''fine leather work dyed blue, indigo, purple, violet.'' Such documented interpretations and translations of Biblical Hebrew '''תחש''', ''tahas, '''t-ch-sh''''', from ] together with increased knowledge of the ancient tongues have strongly influenced recent Bible translators.

	In keeping with this scholarship several versions translate the term as "'''fine leather'''".

	''Navigating the Bible II (World ORT)'' (2006), translates '' 'orot tahasim'' as "'''blue-processed skins'''."

	Recent scholarship (2000–2006)<ref>, Journal of Semitic Studies 45:1-19, Faience and Beadwork, 2000, and , The Anchor Bible: Exodus 19-40 Volume 2A, Nov. 2006, p. 374.</ref> says that the term denotes neither a substance nor a color, but a technique of sewing ] beads onto leather, making "'''beaded skins'''" the meaning of 'oroth T'Hash'm.] —''small blue-green beads''.

	===Biblical Translations===
	*The (2006–2010) transliterates ''tahas'' (''t'hasim'') as tchash (''ve'orot tchashim'').
	*The (2006–2010) transliterates ''tahas'' (''t'hasim'') as tachash (tachashim).
	*<ref group="nb">''The link "'''Navigating the Bible II'''" takes the reader to Misplaced Pages Article "'''Tabernacle: Priestly account'''"—move cursor to link '''''''''' at ''"Chapter 25 "'' and click for menus and text of this Biblical translation of the Torah, move cursor to upper right corner of page of the site and click ''"contents"'' for contents and for information about the translation and the World ORT organization.''</ref> The ] ] translation (2006–2008) translates ''tahas'' (''t'hasim'') as blue-processed (skins).
	*The (2006) translates ''tahas'' (''t'hasim'') as blue-processed (skins).
	*The ]: Exodus 19-40: Volume 2A (2006) translates ''tahas'' (''t'hasim'') as beaded (beaded skins).
	*The ] (ESV) (2001-2009 revision of 1971 RSV) translates tachash as goat (goatskins).
	*The ] (AKJV) (1999 version of 1769 KJV) translates tachash as badger (badger's skins).
	*The ] (WEB) (1997-2000 version of 1901 ASV) translates tachash as sea cow (sea cow hides).
	*The ] (1995) translates tachash as fine leather.
	*The ] (NAB) (1991–2005) renders tachash as tahash.
	*The ] (NRSV) (1989–2005) translates tachash as fine leather.
	*The ] (NKJV) (1989) translates tachash as badger (badger's skins).
	*The ] (REB) (1989) translates tachash as dugong (dugong-hides).
	*The ] (NJB) (1985) translates tachash as fine leather.
	*The ] (1985) translates tachash as dolphin, or sea cow.
	*The ] (NIV) (1978) translates tachash as sea cow (sea cow hides).
	*The ] (NASB) (1971–1995) translates tachash as porpoise (porpoise skins).
	*The ] (NWT) (1961) translates tachash as seal (sealskins).
	*The ] (RSV) (1952–2000) translates tachash as goat (goatskins).
	*The ] (BBE) (1949–1965) translates tachash as leather.
	*The ] (JPS) (1917) translates tachash as badger (badgers' skins).
	*The ] (ASV) (1901) translates tachash as seal (sealskins).
	*] (1862–1898) translates tachash as badger (badgers' skins).
	*The ] (AV, KJV) (1611–1769) translates tachash as badger (badgers' skins).
	*The ] (Douai, D-R, DV) (1610–1750) translates tachash as violet (violet skins).
	*] (13th century) translates tachash as black leather (dark blue skins, skins rendered dark and waterproof).
	*] (12th century) translates tachash as ''taisse'' (badger) from Greek τρόχος (runner).
	*The ] compiled by ] (11th-12th century) translates tachash as blue-processed (blue-processed skins).
	*] (11th century) translates tachash as black leather (dark blue skins).
	*] (10th century) translates tachash as black leather (dark blue skins).
	*The ] (L.V.) (405) translates tachash as ''ianthinas'', violet (violet skins).
	*The ] (Mish.): '']'' ] ] (170-220) translates tachash as ''altinon'' (Greek, ''aledinon''), purple (skins dyed purple).
	*The ] (110-170) translates tachash as ''khn'' כהניא (glory), i.e. the color of heaven.
	*The ] (Tar. Onq.) (110) translates tachash as ''ssgwn'' ססגונא (sas-gona, sas-gavna), i.e. joy (of all) colors, glowing (of) colors, radiant(-like worm-)colors, (most) blessed (of) colors, richest (of) colors, royal color (?)---(glory-colored skins?).
	*The ] (93-4 CE) interprets the curtains of tachash skins as curtains made of skins ''the color of the sky''.
	*The ] (LXX) (3rd to 1st century BCE) translates tachash as ''huakinthina'', hyacinth (indigo-blue) (hyacinth skins).

	== Animals ==
	In many traditions, Tahash refers to an animal. The various proposed animals include: ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], the extinct '']'', and others.

	===Unclean (non-kosher) animals===
	]'' —The keresh?]]
	The Hebrew words ''tahash'' and ''tahashim'' in the Bible (for example, Numbers ) are translated by the King James Version (KJV) as "badger".<ref> ("probably a species of antelope") see ]. The ''New American Bible'' translators (''Deuteronomy 14:15'') interpret דישן ''dishon'' as "addax", from the same word as the KJV "pygarg" and RSV "antelope", . No other ''particular species of antelope'' has been proposed by Bible translators as translation of ''dishon'' דשן (see ''']:''' "''antelope''"). In ancient times, addax spread from North Africa through Arabia and the Levant. Pictures from Egyptian tombs show them being kept as domesticated animals in around 2500 BC. They are amply suited to live in the deep desert under extreme conditions. And according to the prescriptions of the Torah the addax is a "clean / kosher" animal: ''it chews the cud and divides the hoof.'' . The translators of the authoritative '''''Strong's''''' number '''8476''' say that '''''tahash''''' is "'''''probably a species of antelope.'''''" Although interesting in themselves, none of these facts, either individually or taken together, can be taken as ''proof'' that the particular antelope species ''addax'' is identical with tahash. "''The identity of the tahash remains obscure.''" (Encyclopedia Judaica: "TAHASH")</ref> The New American Standard Bible (NASB) translates the word as ]. '']'' include ], ], ], and ]. Although these animals are not ] (not clean) it has been suggested that the Tabernacle may have been purposefully constructed using skin from a . These suggestions date from the time of the formation of the Talmud beginning around the 4th century CE and continue through the centuries to the ''''''. —''see ].''

	===Sea mammals===
	The scholarly opinion which prevailed for most of the 19th and 20th centuries (1820–1980), even if it was not the universal consensus, held that Hebrew '''t-h-sh / t-kh-sh / t-ch-sh''', English '''tahash''', "correctly" or "most probably" denoted ] or ] or ] or ] or ] or ]. The older 19th century scientific names (]) for the Dugong took account of this view: ]<ref>Rupell & Leuckart, 1828, 1831 see and </ref> designated them ''Halicore Tabernaculi'' in 1843.<ref>see (scroll down to bottom of the page of the article, the last sentence.) —see Its zoological name has been changed several times: see the chronological listing of the zoological classification of the dugong: '''''Trichechus dugung''''' Erxleben 1777——'''''Dugong indicus''''' Lacepede 1799——'''''Dugong dugong'' Illiger 1811'''——'''''Halicore hemprichii''''' and '''''Halicore lottum''''' Ehrenberg 1832——'''''Halicore tabernaculi''''' Ruppell 1843——'''''Halicore australis''''' Owen 1847——'''''Halicore cetacea''''' Heuglin; it was recombined as '''''Halicore dugung''''' Trouessant 1898——it was recombined as '''''"Dugong dugon"'' Scheffer and Rice 1963''', also Husar 1978, Domning 1994, 1996, and Rice 1998.</ref> This opinion is now declining, as witness the more recent translations of the Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh). (see ']', and Encyclopaedia Judaica, Second Edition, 2007: "Tahash".')

	The Arabic '''البدر''' / '''دلفبن''' dukhas or tukhas or tucash is '']'' near to Hebrew '''תחש''' takhash or tachash or tahash, and is applied by the Arabs to the and the , which is also called '''delphin''', and also to the .<ref>International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE): "Badger", also </ref> Prompted by the similarity to Arabic tukhash, ] opinion has favored identification of tahash with the sea cow, a species now extinct. Fossils indicate that Stellar's Sea Cow (''Hydrodamalis gigas'') was formerly abundant and widespread throughout the North Pacific, all along the ], reaching west and south to Japan and east and south to California. There is no evidence that the now extinct sea cow ever ranged over the Red Sea area. The term sea cow more generally refers to dugongs and manatees, to any of the ]n sea mammals including the larger seals that appear on the shores of East Africa and around the Sinai peninsula. The Arabic '''البدر''' ''tukhesh'' denotes the sea mammal ''Dugong hemprichi'',<ref>Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., Vol. 19: SOM-TN, 2007, p. 435: "TAHASH" "...because the Arabic ''tukhesh'' means the sea-mammal ''Dugong hemprichi'', some endeavor to identify it with the tahash."</ref> (the same animal formerly designated ''Halicore Tabernaculi'') which appears at intervals on the shores of the Sinai and is hunted by the Bedouin, who make tent curtains and shoes from its skin.

	Another opinion suggests that tahash should be identified with the the ].<ref>Encyclopaedia Judaica: Tahash; and Kolel's Parasha Study number 1999 "...it seems much more fun to imagine that the tachash could be a giraffe, a '''narwhal''', or a mythical unicorn."</ref> However the narwhal is generally only found in the arctic, and suggestions that it has previously been found in the Mediterranean are not supported by any available evidence.<ref>{{Cite book\|title=Methods in the Mediterranean: historical and archaeological views on texts & archaeology\|ISBN=978-9004095816\|pages=258\|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=arV-lo3tW8UC&pg=PA258&dq=tahash+narwhal&hl=en&ei=Y332TNOBE4KyhAfmgOXWBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=tahash%20narwhal&f=false}}</ref>

	===Clean (kosher) animals===
	]'' —Distance from ] to the Sinai approx. ] over waterless terrain.]]Among the kosher animals proposed as ] are the Addax, the antelope, the sheep, the goat, and the giraffe.

	The ] has generally been excluded as the meaning of tahash, in part because of a question of whether or not it possessed all the marks of a kosher animal, and because its range was primarily ], from ] in ] to ]. The distance that would have to be traversed in migration away from its natural range and habitat can be seen in this image of the Sahara Desert, the Red Sea, and the desert of the Sinai peninsula. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that '']alis'', the giraffe, was also present in the Levant at the time of Moses; and there is documented evidence that it has all the marks of a kosher animal.<ref></ref>

	== Process ==
	]]
	Several translations propose that "orot t'chash'm" refers to very fine dyed sheepskin or goat leather.<ref group="nb">''DV, BBE, RSV, NJB, NRSV, GW, NavBib-II''—see section "]" (this article.)</ref> This is in preference to assuming a ] such as the '']''. Translating "orot t'chash'm" as "blue-processed skins" is parallel with "rams' skins dyed red."<ref group="nb">"''And rams' skins dyed red, and '''violet skins''', and setim wood:''" {{Bibleverse\|\|Exodus\|25:5\|}} (DV) (A.D. 1610). See where he says that the Septuagint calls 'orot tahashim ''hyacinth skins'' or ''blue skins'', according to which they appear to be the '''rams' skins dyed blue''', citing Josephus.</ref> The resultant color of the process according to the Greek and Latin translations was ''']'''.<ref>''The New American Bible'' footnote to Exodus 25:5 —''See also'' SearchGodsWord.com Greek Lexicon ''number'' '''5192 ''huakinthos''''' ''and'' Strong's Concordance Greek Lexicon '''5191'''/'''5192''' </ref> According to this interpretation, the text of Exodus 26:14 means "''a covering of rams' skins dyed red, and above that a covering of hyacinth skins''"—a covering of skins dyed red and an outer covering of skins dyed ] or ].{{color swatch\|#002366\|Royal Blue}}{{color swatch\|#4B0082\|Indigo}}

	] (pub. Leipzig, 1905) cites ] ('']'', i.ff) proposing the Egyptian root '''t-ch-s''', making the expression " 'or tahash / 'or tachash" mean "soft-dressed skin" (]).<ref>Alfred Ely-Day, '''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia''' (1915) '''"Badger"''' (end of entry). —See also '''Tyndale Bulletin''' 5-6 (April 1960) '''''"Some Egyptian Background To The Old Testament"''''' by K. A. Kitchen, ''University of Liverpool'', p. 7-8, footnote 29: (which says) "Heb. ''tahash'' is probably best derived from the old Egyptian word ''tj-h-s'', "to treat leather," Erman & Grapow, ''Worterbuch d. Aeg. Sprache'', V, 396, 7. So '''Bondi, ''Aegyptiaca''''', 1-4, corrected by Griffith, in Petrie, '''''Deshasheh''''', '''1898''', 45-6, and revival by Albright and Cross, ''Bibl. Archaeol.'', 10, (1947), 62 and n. 22." — —The title '''''Aegyptiaca''''' refers to the ancient original classic Egyptian work by ].</ref> The final stage of tanning called "crusting" includes ].<ref>{{Cite book
	\| title = Leather Technician's Handbook
	\| first = J.H. \| last = Sharphouse
	\| publisher = Leather Producer's Association
	\| isbn = 0950228516
	\| year = 1983
	\| postscript = <!--None-->}}</ref> A vat full of ] is a very dark color called "midnight blue" which is almost black. Tekhelet blue has been referred to as being "black as midnight", "blue as the midday sky", and as purple.<ref>Simmons, Rabbi Shraga. ; Rabbi ], ], Shabbath 2:3; ] s.v. Teynun; Koheleth Rabbah 1:9; Josephus 3:6:1 (3.102), 3:6:4 (3.132); Septuagint; ]; ]; ], ].</ref>

	According to the Sages (] 61b) '']'' is '''identical''' in color to ''kela ilan (])'' indigo dye.

	According to ], '']'', Book 3:6:4 (Ant. 3.132), the outer covering of skins over the tabernacle "''seemed not at all to differ from the ]''".

	==Etymology==
	''This article traces the changes in meaning of the word "tahash" by means of a timeline of history. Its purpose is to show what its meaning has been in the past and what its meaning is today, and not to determine its "true" meaning. The assertion that the "true" meaning of a word is to be sought in its etymology is a variant of the ]. The several meanings that it has today are listed in the ] at the end of this article.''

	] is the study of the history of words and how their form and meaning have changed over time (see especially ].) For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in those languages, and texts about the languages, to gather knowledge about how words were used at earlier stages, and where and when and how they entered the languages in question. The methods of comparative linguistics are also applied to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct information to be available. Making use of "dialectological" data, the form or meaning of the word might show variation between dialects which may yield clues of its earlier history (e.g. tachash and tukhash). (see ], ], ], ] and ]; also ].)

	=====Akkadian=====

	<ref>The two statements in this section are taken from the ]: Anchor Bible (Ezekiel 16:10, ''Comments'') and the
	Anchor Bible Dictionary: "TAHASH".</ref> '''t-h-s''' appears ] with Akkadian ''dusu / tuhsia'' "goat/sheep leather ."

	'''''t-h-s-m''''' appears connected to an ] word meaning "sheepskin" and an Egyptian word meaning "to stretch or treat leather."

	=====Egyptian=====

	Modern scholarship sees Hebrew ''tahash'' as derived best from the old Egyptian word ''tj-h-s'', "to treat leather."<ref>Tyndale Bulletin 5-6 (April 1960) "Some Egyptian Background To The Old Testament" by K. A. Kitchen, University of Liverpool, p. 7-8, footnote 29, citing Erman & Grapow, ''Worterbuch d. Aeg. Sprache,'' V, 396, 7—J. H. Bondi, ''Aegyptiaca'' 1-4—Griffith, in Petrie, Deshahsheh, 1898, 45-46—Albright and Cross, ''Bibl. Archaeol.'', 10, (1947), 62 and n.22.</ref> ] (1848–50) shows J. H. Bondi (''Aegyptiaca'', iff) proposing the Egyptian root ''t-ch-s'', making the Hebrew term ''''''or tahash'''''—]]]]–— ]]]] ] — mean "soft-dressed skin".<ref>Alfred Ely-Day, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), "Badger"</ref>

	Ancient witnesses attest the translation of '' 'orot tahashim'' as "blue-processed skins" (Rabbi ], ], Shabbath 2:3; ] s.v. Teynun; Koheleth Rabbah 1:9; Josephus 3:6:1 (3.102), 3:6:4 (3.132); Septuagint (LXX); Aquila ''huakinthinos''). ] (''Rambam'') renders ''orot tahashim'' as "black leather", as do ] and ]—''leather specially worked so as to become dark and waterproof''.<ref>. For an expanded discussion ''see'' ''',''' scroll down to M. Breier' commentary: "''This is something that had actually been on my mind for some time...''"</ref> ] says in the third book of his work ''Antiquities of the Jews'', chapter 3:
	:''There were also curtains made of skins above these, which afforded covering and protection to those that were woven, both in hot weather and when it rained; and great was the surprise of those who viewed these curtains at a distance, for they seemed not at all to differ from the color of the sky; but those that were made of hair and of skins, reached down in the same manner as did the veil at the gates, and kept off the heat of the sun, and what injury the rains might do, and after this manner was the tabernacle reared.''
	These ancient sources translate '' 'orot tahashim'' (derived from Egyptian ''tj-h-s'') as blue-processed skins, dark and waterproof, which were used to make curtains of skins as covering and protection over the '']''. Modern Bible translators have also rendered '''orot tahashim'' as colored skins or leather.<ref>Navigating the Bible II (2000), NAB (1991), GW (1995), NRSV (1989), NJB (1985), RSV (1952), BBE (1949).</ref>

	The ''] 1899 American Edition Catholic Bible'' translates the outer skins of the tabernacle as "violet skins".

	The ] ''Navigating the Bible II'' (2006–2008) and ''The Living Torah'' by ] (bible.ort.org) translate the outer skins of the ''Mishkan'' as "blue-processed skins".

	''see above —]''

	=====Semitic=====
	Some scholars, such as ],<ref group="nb">S. M. Perlmann: Shanghai businessman and scholar, 1912. ]. Cited in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) article "Badger", by Alfred Ely-Day.</ref> have suggested that the tahash is a kosher animal with fur, such as the okapi, a kind of African "antelope", taking תחש ''tachash'' from חש ''"hish"'' (fleet, swift):
	:'''חש''' –a primitive root; to '''''hurry'''''; figuratively to '''''be eager''''' with excitement or enjoyment; (make) '''''haste''''' (''hasten''), '''''ready'''''; also ''readiness''; to ''be necessary'', to ''need''; ''necessity''; to ''restrain'', ''refrain'', '''''remove''''' (oneself), to (willingly) '''''be removed'''''; by implication, to ''refuse, spare, preserve'', to ''observe'' (from a distance, carefully); assuage, '''darken''', forebear, hinder, ''hold back'', keep (back); punish, reserve, spare, withhold; to '''''be dark''''' (as ''withholding light''); to '''''darken''''', be '''''black''''', be (or make) '''''dark''''', cause ''darkness'', be ''dim, hide''; the ''dark, darkness, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness, '''night''', obscurity; obscure, mean'' (hidden, unnoticed).<ref>''see'' '''''' and Strong's Concordance Hebrew Lexicon number '''2363 ''', and '''.'''</ref>

	=====Hebrew 20th to 4th centuries BCE=====

	The Hebrew alphabet is an ], or consonant-only script of 22 ]. The ancient ] is similar to those used for Canaanite and Phoenician. Because of the lack of vowel letters, unambiguous reading of the most ancient texts is difficult, often inconclusive, often speculative, resulting in variant readings and interpretations of meaning (and copious footnotes.)<ref name="en.wikisource.org">, and "''As the Hebrew writing on monuments and coins...consists only of consonants, so also the writers of the Old Testament books used merely the consonant-signs...''"</ref> This is important for understanding the ancient written forms of ('' 'orot tehasim'') '''''tehasim:''''' — ]]]] — ]]]] — ]]]] — ]]]] — ת ח ש ם — MSHT / THSM — '''''t-ch-sh-m''''' — before the establishment of the Masoretic Text. The more ancient ] of primitive Semitic root-words does not include consonant letters as '']'' before c. 1000 BCE (''see ]'').<ref group="nb">"As the Hebrew writing on monuments and coins mentioned in ''d'' consists only of consonants, so also the writers of the Old Testament books used merely the '''consonant-signs''' (§1''k''), and even now the written scrolls of the Law used in the synagogues must not, according to ancient custom, contain anything more." —A steady and patient survey of Hebrew words and roots, one by one, in the available standard reference works, reveals an ''abundance'' of one-letter and two-letter Semitic and Hebrew roots, when the much later ''matres lectionis'' vowel consonants are disregarded, or not included in their spelling. These ''matres lectionis'' are ''Alef'' '''א''', ''He'' '''ה''', ''Waw'' '''ו''', ''Yod'' '''י'''. Consult '','' and the '''' and ''''. Look for the terms "'''prim. root'''" (primitive root) and "'''prim. word'''" (primitive word) or "'''prim. part.'''" (primitive particle) associated with entries of Hebrew and Semitic words of '''two''' letters, '''three''' letters, even '''''four''''' letters, which include ''matres lectionis'' as vowels, and not as consonants. Without the ''matres lectionis'' these primitive roots appear as '''''one-letter words''''' (roots) and '''''two-letter words''''' (roots). — "''The language has sometimes adopted artificial methods to preserve at least an appearance of triliteralism in monosyllabic stems. Conversely such nouns as אב father, אם mother, אח brother, which were formerly all regarded as original monosyllabic forms (''nomina primitiva''), may, in some cases at least, have arisen from mutilation of a triliteral stem. On the other hand, a large number of triliteral stems really point to a biliteral base, which may be properly called a '''root'''...''"</ref>

	''See in the following order or sequence'': ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ].

	======Sound of letters ''Heth'' and ''He'': Tachash and Tahash======

	<ref group="nb">This section on the ancient pronunciation of ''Heth'' '''ח''' and ''He'' '''ה''' is relevant to the discussions "''']'''" (''phonetic spelling'') and "''']'''" ('''''"tah'''-hashim'''"''''' '''ת ח ש ם''' and '''''"ta'''-ha-'''Shem"''''' '''ת ה ש ם'''), in this article.</ref> The eighth letter of the ], ''']''', originally represented a '']'', either a ] /ħ/ or a ] /x/ (the two ] ] having merged in ].) The sound of Archaic Biblical Hebrew ''']''' was phonetically very much closer to ''']''' than it is today (even the Hebrew letter forms, ancient and modern, are similar in appearance: ] '''ה''' ] '''ח'''.)<ref group="nb">See ]. See also ]——scroll down to the chart of letters and sounds—compare appearance and sound of the 5th and 8th letters. See also ] and </ref>

	The Phoenician letter ] gave rise to the Greek ] ('''H''') and Latin ''']'''. While '''H''' is a vowel in the Greek alphabet, the Latin equivalent '''H''' represents a consonant sound, closer to Archaic Biblical Hebrew letter ] '''ה''' ]. The sound of Archaic Biblical ''']''' '''ח''' ] was also much closer to '''He''' '''ה''' ] than it is today. (''For the ancient Biblical articulation of '''ח''' and '''ה''' see ] and ].'') In ''Modern ]'', the historical phonemes of the letters '''''' and '''''' have merged, both becoming ]s, making '''''Heth''''' more distant from '''''''''' than anciently. The sound value of ''''']'' כ''' ''without'' the ] is the same as that of ''''']'' ח'''. The ] of '''''Kaph''''', '''''He''''', '''''Heth''''' are the same sound. There is a basic ] resemblance in the Archaic Biblical (Paleo-Hebrew) letters: ] - ] - ].

	The etymology (historical development) of the Hebrew letter '''Heth''' presents a huge phonetic consonantal shift between the ancient and modern forms of its ]. The term THSM, ''tachashim'' <ref group="nb">'''ת ח ש ם''' — the '']'' does not appear in the more ancient form of the word וערות תחשים ) '''תחשים ''') before the 10th century BCE, according to all the extant writings from that time. see and . Originally the letter ''Yud / Yodh'' was put only at the end of words. Even later, the ''yud'' could be overlooked by scribes because of its size and position as a ''mater lectionis''. Where words can be written with or without ''matres lectionis'', spellings that include these letters are called ''male'' (Hebrew) or ''plene'' (Latin) meaning "full", while spellings without them are called ''haser'' or ''defective''. The more consistent inclusion of ''yodh'' in the spelling of תחשים actually begins with the Talmudic period (200-500 CE) and is finally fixed by the work of the ] between the 7th and 11th centuries CE. see ''']''' and ''']'''. The ancient form of '''''tehasim''''' '''t-ch-s-m''' ....]]]].... ]]]] .... ]]]] .... '''תחשם''' ....without the appears to modern readers today to be an utterly ungrammatical and non-existent word. But this is a kind of ] or ] based almost entirely on the standardized form of the ] ]. "''The conclusion is, that if there ever was a period of Hebrew writing when the application of fixed laws to all cases was intended, either these laws were not consistently carried out in the further transmission of the text, or errors and confusion afterwards crept into it.''" '''This is important for understanding the ancient connotative connection between ת ח ש ם and ה ש ם discussed under "Sacred word play: Paranomasia" and "Orthographic paranomasia", a connotation which for the modern reader today does not normally occur.'''</ref> '''תחשם''' (today pronounced ''"'''takh'''-ashim"'' or ''"'''tak'''-hashim"'' – תחשים), in ''ancient times pre-dating 500 BCE'' was pronounced ''"'''tah'''-ashim"'' or ''"'''tah'''-hashim"''. Hence, the rendering today of the word '''TAHASH''' ('''THS''', ''tahas''), in current English language dictionaries and encyclopedias, is put forth as a closer approximation of the ancient (actual) pronunciation.

	In ], the letter '''Heth''' / '''Khet''' / '''Chet''' may still be pronounced as a ] among ] (especially among the older generation and popular Mizrahi singers), in accordance with ] Jewish traditions, and with the still more ancient ] form. Ancient Hebrew is also the liturgical tongue of the ]. The Samaritans have continued to use the ] to this day. The Semitic primitive root T'H, most anciently pronounced '''''ta-, ta-ah-, ta-ha-''''', is now today usually pronounced ''ta-akh-, tehk-, tekh-heh-''.

	''Pronunciation of the ancient primitive Semitic root''''': T-H = "''ta''''-ah, '''tah''''-heh'''''".'''

	======Tehom, Tekhelet, Tahashim, Tukhesh======
	These four words share a Semitic primitive root indicating a ] relationship to the color of the sea and sky.

	— ]]]—'''('''from — ]]— ''make an uproar, agitate'' greatly: destroy, move, make noise''')'''—'''''tehom''''' means '''''abyss''''', a (deep) '''''surging''''' mass of water, the '''deep'''/deep place(s in the earth), depth, the ''depths'', the '''main''' sea, ''subterreanean water-'''deep'''''. From a Semitic primitive root '''T-H-''', '''t-h-''': "''tah-, teh-, tah-hah-, teh-hoh-''."

	—]]]]—(''phonetic rendering'')<ref group="nb">In Modern Israeli Hebrew the letter ''']''' without the dagesh (chaph) has a sound value the same as that of ''']'''. An ] based on Modern Israeli and Masoretic Hebrew spelling would render the ''phonetic spelling'' of Ancient Biblical ''tekhelet'' as ]]]], pronouncing it as with the dagesh instead of without. see also .</ref> — means blue, indigo, violet color (coloring or colors) like the deep color of the sea and the sky: also, (see ].) This more broad and ancient general meaning is attested in later ancient sources: ''The Septuagint, Antiquities of the Jews 3.102, The Latin Vulgate, The Jerusalem Talmud Tractate Sabbath 2:3, The Mishnah Qohelet Rabba 1:9,'' and ''The Onkelos Targum '''ססגונא''' '''ssgvn'''.'' From a Semitic primitive root '''T-H-''', '''t-ch-''': "''tah-, teh-, tach-, tehk-''."

	The ] ] from the time of ] to the time of ] (c. 459 BCE) says that the outer covering of the ''Mishkan'' is to be ''' 'oroth T-Hashim''',''' 'orot T-cHashim''' '''–''' -R-T-T-H-S-M '''–'''
	:'''–''' M-S-H-T-T-R- '''–''' ]]]]]] '''–''' ]]]]]] '''–''' רתתחשם '''–'''
	וערות תחשים

	——from (eye-opening) (bared skins) + + <ref group="nb">Taking the meaning (e.g. Strong's, the BDB) of '''תחש''' as "''a kind of leather, skin, or animal hide''" and the meaning (e.g. Strong's, the BDB) of '''וער''' as "''skin (as naked), hide, leather, skin''", we have: — '''וער''' '' 'or'', which means "skin (as naked), hide, leather, skin", — ''plus'' '''תחש''' ''tahas'', which means "a kind of leather, skin, or animal hide" — i.e., '''וערתחש''' '' 'or tahas'', which according to the sources literally means, "''naked skin (of a) kind of skin''", or simply "''skin skin''" or "''leather leather''". This renders Exodus 26:14 as "''Over the tent itself you shall make a covering of rams' skins dyed red, and above that, a covering of '' 'orot tahashim'', a covering of skins of skins, a covering of leathers of leathers''". Adverting to the core meaning underlying תחש—the ]—removes this difficulty.</ref>''':'''

	——from '''''' (], reserve, ''designate'') + ''']''' (full, dark, ''deep'') + '''im''' (multiple, most, ''intensely''—doubtless, verily, truly)''':'''

	——'''skins of ''tahasim'': skins of "''exalted-reserved-deep''' (mark or coloring)''". (''see below'', "Suffix ''-im'' as the superlative form".) From a Semitic primary root '''T-H-''', '''t-ch-''': "''tah-, teh-, tach-, tekh-.''"

	The Arabs of the Sinai apply the description '''t-kh-sh, t-h-s,''' (Arabic)—]]]—]]]—''' ''', '''''', '''''' to the '''''' and other ] sea mammals the Jews are commanded in the ''Torah'' to regard as unclean.<ref>.</ref> From a Semitic primitive root '''T-H-''', '''t-ch-''': "''tuh-, teh-, tukh-, tekh-''."

	'''T-Hom, T-Helet, T-Hash, T-Hesh''' all share the same Semitic root.

	m-h-t ]]] — t-l-qh-t ]]]] , ]]]] — s-ch-t ]]] — s-kh-t ]]]

	The primary root meanings of these four Semitic words (detailed above) indicate a relationship to a perceived color range of blue-gray-black the ancients associated with mystery and dignity: —"marked (great) deep" '''''tehom,''''' —"marked (from, of) the blue (depth)" '''''tekheleth, tehelet''''' —"marked (rich) dark/black" '''''tahash,''''' —"marked (of) dread/mystery (from the deep)" '''''tukhesh'':''' —all four words ] "'''marked of heaven'''" (''the removed, the distant, the set apart'').

	======Suffix ''-im'' as the ''superlative'' form======

	The Hebrew suffix '''''-im''''' added to a singular term normally renders it as a plural form of the word, but it may also indicate the superlative degree, as being of great dignity.<ref group="nb">Forty-one Masoretic Hebrew words having the suffix ים as indicating the ''superlative degree'', and used as a ''singular form'', are listed in ''Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Fully Updated and Unabridged, A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Hebrew Bible with their Renderings in the King James Version'' (World Bible Publishers, Inc., 1980, 1986). Here within this footnote the '''''Strong's number''''' links to the on-line Eliyah.com Strong's Concordance Hebrew Lexicon, followed by the '''''Hebrew spelling'''''— and the '''''phonetic spelling''''' links to the on-line SearchGodsWord.org Hebrew Lexicon with '''audio: 1. ''' אלהים , '''2. ''' אפרים , '''3. ''' ארבעתים , '''4. ''' בנים , '''5. ''' בתולים , '''6. ''' גדרתים , '''7. ''' גתים , '''8. ''' דבלים , '''9. ''' חכים , '''10. ''' יהויקם , '''11. ''' יויקים , '''12. ''' ים , '''13. ''' ינים , '''14. ''' יקים , '''15. ''' ירושלים , '''16. ''' מחוים , '''17. ''' מים , '''18. ''' מרתים , '''19.
	נעים , '''20. ''' סברים , '''21.
	עדיתים , '''22. ''' עינים , '''23. ''' פנים , '''24. ''' צמים , '''25. ''' צמרים , '''26. ''' קבצים , '''27. ''' קדים , '''28. ''' קים , '''29. ''' קים , '''30. ''' קים , '''31. ''' קריתים , '''32. ''' רמתים צופים ,
	'''33. ''' שבעתים ,
	'''34. ''' שוה קריתים ,
	'''35. ''' שחרים ,
	'''36. ''' שכלים ,
	'''37. ''' שמים ,
	'''38. ''' שנהבים ,
	'''39. ''' תמים ,
	'''40. ''' תמים ,
	'''41. ''' תנים .</ref> For example, the singular word '''''''''' means "god" or "God", the plural form '''''''''' normally means "gods", but when used of the one '''LORD''' it indicates the one God above all gods (Genesis 1:1.)<ref group="nb">"In the beginning ''Elohim'' created the heavens and the earth." see :''elohiym'': ''gods'' in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme ''God''; occasionally applied by way of deference to ''magistrates''; and sometimes as a '''superlative''': angels, '''exceeding''', God (gods) (-dess, -ly), (very) '''great''', judges, mighty.</ref> With "tahash" as the singular form, and "tahashim" (T-H-S-M /<ref group="nb">'''ת ח ש ם''' — the ''yodt'' does not appear in the more ancient form of the word וערות תחשים ) תחשים ) and its cognates before the 10th century BCE, according to all the extant writings from that time. see and . The more consistent inclusion of ''yodh'' in the spelling of תחשים actually began with the Talmudic period and was finally fixed by the work of the Masoretes. see ''']''' and ''']'''. The ancient form ''' תחשם ''' appears to modern readers today to be an utterly ungrammatical and non-existent word. But this is a kind of ] or ]. "''The conclusion is, that if there ever was a period of Hebrew writing when the application of fixed laws to all cases was intended, either these laws were not consistently carried out in the further transmission of the text, or errors and confusion afterwards crept into it.''" </ref>/ M-S-H-T '''ת ח ש ם''') as the ''singular superlative form,'' and the modifier of " 'orot (skins)", the expression "tahashim" is read as a ''singular superlative'' term for color/finish raised to the superlative degree: (skins of) "exceeding/ exquisite/ glorious ''tahas''": "'''''T-Hashim'''''": "Over the tent itself you shall make a covering of rams' skins dyed red, and above that a covering of (superlative) tahash skins--skins of (superlative) tahash (Tehelet dyed? beautifully beaded?)''''' 'oroth T-Hashim'''''."

	Historical verification of the use of "''-im''" as the ''plural intensive singular'' (superlative) suffix of "tahash" is found in the fact that the Hebrew term ''tehasim'' was ''actually understood'', up to and including the 5th century CE, '''''as a color.''''' (See below —Greek 3rd century to 1st century BCE, —Josephus 1st century CE, —Aramaic 2nd century CE, —Judah haNasi 3rd century, —Jerome 4th century.) —''skins of hyacinth blue / indigo / violet''.

	======Sacred word play: ''Paranomasia''======

	Sacred ]<ref>''See'' ''',''' by ''''''</ref> is frequently found in the Bible,<ref>Examples of Biblical ] (]) are abundant (consult the textual footnotes and the study notes provided by the editors of the various published English translations of the Bible for explanations of the kinds of word play, ''paranomasia'', used by the sacred author in the following texts): '''Genesis''' 2:7-8,23; 3:20; 4:1,25; 5:29; 9:27; 10:25; 11:9; 19:20,37-38; 25:25,30; 27:36; 29:32-35; 30:6,8,11,13,18,20,24; 31:47,49; 32:29,31; 38:30; 41:51-52; 49:16,19. '''Exodus''' 2:10,22; 12:11; 25:5. '''Deuteronomy''' 14:4-5 (addax); 32:15. '''Joshua''' 5:9. '''Judges''' 6:32. '''2 Kings''' 1:12; 23:13. '''1 Chronicles''' 25:4. '''Tobit''' 5:13-14. '''1 Maccabees''' 1:54. '''2 Maccabees''' 1:36; 5:24 and '''Revelation''' 9:11. '''Psalm''' 104:4. '''Sirach''' 6:23. '''Isaiah''' 15:9; 65:11-12. '''Jeremiah''' 1:11; 9:3; 23:33-40; 46:17. '''Ezekiel''' 16:8 (aegis). '''Daniel''' 8:13; 13:55-59. '''Hosea''' 4:15. '''Joel''' 2:23. '''Matthew''' 2:23; 16:18; 27:16-17,62 (preparation/I go to prepare a place for you). '''Matthew''' 26:50 and '''Mark'''14:46 (laid hands on--Exodus 29:10,15; Leviticus 4:15; 8:14,18,22; 16:21; 24:14; Numbers 27:22-23; Deuteronomy 34:9). '''John'''1:11; 3:8; 7:6,8; 19:13,30. '''Romans''' 3:27; 7:21,23; 8:2. '''1 Corinthians''' 11:29-32. '''2 Corinthians''' 1:18-22; 2:14-16; 8:1; 9:11-15; 10:2-4,13; 13:5-9. '''Ephesians''' 3:14-15. '''Philippians''' 3:2. '''1 Thessalonians''' 5:10. '''1 Timothy''' 1:18. '''Philemon''' 11. '''Hebrews''' 4:8,14; 9:28 and '''John''' 1:29 (to take away / to bear). '''Revelation''' 2:9 and 3:17; '''Revelation''' 9:11 and '''1 Maccabees''' 3:10 (Apollonius / Apollyon); '''Revelation''' 13:18.</ref> and is phonetically evident relating THSM '''תחשם''' and HSM '''השם''' by ]: Tahashim and ]. Audio renderings of these words demonstrates their phonetic similarity. Hebrew spelling of these words without ] shows their orthographic similarity. Hebrew lexicons show the ''primitive roots'' which linguistically connect them.<ref>Strong's Concordance Hebrew Lexicon, Brown Driver Briggs English-Hebrew Lexicon, Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar.</ref> Word play in oral cultures, primitive and ancient and modern, is a method of reinforcing meaning. Compare the ''phonetic spelling'' (audio icon) of each of the following words most relevant here (also spelled with and without ''matres lectionis'' for graphic comparison):

	:* (specify ''English'' to ''Hebrew'') '''דושון''' / '''דשן''' / '''דש'''
	:* '''אדש''' / '''דש''' (see Strong's number and '''audio''' Strong's number )
	:* '''תחש'''
	:* '''דוש''' / '''דש'''
	:* '''דשא''' / '''דש'''
	:* '''דישון''' / '''דשן''' Deuteronomy 14:5
	:* '''דישון''' / '''דשן''' Deuteronomy 14:5], dated to 7th century BCE.]]
	:* '''תהום''' / '''תהם'''
	:* '''תכלת'''
	:* '''תחש'''
	:* '''תחשים''' / '''תהשם'''
	:* '''חשם''' ''same as''<ref>"'''''same as'''''" —notice the definitions for each: Hashum = "rich, enriched": Hashem = "fat, wealthy". ''Strong's Concordance Hebrew Lexicon'': number '''2044 השם''' Hashem = fat, wealthy "''is perhaps from the same as''" number '''2828 חשם''' Hashum = rich, enriched.</ref>
	:* '''השם'''
	:* '''שם'''
	:* '''שמים''' / '''שמם'''
	:* '''משכן'''
	:* '''דישון''' / '''דשן'''

	A protective covering of skins of tahashim was commanded as the outer covering of the '']'' ''''' ] —all that was sacred to the worship of the '''LORD''' was covered with a protective covering of skins of tahashim.

	:"When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die.... Let not the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites; but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, but they shall not go in to look upon the holy things even for a moment, lest they die." (Numbers 4:15 and 18-20)

	======Orthographic paranomasia======

	There is also sacred word play in the ancient written form of the word THSM / '''MSHT <ref group="nb">The ] does not appear in the more ancient form of the word תחשם / '''תחשים''' / ]]]] / ]]]] According to ], number 2044 '''השם''' ''is'' "''perhaps from the same as''" number 2828 '''חשם'''. Number 2363 '''חש''' / '''חוש''' is "''a primitive root''". (Shown here with and without ''matres lectionis'' '''ו''' and '''א'''.) And number 8372 '''ת''' / '''תא''' from the base of 8376 '''תה''' / '''תאה''' (a primitive root) ''is a prefix'' usable with (intensifying) Semitic primitive roots (Gesenius). —'''ת חש השם חשם''' It appears that '''ת''' as a prefix to the Hebrew root '''הש''' / '''חש''' formed a word '''תהש''' / '''תחש''' which became an established word , and this word ''can'' be intensified by the plural intensive singular suffix '''ם''' / '''ים''' ("''-im''"), Strong's number 518 . The "truly swift" תחש becomes "'''''Of a truth! truly swift'''''" תחשם (the most swift one)— the "truly dark/deep" תחש becomes "'''''Of a truth! truly dark/deep'''''" תחשם (richest deepest dark)</ref> תחשם'''. The Hebrew letter '''] ת''' as a prefix indicates "singular," "designated," "set apart," "reserved." In Judaism the letter '''Taw ת''' also means "Truth." <ref group="nb">see individual letters ] ''marked''——] ''separate''——] ''fire/]''——] ''fullness (of)''——and the list under ] for extended significations and meanings. The wild ''']''' itself is also a (beautifully) marked, (shy) separated, (devouring) grazing, (spirited) resourceful creature of the desert: THSM / '''MSHT תחשם'''. Moreover, the horns of the mature animal can touch together and ''cross (Taw)'' at the tip, ''appearing to have become one''. (see photographs of the ].)</ref>]. Scholars consult the Samaritan Pentateuch when trying to determine the meaning of the text of the Original Pentateuch.]]]

	Scrolls among the ] have been identified as proto-''Samaritan Pentateuch'' text-type.<ref>''The Canon Debate'', McDonald & Sanders editors, 2002, chapter 6: ''Questions of Canon through the Dead Sea Scrolls'' by James C. VanderKam, page 94, citing private communication with Emanuel Tov on ''biblical manuscripts''.</ref> The Samaritan Pentateuch is written in the Samaritan alphabet, which differs from the Masoretic Hebrew alphabet, ''and was the form in general use before the Babylonian captivity.''<ref>Scholarly evaluation of the Samaritan Pentateuch after the discovery of the ] shows that some of the Dead Sea manuscripts display a text that closely corresponds to that of the Samaritan Pentateuch. ] 1758 stated that the Hebrew version cannot be ''supposed'' to be the most authentic one, ''simply because it is the Hebrew version''. . ''See also'' , and , and .</ref> The ''''']''''' itself, according to the '']'' of the scroll, is the text of the Torah written in the thirteenth year of the entrance of the tribes to Canaan, ''which is to say that it dates back to the time of ], the great-grandson of Aaron, who penned it thirteen years after the entry into the land of Israel under the leadership of Joshua the son of Nun.'' The spelling of many words in Ancient Hebrew differs significantly from the much later spelling of the Masoretic text. Ancient Hebrew is the liturgical tongue of ], and the ] have continued to use the Old Hebrew alphabet to this day (]). When THSM / '''MSHT תחשם''' is mentally seen by the reader of the carefully hand-lettered ] text of the ancient ] as '''T'''aw '''ת''' joined to the word '''HSM''' / '''MSH''' — '''ת''' + '''חשם'''—''when '''T'''ac'''H'''a'''S'''hi'''M''' is seen as TAH joined to the word "HA-SHEM" ('''' + '''' lit. "the Name" ''''—Hashem is also the name of one of the mighty men of the army'' )—the alert reader might spontaneously see ''"the singular Name"'' suggested: THSM / '''MSHT תהשם''', "Ta-Hashem," ''"The True Name"''—the reader might see the written form of the word "'''''tah'''-hashim"'' spontaneously suggesting "'''''ta'''-ha'''Shem'''''."<ref group="nb">. The reader schooled according to the standards of the Masoretic Hebrew Text does not see this. The reader is confronted with orthographic and linguistic forms that have ] over a period of 1500-2000 years. The authority of the 10th century CE Masoretic Text cannot invalidate ''earlier'' accepted (variant) forms that prevailed ''before'' the 4th century CE.</ref>

	The slight difference in the representation of the letters '''''ח''''' '']'' and '']'' is no great obstacle to this spontaneous perception of what may be the sacred author's intended form of sacred ].<ref>'''Biblical Hebrew Poetry and Word Play: Reconstructing the Original Oral, Aural and Visual Experience: ''Wordplay in the Hebrew Bible'',''' David Steinberg</ref>—the spontaneous
	:perception of THSM / '''MSHT תחשם''' –]]]] –]]]]
	:''suggesting'' T.HSM / '''MSH.T תהשם''' –]]]] –]]]],
	particularly as it appears in the text of the ancient ], which is written without the ''mater lectionis'' and the diacritical marks of vowel notation according to the much later ] system of ].<ref group="nb>. It should be noted that for modern students of Hebrew this perception is far more visual than phonetic, when it occurs: '''tahashim''' does not today normally ''phonetically'' suggest to them the word '''Hashem''' as it would have suggested to the ancients, and as it suggests to professional Semitic scholars today, primarily due to the influence of the much later phonetic forms of Hebrew represented in the ] they have read and studied and the shift in the pronunciation of ''] '''ח''''' from a sound similar to ''] '''ה''''' to a sound now closer to ''] '''כ''''' ] '''ħ''' → '''χ''' ]: they are confronted with language forms that have ] over a period of 1500-2000 years—see above 'The Masoretes 7th to 10th centuries'--see ]—see ].</ref> A careless reader or a reader of clever wit having no vowel signs before him can subtly vary the pronunciation of the letters and sounds of the words of the text, producing alternate readings that might be humorous and surprising, or even uplifting and edifying.<ref>''see'' ] and David Stein's </ref>

	A comparison of the Paleo-Hebrew, Aramaic, and Hebrew Square Letter forms:

	{{center\|]]]] / ]]]]}}
	{{center\|]]]] / ]]]]}}
	{{center\|'''תחשם''' / '''תהשם'''}}

	Adverting to the ancient method of sacred ], a reader can see in the written text of the '''Sepher Torah''' in the commandment to make a protective covering of "tahashim" the additional meaning of the taking of the protective covering of "The True Name / The Singular Name" ("TaHashem" תהשם). This word play only reinforces the sacred meaning.

	=====The Aegis of Heaven: T'Hashim and Hashem=====
	{{color swatch\|#6F00FF\|'''שמים''' ''shamayim'' noonday sky}}"''(He) stretches out the heavens like a curtain''" (tent-curtain) .

	''''oRoth T'Hashim''', skins of tahashim, are made into a visible symbol or sign of the ] of Heaven, the covering shield of ]: "blue-processed skins".<ref group="nb">''Aegis'', Greek '''αιγἰς''', ''"covering shield"'', from '''αἴγιος''', from '''αἴξ''', ; from —'' 'adash'', Hebrew '''אדש''', '''' and ''dishon'', '''דשן''', '''דוש''' ''''. The Hebrew word for the ''visible arch of the sky'' has an equivalent meaning: —'''''raqiya''''' רקיע (firmament) —from '''''raqa''''' רקע (to pound, to stretch). This goes back phonetically and linguistically to Akkadian and Assyrian ]. ''see'' Strong's numbers '''''' and ''''''.</ref> Among some ancient peoples, the ] was traditionally a ''''goat skin'''' shield and a symbol or sign of authority and awesome power (to trample the foe) and of sponsorship under the protection of heaven.<ref group="nb">About 750 years after the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt this concept of the goatskin shield as a sign of the shielding protection and sponsorship of heaven, current among the ancient peoples of the ] at the time of Moses, had spread into Europe and into the culture of Homer and the Greeks and become a part of the development of their mythology as the ''aegis'' of Zeus and Athena. see ] of Homer.</ref> Modern Biblical scholars have also translated "''tahas'' skins" as "]."

	Regarding the color of the covering shield of the skins: the almost universal consensus of the ancients is that the color of '''''' (and the seat of God) is a ], ], like ]. The most common suggestion since antiquity is that ''tahas'', tahash, is a ''bluish, blackish, reddish color'' (the sources are rather vague) corresponding to Greek ''hyacinthos''.<ref>William H. C. Propp. See ''''', :''''' LXX, Josephus ''Ant.'' 3.102, Vulgate, Palestinian/Jerusalem Talmud Tractate ''Sabbat'' 2:3, mishnah Qohelet Rabba 1:9, and Aramaic ''sasgawna / sasgona'' (''Tgs.''-Syr.)''':''' ''according to'' William H. C. Propp, The Anchor Bible: Exodus 19-40: Volume 2A: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, Nov. 2006, p. 374.</ref> The color of the power of heaven is the color of the ] where the power is hidden (dark ]), or the ] (violet, gold), and the ] (red.)]] The aegis of the Name of Heaven can be seen in the Bible:

	:"After Moses had gone up, a cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled upon Mount Sinai. The cloud covered it for six days, and on the seventh day he called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord was seen as a consuming fire on the mountaintop. But Moses passed into the midst of the cloud as he went up on the mountain; and there he stayed for forty days and forty nights." Exodus 24:15-18 NAB

	:"Over the tent itself you shall make a covering of rams' skins dyed red, and above that, a covering of tahash skins." Exodus 26:14 NAB

	The rams' skins dyed red and the tahash skins over them are visible as an image of the fire and the cloud "''on the mountain''",( ) so that ''tahas'' denotes the color of the cloud, and the "''skins of tahashim''" denotes skins of (dark) "cloud-color" covering over the place where God is hidden ('']''), "''which has been shown you on the mountain''". This is a ] symbol to the people of the ] on Mount Sinai, and of the protective covering with which God clothes himself,<ref group="nb">Covering of light, and fire, and cloud round about him: '''Exodus''' 13:21,14:24,16:10,19:9,20:18,24:16,33:9-11,34:5,40:34-36. '''Leviticus''' 16:2,16:13. '''Numbers''' 9:15-22,11:24-25,12:5,14:14. '''Deuteronomy''' 4:11-12. '''1 Kings''' 8:10-11 (in context vv.6-11). '''2 Chronicles''' 5:11-14 (in context vv.7-14). '''Job''' 22:13-14. '''Psalms''' 18:12,97:2,104:1-4,105:39. '''Song''' (of Songs, of Solomon) 3:6. '''Sirach''' (Ecclesiasticus) 24:4. '''Isaiah''' 6:4 (in context vv.1-4). '''Lamentations''' 3:44. '''Ezekiel''' 1:4,1:27-28,10:3-4. '''Daniel''' 7:9-10 and 13. '''Matthew''' 17:5. '''Mark''' 9:7. '''Luke''' 9:34-35. '''Acts''' 1:9. '''1 Timothy''' 6:15-16. '''Revelation''' 15:8.</ref> to spare a "beloved sinful people"<ref group="nb">"''beloved sinful people''" see '''Deuteronomy chap. 9 and 10'''</ref> the deadly peril of gazing on God "as he is."
	:"Moses erected the tabernacle; he laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars; and he spread the tent over the tabernacle, '''and put the covering of the tent over it,''' as the '''LORD''' commanded Moses." Exodus 40:18-19 (RSV)

	::"'''He spread a cloud for a covering,
	:::'''and fire to give light by night.'''"
	::::Psalm 105:39 (RSV)

	::"''(He has) stretched out the heavens like a tent.''" Ps. 104:2 (RSV)

	=====Greek 3rd century to 1st century BCE=====
	According to the ] and the ] seventy-two interpreters are chosen to translate the Torah (the Pentateuch) from Hebrew into Greek. This is the ] (LXX). The Septuagint translators render ''' 'orot T'cHashim''' as ''hyacinth skins''. The Seventy understood tahash as the color : the same as ], or ], or ], or a deep, ] (]). (see ].)

	This period also sees the beginnings of ] and ].

	=====Josephus 1st century CE=====

	The Jewish Historian ] in his work '']'', Book 3:6:1 (Ant.3.102-103) says:

	<blockquote>Hereupon the Israelites rejoiced at what they had seen and heard of their conductor, and were not wanting in diligence according to their ability; for they brought silver, and gold, and brass'' (bronze, copper,) '' and of the best sorts of wood, and such as would not at all decay by putrefaction; camels' hair also, and sheepskins, '''some of them dyed of a blue color, and some of a scarlet'''; some brought the flower for the purple color, and others for white, with the wool dyed by the flowers aforementioned; and fine linen and precious stones, which those that use costly ornaments set in ouches of gold; they brought also a great quantity of spices; for of these materials did Moses build the tabernacle...''
	</blockquote><ref>{{Citation\|title=The works of Flavius Josephus: the ... \|author=Flavius Josephus\|Chapter=6\|publisher=Armstrong and Plaskitt, and Plaskitt & Co.\|year=1835\|work=books.google.co.uk
	\|accessdate=11 December 2010\|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1AMVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=and+of+the+best+sorts+of+wood,+and+such+as+would+not+at+all+decay+by+putrefaction&source=bl&ots=BS309rbbsF&sig=D5TTZv3rQ7a-4F8PyJu21QSY6II&hl=en&ei=wKcDTeayOIaKhQe3n43tBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=and%20sheep%2C%20some%20of%20them%20died%20of%20a%20blue%20colour%2C%20and%20some%20of%20a%20scarlet&f=false}}</ref>

	A few paragraphs further on Antiquities 3:6:4 (Ant.3.132-133) says:
	<blockquote>There were also other curtains made of skins above these, which afforded covering and protection to those that were woven, both in hot weather and when it rained; and '''great was the surprise of those who viewed these curtains at a distance, for they seemed not at all to differ from the color of the sky'''; but those that were made of hair and of skins, reached down in the same manner as did the veil at the gates, and kept off the heat of the sun, and what injury the rains might do, and after this manner was the tabernacle reared.</blockquote>

	The skins of tahashim that formed the outer covering of the Tabernacle are here interpreted as skins dyed of a blue color, ''"for they seemed not at all to differ from the color of the sky."''

	=====Aramaic 2nd century CE=====

	] 6.3–10 with Aramaic Targum Onkelos '']'']]] (c. 35-120 CE), a famous convert to Judaism, is credited with undertaking the translation of the Tanakh into Aramaic c. 110 CE. This is the authoritative ], frequently referred to as the '''Targum'''. Hebrew '''קרן''' ''keren / qeren'' means "horn", it also means "shine, radiant." The '''Targum''' renders tahash as '''''ssgwn''''', sasgawna, sas-gona, '''''ssgvn''''', sas-gavna<ref group="nb">'''ssgwn''', sasgawna, sas-gona—these transliterated forms of ססגונא are probably according to the interpretation of the letter waw / vav '''ו''' as a ''mater lectionis''—sas-gavna is the transliterated form according to the interpretation of the letter '''ו''' as a consonant.</ref> : understood by the '']'' as a reference to color. ("The joy of all colors, most exalted of colors, the glory of colors!")
	:"...that is why we translate it sasgawna, that it rejoices in many colors..." (Sabbath 28a)
	] understands tahash as '''''khn''''', the color of "glory" (the color of the sky, the sapphire-stone, the seat of glory):
	:: "...'''''I put shoes of glory on your feet'''''..." (Ezekiel 16:10)<ref>: "'' I put shoes of glory on your feet.''"</ref> (richest ''blue, indigo, violet'')

	Compare Aramaic Targums on '''Numbers 4:6''ff''''' at .

	], a 2nd century CE native of Pontus in Anatolia, and a disciple of ], produces an exceedingly ] of the ''''']''''' into Greek around 130. There is some (inconclusive) evidence that he retains the Greek '''ὑακἱνθινος''' (deep "''']'''") as the ''literal'' translation of the Hebrew '''תחש'''י'''ם'''.
	<ul>
	<li style = "background-color: #191970; color: #ffffff"> Midnight blue <li>
	</ul>

	======Classic naturalists: "tahash" not an animal name======
	<ref group="nb">The information on the ''Physiologus'' compendium in this article is relevant because of the fact that the author/compiler does not include "tahash" as the name of any one of the animals known to the ancient world. This suggests that the word "tahash" did not ] an animal or that they did not use any Hebrew word for one.</ref> About the same time, according to tradition, or perhaps later, the '']'', written in Greek, in Alexandria, by an anonymous compiler and author is now finished. The author does not use the Hebrew word "tahash". ], c. 1602]]It is a ] or ] of ''animals, plants and stones known to the ancient world'', some of them ], ''but generally believed to be '''real''''', with interpretive meanings associated with them (]): it summarizes ancient knowledge and wisdom about animals in the writings of classical authors such as Aristotle's ''Historia Animalium'' and various works by Herodotus, Pliny the Elder, Solinus, Aelian and other naturalists.

	This ] text will soon become deeply influential with sages, scholars and teachers of youth. The ''''']''''', sometimes described as a composite creature with a horned head, long neck and a horse's body, sometimes also having divided hooves ('']''), is the only creature described by the Physiologus as multi-colored: "'''''He is entirely variegated''' (in color) '''and is beautiful like Joseph's coat.'''''" (Genesis 37:3)

	There is no entry in ''Physiologus'' using the term Tahash or Tachash.<ref>'''''Physiologus''''', Translated by ]: First translation into English of the Latin versions of ''Physiologus'' as established by ], 92 pages, c. 1979 by the University of Texas Press. Woodcuts in this edition are reproduced from the 1587 ] edition of ''Physiologus'', courtesy of the Newberry Library, Chicago. ISBN 0-292-76456-1. Notes included tell the reader, "'''''The legend of the unicorn arises out of reports concerning the rhinoceros.'''''" p. 86</ref> The '''''''''' most closely resembles the classic description of the Talmudic and Rabbinical ''tahash'' of the 6th-12th centuries.

	=====Judah haNasi 3rd century=====
	] Techelet Techeiles Blue. A set of ] with blue thread.]]
	The ] ] (170-220 CE) compiles the ] c. 200 CE. He renders his opinion that tahash skins are skins dyed '''''altinon''''' (Greek, '''''άλήδινον "aledinon"'''''), seemingly ].<ref>Jerusalem Talmud ''Yerushalmi: Shabbath 2:3''. Also —(''Eccles. R. 1:9'') Encyclopaedia Judaica: "Tahash". The reference '''Eccles. R. 1:9''' designates a textual passage in the ''mishnaic compendium'': Ecclesiastes Rabba 1:9 or Qohelet Rabba 1:9 (Qoh. Rab. 1:9): in context, the notation '''R.''' or '''Rab.''' or '''Rabbah''' designates the ] within the Talmud. see ] and ].</ref> This could indicate skins ''tekhelet'' dyed.<ref group="nb">According to the ] (] 61b) the color of the indigo dye from the '']'' is '''identical''' in color to ''tekhelet''—indigo blue dye is tekhelet blue.</ref> Such skins would be most "striking," "vivid," "radiant," "'''קרן'''". This parallels and supports the literal Greek version of Aquila which renders the Hebrew ''tahashim'' תחשים as the Greek ''hyacinth blue'' ὑακίνθος (indigo).

	About 235 CE ] incorporates the literal Greek version of Aquila of Sinope in his monumental work ''''''.

	Both Aquila of Sinope and Judah haNasi translate וערותתחשים as skins of color (purple, violet, indigo, blue). ''Huakinthos'' (hyacinth blue) is retained in the Hexapla as the literal Greek translation of ''tahas'' (tachash).

	=====Jerome 4th century=====
	]
	The ] is an early 5th century ] version of the Bible. It was mainly the result of the work of ], who was commissioned by ] in AD 382 to make a revision of the Old Latin translations (]). The Vulgate is usually credited to have been the first translation of the Old Testament into Latin directly from the Hebrew ], rather than the Greek ].

	The Vulgate translation of tahash is '''''ianthinas''''', ]. (see ''Biblia Sacra Vulgata'')

	''Bible versions and translations of תחש representative of this point in history:''
	*Scrollscraper Tikkun (tchashim)
	*The Judaica Press Complete Tanach (tchashim)
	*Navigating the Bible II (blue-processed skins)
	*The Living Torah by Aryeh Kaplan (blue-processed skins)
	*The Anchor Bible (beaded skins)
	*The New American Bible (tahash skins)
	*The Douay-Rheims Bible (violet skins)
	*The Latin Vulgate (''pelles ianthinas''—violet skins)
	*The Hexapla of Origen with ''Aquila'' (hyacinth skins)
	*The Targum Jonathan (glory-colored skins)
	*The Septuagint (hyacinth skins)
	*The Samaritan Pentateuch

	=====''Physiologus'' 5th century=====

	<ref group="nb">This part of the article is relevant because "'''''Tahash'''''" is not included in the ''Physiologus''. This suggests that the Hebrew word "tahash" at that time did not have any meaning as the '''name''' of an animal for any of the ] of that period, or before, or it would have been used by them. And this is important for understanding the development and history of the meaning of the word through the ages.</ref> About the year 400 the '']'' is first translated into Latin. There is no mention of the Hebrew word Tahash or Tachash in any of the initial Latin translations and editions of the ''Physiologus''. The descriptions of the '''''''''' and the '''''''''' closely resemble the Talmudic and Rabbinical 6th-12th centuries descriptions of the legendary tahash.

	], IX century.]]The author introduces his stories from ] with the phrase, "''the physiologus says''," meaning, "the '''naturalist''' says," that is, "the ], the ] and ] for natural history say." From this phrase comes the name that is given to the work, which the anonymous author himself/herself did not title: '''''Physiologus''''' (lit. '''''"The Naturalist"''''').

	The influence of the ''Physiologus'' over ideas of the "meaning" of animals is profoundly ] and far-reaching among scholars and teachers of all peoples (see ], ] and ].) So influential is the perceived authority of this book that it is later again translated into ], in several recensions, and into ] and ], then into many European and Middle-Eastern languages. Manuscripts are often, but not always, given illustrations, often lavish. (Many ] copies such as the later 9th century ] survive.) It retains its influence over ideas of the moral and symbolic ''meaning'' of animals in Europe for over a thousand years.

	There is no entry for '''Tahash''' in any edition or translation of the '''Physiologus'''. Editions include entries for the monoceros and the unicorn.

	=====Talmud 6th century=====
	======Aggadah and allegory======
	During the period of the development of the Palestinian Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud (200-500 CE), various sages set forth their ]; and one of the several important elements present in Talmudic discussion is ].

	Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic ] in the Talmud and Midrash that incorporates ], parable, historical ]s, moral ]s and practical advice in various spheres, from business to medicine. Some ]ic discussions are highly ]ical, and many Jewish authors stress that they are not intended to be taken literally; they sometimes serve as a key to particularly ] discussions (see ] and ]). This was done to make this material less accessible to the casual reader and to prevent its abuse by detractors.<ref group="nb">A similar tradition appears in the Christian New Testament: "''Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.''" "''The disciples came and said to him, 'Why do you speak to them in parables?' He answered them, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.''" (Matthew 7:6; 13:10-12 RSV)</ref>

	Many of the debates are hypothetically reconstructed by the Talmud's redactors, often imputing a view to an earlier authority as to how he may have answered a question: "''This is what Rabbi אאאאא could have argued....''". Nevertheless, some of these debates were actually conducted by the ].

	======Horned animal skins======
	A comparison of the discussions of the Sages on the possible meanings of tachash, in the Talmud and in Rabbinical writings, with those primary texts of the Torah,
	:,
	:,
	:,
	demonstrates, on the simplest and most literal level, that valuable finished tahash skins were actually donated by the people from the spoils of Egypt already in their possession. Students and scholars are frequently warned that anyone who does not take account of the context of the debates and the intent of the Sages and the ''normal modes of expression'' of their time, will not fully understand the meaning of their words, and can gravely misrepresent them.<ref group="nb">"...'''''normal modes of expression'''''..." The ] and the ], for example, see deeper meanings in every word of the Torah. For an outstanding example of sage counsel universally applicable to all students, translators and interpreters, see the full text of the Roman Catholic Papal Encyclical '''''' on the interpretation of Sacred Scripture, which says, '''3''' ..."''there is no error whatsoever...in figurative language, or in terms which were commonly used at the time, and which in many instances are in daily use at this day, even among the most eminent men of science''"...'''12''' ..."''in fine the manner of speaking, relating and writing in use among the ancients is made clear by innumerable examples''".... '''Four levels of interpretation''' are set forth in ''']:''' "'''115''' ''According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two'' senses ''of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the ], moral, and ] senses.'' '''116''' ''The ''literal sense'' is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: 'All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal.' '' '''117''' ''The ''spiritual sense''. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.''" These principles apply equally to the debates of the Sages in the Talmud.</ref> "''Every animal possesses unique attributes and characteristics from which we are to learn different lessons.''"<ref>: see section ""—–'''Zoo Torah''' by ].</ref>

	Because the word תחשם is associated in the text with the word for skins, "skins of '''tachashim'''" are understood by many to be '''animal''' skins; the exact kind of animal is unknown, its identity admittedly only conjecture.<ref></ref> Both clean, '']'', and unclean, '']'', animals are proposed and discussed. —''see below, ].''

	Based on indications put forth by ] (c. 132 CE, the traditional time of the original completion of the ''Physiologus''), many suggested identifications for the tahash are proposed, such as the fleet-footed antelope (taking '''תחש''' ''tahash'' from '''חש''' ''hish'', "fleet"), or the ], which has many of the signs given by R. Meir: multicolored skin, a horn-like protrusion on its forehead, and some of the signs of a clean animal.

	:''"Said R. Elai in the name of R. Simeon b. Lakish, ...R. Judah said, The ox which Adam the first sacrificed had one horn.... But '''makrin''' implies two?—Said R. Nahman b Isaac: '''Mi-keren''' is written.''" Shabbath 28b
	The student of languages is here immediately alerted to the fact that a ''description'' of an animal with an interesting or remarkable kind of horn can be translated—using extreme '']''—into another language or dialect as a ''literally translated and faithful description'' of an animal with a "single horn", an animal with "one horn".

	Over a period of two to five centuries the meaning of a word even in its own language can change so much that its current meaning is radically different from its original or ancient meaning (]). In this context it is useful to compare translations of for variant meanings and interpretations of ''keren'', especially
	:'''DV''' "horned" and
	:'''NAB''' "radiant", and the
	:'''Hebrew/English-parallel MT and JPS 1917 (Mechon Mamre)''' version's "sent forth beams".

	======"Horned" tekhelet blue======
	The Hebrew '''קרן''' ''qeren'' literally means "horn", but it also means "''radiant / vivid / penetrating''". Skins of '''radiant''' color in the text—skins of marked appearance—could immediately ''']''' skins of a '''horned''' (animal) for reader and audience. Skins ('''שש''' "''''") a rich, deep indigo blue would provide a radiantly beautiful, and vivid (horned), covering for the '''משכן Mishkan'''. R. Judah haNasi (see above) suggests that skins of ''THSM'' (Hebrew '''תחשם''') are skins dyed ''altinon'' (Greek '''άγήδινον''' ''aledinon''), seemingly purple, i.e. skins dyed a royal ''tekhelet''.<ref>Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed. 2007, "TAHASH". ''Jerusalem Talmud (Yerushalmi)'', Shabbath, 2:3. see also commentaries under '''''' for discussions of "'''''tekhelet'''''", "'''sky-blue'''" and "'''blue processed skins'''".</ref>]]]

	Some restrict the identification of the color '''Tekhelet''' (blue)<ref>see : 40 bible-verse references: 39 of them keyed to Strong's (Hebrew Lexicon) number '''''', and 1 to Strong's number ''''''. There is also 1 related entry there for "BLUENESS" keyed to number '''''' which begins with the root "'''cH' / kH''''." Notice in particular at entry for '''''' the words: "'''...''i.e. the color violet''...or stuff dyed therewith:—blue.'''" The ''source'' of the blue or purple violet color used by the ancients ''at the time of Moses'' is the subject of the debate. see ].</ref> to a dye obtained only from that mollusk from which royal purple dye is made (see ]; see especially ].) This is the royal purple dye that among the pagan nations is reserved for emperors and rulers and senators and kings.<ref group="nb">] also called Simon Maccabeus (140 BCE) high priest and ] of the Jews was "clothed in purple" and wore gold. "''And the Jews and their priests decided that Simon should be their leader and high priest for ever...and that he should be clothed in purple and wear gold.''" 1 Maccabees 14:41-43 (RSV)</ref> In the Torah it is written:
	:"If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Exodus 19:5-6a (RSV)
	Therefore the use of that particular royal purple dye which is so esteemed among the nations as a mark of royal dignity appears to some to be implied here. Others argue that '''Tekhelet''' is a more general term, meaning ''any'' blue or purple dye, and they allow the use of the indigo-purple dye obtained from the plant source '']''. (see ].) The ] that is the source of '']''--usually designated ''hillazon/chilazon'', although the identity of the actual mollusk that was the ancient source of ''tekhelet'' dye is ] even today—the mollusk that is the source of ''tekhelet'' does not have "fins and scales," ''and it is a carnivore'' ]: these are two factors that according to the prescriptions in the Torah identify it as unclean:
	:"Anything in the seas or the rivers that has not fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is an abomination to you. They shall remain an abomination to you; of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall have in abomination. Everything in the waters that has not fins and scales is an abomination to you." Leviticus 11:10-13 RSV.
	]
	However, the ''processed dye itself'' is not regarded as unclean, ] because these creatures are not taken as food one cannot say that their '''''flesh''''' is eaten, and because the dye is preferably removed while the creatures are still alive (''Shabbat 75a'') one cannot say that their '''''carcasses''''' are touched.

	Hence, the Talmud identifies the royal purple dye obtained from the ''chilazon'' as clean, the only licit dye for ritual use, but designates the common dye obtained from the indigo plant as ] (In fact, according to ], ''any'' blue or purple dye obtained from any source other than the water mollusk ''chilazon'' is unacceptible, counterfeit, illicit unclean.) {{color swatch\|#132343\|}}The indigo-purple blue dye obtained from the ''indigofera tinctoria'' plant for the ] is identical in color to the indigo-purple blue dye obtained from the mollusk for the ], and it is far less expensive to produce. But only the blue-purple tekhelet dye obtained from the water mollusk ''chilazon / hillazon'' is directly and exclusively associated with rulers and with royalty.]

	A vat full of indigo dye is a very dark color called ], very nearly black. Most human beings with otherwise good eyesight cannot distinguish the various tones of ] from blue or violet. Tekhelet is translated variously as blue or violet in the Bible. See The ancients (]) acknowledged ], three of them we call "primary" (]), three of them "secondary" (]). The '''six colors''' are ], ], ], ], ], and ], with their various shades and tones.<ref group="nb">Indigo was not defined as a ] until Sir ] (17th century) ] increased the number of colors named in the ] from the traditional six colors to ''seven'', to match the ''seven musical notes'' of a western ''major scale'', the ''seven (known) planets (Sol, Mercury, Venus, Luna, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn)'', the ''seven days of the week'', and other lists of seven. But ''before'' Newton, the color indigo was called blue or violet.</ref> Since according to the ] (] 61b) the color of the indigo dye of the ''kela ilan'' indigofera tinctoria plant is '''''identical''''' in color to the indigo dye of the hillazon, ''the color indigo is the ]'', but the exact tone of the true tekhelet blue is lost to history.

	]]The lost color tekhelet is referred to by various sources (Shabbat 26a) as being "black as midnight", "blue as the midday sky", and even purple. On ]ot (prayer shawls) the lost tekhelet is symbolized by black, blue or purple. The deepest, richest indigo appears ]: according to ancient tradition, a sign of the greatest possible dignity and respect. Professional dyers since ancient times have always been able to produce a true '''''color of all colors''''' from a skillful blending of the '''''six colors''''' (]), resulting in a rich black blue-black dye which closely resembles the deepest, richest, darkest, near-black indigo-blue: "the color of colors" ("a dye of six colors"). Within the depths of indigo are hid the colors of the world.

	See ]. See ].

	=====''Etymologiae'' 7th century=====

	<ref group="nb">The '''''Etymologiae''''' is relevant because it does not mention the Hebrew word ''tahash''. If "''tahash''" had been commonly known as the name of an animal known to the ancient and medieval world outside of the Jewish community it certainly would have been included in this work. (It is evident from the ''Etymologiae'' that Isidore was aware of Classical Greco-Roman natural histories and of African and Middle Eastern and Talmudic and Rabbinical traditions; it is not evident that he knew the Hebrew word tahash as the name of an animal.)</ref> Following the ''Physiologus'', Saint ] compiles and edits his extensive encyclopaedic work '']'' ("''Etymologies''") (AD 635), which will form a bridge between the condensed ] of classical learning at the close of ] and the inheritance of the 7th century received by the early ]. '''Book XII: ''de animalibus''''' ("''on the animals''") is devoted to '''''Beasts and birds'''''.<ref>'''The ''Etymologies'' of Isidore of Seville''', translation and c. by Stephen A. Barney, W. J. Lewis, J. A. Beach, and Oliver Berghof, 2006, Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK. information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521837491 {{cite book \|isbn=0-521-83749-9}}.</ref> ''The Hebrew term tahash is not included, but the one-horned, desert-dwelling, fiercely untameable '''''' is included.''

	The number of creatures catalogued in the ''Physiologus'' is expanded: more than 120 categories of creatures are mentioned and discussed. The descriptions of some of these are strongly evocative of the descriptions of ''the tahash'' in the Talmud. The '''''Tiger''''' is distinguished by varied markings. The '''''Panther''''' is ornamented with tiny round spots, as if covered and marked with little round eyes, varying black and white against a tawny background. The '''''Pard''''' has a mottled coat, and is extremely swift. The '''''Rhinoceros''''', monoceron, that is, the '''''unicorn''''', has a single four-foot horn in the middle of its forehead, so sharp and strong that it tosses in the air or impales whatever it attacks. It often fights with the elephant and throws it to the ground after wounding it in the belly. It has such strength that it can be captured by no hunter's ability; but if a virgin girl is set before it, as it approaches, she may open her lap and it will come to her hand and lay its head there with all ferocity put aside, and thus lulled and disarmed it may be captured.<ref>''Etymologies of Isidore of Seville'', pp. 251-2.</ref> All animals known to the ancient world and to the peoples of North Africa, the Middle East and Europe at this time are included in this encyclopedic work. See

	There is no entry for '''"Tahash"''' in the '''''Etymologiae'''''. But the description of the rhinoceros, monoceron, unicorn is similar.

	=====The Masoretes 7th to 10th centuries=====
	], robed in blue "Mantle of the Law", standing in the ] with curtain open (] Synagogue, ]).]]Groups of mostly ] scribes and scholars called ] compile a system of pronunciation and grammatical guides in the form of ] notes on the external form of the Scriptural text in an attempt to standardize or fix the pronunciation, paragraph and verse divisions and ] of the Tanakh, the Jewish Bible, for the entire ], the worldwide Jewish community.

	The Masoretes devised the ] notation (]) system "]" for Hebrew that is still widely used. The textual context of the words was considered, but primarily the ] ] of the meanings of the Hebrew words was determinative and decisive for what they considered to be an acceptable understanding of the meaning of Sacred Scripture. Divergent readings of the text, variations in pronunciation of the letters and words of the text by individual readers of the Sefer Torah in the synagogue, and therefore alternative interpretations of the text not fully accepted by Rabbinical tradition, as represented by the ''Mishnah'' and the ''Gemara'', were minimized or excluded.<ref>The work of the Masoretes has long been regarded as a kind of ''anti-Christian conspiracy'' by some "]s". See two representative external links "" and ""</ref> One notable example is that the ancient ] Greek translation, ''parthenos'' (virgin), of the corresponding Hebrew word in the text of Isaiah 7:14 is rendered ambiguous or misleading or invalid by the Masoretic Text reading '' 'almah'' (young woman) instead of ''b'th(uw)lah'' (virgin maid).<ref>see : Hebrew Dictionary entries '''''' and ''''''. See also related entries under number .</ref> See ] for a discussion of divergent readings and texts.] pronunciation and reading guide.]]

	Several factors led most Jews to abandon use of the (previously) authoritative Greek ]. Perhaps most significant for the LXX, ''as distinct from other Greek versions'', was that the LXX began to lose Jewish sanction after differences between it and contemporary 2nd to 5th century CE. Hebrew scriptures were discovered. Even Greek-speaking Jews—such as those remaining in Palestine—tended less to the LXX, preferring other Jewish versions in Greek, such as that of ], which seemed to be ''more ''']''' with contemporary 2nd century CE Hebrew texts''. ] of Alexandria incorporated the Greek version of Aquila in the ''']'''. Aquila renders תחשים as ''huakinthos''—].

	Detailed variations between different Hebrew texts in use clearly existed, as witnessed by differences between the present-day Masoretic text and versions mentioned in the ''Gemara'', and often even ''Halachic midrashim'' based on spelling versions which do not exist in the current Masoretic text.<ref>Menachem Cohen, '''' in ''HaMikrah V'anachnu'', ed. Uriel Simon, HaMachon L'Yahadut U'Machshava Bat-Z'mananu and Dvir, Tel-Aviv, 1979</ref> These variations are limited to whether particular words should be written ''plene'' or ''defectively'', whether a ''mater lectionis'' consonant to represent a particular vowel sound should or should not be included in a particular word at a particular point.<ref group="nb">This is relevant to the ancient phonetic connotation between תחשם and השם discussed in the previous sections "Sacred word play: paranomasia" and "Orthographic paranomasia" in this article.</ref>

	] (Joshua 1:1 ''Masoretic'')]]The finished ] is represented by the finished standard ] text and the finished alternate ] text. Both texts are called Masoretic Text(s). It is because of their work that the words ''shaym, shem, shuwm'', for example, with their distinct meanings, can be distinguished from each other: '''שם, שם, שם'''.

	After the establishment of the Masoretic Text, the interpretation of '''''tehasim''''' —]]]]→'''תחשים→תחשם'''— as a '''color''' is not favored by Hebrew grammarians.<ref></ref> Such a rendering is considered ''ungrammatical.'' Moreover, '''ת ח ש ם''' ''is a non-existent word.'' The meaning of '''T'Hash'm''' —'''תחשים'''— ''is not to be connoted or confused or connected in any way with the meaning of'' '''Hash'm''' —'''השם'''. (see above, "] and "]".)

	:The most ancient form of "'''''skins of tahashim'''''" — * ]]]]]].....M S H T T R .....'''''-r-tt-h-s-m''''' —
	:is now — ''' ו ע ר ו ת ת ח ש י ם'''.....M y Sh cH T T w R w (''t'') .....''''' 'orottachashim''''' — in the synagogue's ''Sepher Torah''.

	:See
	:See
	:See )
	:See

	''Bible versions and translations of תחש representative of this point in history:''
	*The English Standard Version (''goatskins'')
	*The God's Word translation (''fine leather'')
	*The New Revised Standard Version (''fine leather'')
	*The New Jerusalem Bible (''fine leather'')
	*The Revised Standard Version (''goatskins'')
	*The Bible in Basic English (''leather'')
	*The Targum Onkelos (''rejoices in its colors'')

	=====Saadia Gaon 10th century=====
	] (born c. 892, d. 942) is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic. He suggests that tahash skins, meaning ''"'''black leather''' (dark blue skins)"'',<ref>''"'''black leather''' (dark blue skins)"'' —</ref> are skins taken from the ''zemer'' (listed among the kosher animals in Deuteronomy 14:5) which he definitively translates into Arabic as ''zirafa'', "giraffe", the ancient '']''.

	According to Saadia Gaon, tahash skins are black-finished hides taken from the ''zemer'', which he translates as giraffe.

	=====Ibn Janah 11th century=====
	], ''Abu al-Walid Merwan ibn Janah'', c. 990-c.1050, was a Hebrew ] and ] of the Middle Ages, who found his true calling in the investigation of the Hebrew language and in rabbinical literature and scriptural ]. Considered the greatest Hebrew ] of the Middle Ages, Ibn Janah's chief work is the "'']''" (''Book of Minute Research'') devoted to the study of the Bible and its language, and was the first complete exposition of Hebrew vocabulary and grammar.<ref></ref>

	As did Saadia Gaon before him, '''Ibn Janah''' also translates tahash skins as ''"'''black leather''' (dark blue skins)''"<ref></ref>

	=====Arukh 11th-12th centuries=====
	], 1035-1106, most noted for his compilation the ''''']''''', featuring extensive etymologies, interprets tahash skins as "''blue-processed skins''": '''''Aruk''''' s.v. '''''Teynun'''''.<ref></ref>

	=====Rashi's Commentary 12th century=====

	], 1175 and before 1938]]] (Feb. 22, 1040 - July 13, 1105) is a medieval French rabbi highly esteemed for his scholarship and the clarity of his teaching.<ref>—'''Britannica Concise Encyclopedia''': Rashi; '''Gale Encyclopedia of Biography''': Rashi; '''Encyclopedia of Judaism''': Rashi; '''Columbia Encyclopedia''': Rashi.</ref> His most famous contributions are his voluminous '''Commentaries''' on the '''Tanakh''' (Hebrew Bible) and the '''Talmud'''. He translates difficult Hebrew or Aramaic words into the spoken French language of his day, giving today's modern scholars a window into the vocabulary and pronunciation of ].

	In his commentary on Exodus 25:5 "skins of tachashim" (see also Talmud: ), Rashi says that ''tachash'' denotes a species of animal that existed only for a (short) time, strikingly beautiful, with many hues; and that is why Onkelos (Targum) renders it (in Aramaic) '''ssgwn''', "sasgawna", because it rejoices ("ss") and boasts of its hues ("gwn").
	:''Tachash was a kind of wild beast. It existed only at that time. It was multi-colored and therefore it is translated in the Targum as ''sasgona'': delights and prides itself in its colors.'' Rashi. () Shemot-Exodus-25.

	In accordance with the tradition of the sages, "tachash" denotes a kosher, multi-colored, one-horned desert animal (a kind of multi-colored unicorn) which came into existence to be used to build the '']'' and ceased to exist afterward (or was ''hidden'').
	:''Rabbi Yehudah said: It was a huge kosher animal in the desert, and it had one horn in its forehead, and its hide had six colors from which they made the curtains of the Mishkan.''
	:''Rabbi Nehemiah said: It was a miraculous beast that was hidden away after it was used in the Tabernacle. Why was it necessary to create such a beast? It is written that the skins of the Tachash that were used for the curtains were also 30 cubits long. What animal hides are 30 cubits long? Rather it was a momentary miracle that was hidden away soon after it happened.''<ref>'''Talmud: ''Shabbat 28a,b''''' —according to . The ], ], ], ], ] and many other kinds of animals are multi-colored. Two possible patterns of (six-colored) coloration in nature are: black, brown, red, yellow, orange, white (e.g. the ]); and black, blue-black, dark grey, ash grey, brown, tan, red, orange, silver, white (e.g. the ]): see also ''']''' (''multi-colored'') and natural ].</ref>

	Each tachash skin could be made into a single finished curtain 30 cubits in length and 4 cubits in width. (With a standard ancient ] estimated at 17.5 inches, that makes a single finished curtain measure 58 feet, 4 inches long, by 5 feet, 9 and 15/16 inches wide.)

	'''Rashi's commentary''' on Yechezkel/Ezekiel 16:10 states first the reading that tachash is of the "''taisse''" family (''from Greek'' τρόχος, ''"runner"'')<ref group="nb"> by Victor Hein, page 493 ("''note 84, page 352''"): "''Here we follow the common opinion, namely, that '''tasso''', '''taxo''', '''taxus''', badger...''" —'''Old French: ''taisnier''''': animal den, lair (''dark, hidden'' —in the wild), from ''taisse, taisson'' (badger—a creature known for its habit of swiftly hiding from sight in a dark ] or ])——Modern French: ''''''''''. ''See'' ], and ] —''see'' linguistic terms: "]" and "]".</ref> (''OFr'' lit. "darkly reserved, hidden retreater" family), saying (English translation): "'''and I shod you with '''": and then gives an ''alternative reading of the same text'', saying: "] renders:] '''And I put shoes of glory on your feet.'''"<ref>see —scroll down to the commentary on verse '''10'''. "... badger,...". see also '''כהניא''' .</ref> For further discussion of this reading of תחשים as a ''color'' (''"glory"'') כהניא see the article "]".

	It is unlikely, given what is known today about the Old French language, that Rashi intended the meaning that we understand today as "badger".<ref>See "''...and it is much questionable whether the same creature is meant we call the badger, since that with the Israelites was an unclean creature...''"</ref> The tiny badger cannot be the huge kosher animal in the desert with one horn and a hide of six colors. According to the Talmud: ''Shabbath 28b:''
	:"''The tahash of Moses' day was a separate species, and the Sages could not decide whether it belonged to the genus of wild beasts or to the genus of domestic animals; and it had one horn in its forehead, and it came to Moses' hand just for the occasion, and he made the Tabernacle, '''and then it was hidden'''''" (somewhere else, secretly, swiftly, ''in its lair, den, its '''retreat''''').

	''The simple fact that Rashi states the tradition that the tahash (Exodus 25:5) existed for only a short time, and only at the time of Moses, shows that he cannot be referring to the badger or to badgers' skins, but to an animal that is "dark, hidden, swift —in the wild''"''':''' —'''taisse''', ''from'' τρόχος ''"runner"''.<ref group="nb">see also "''...and it is much questionable whether the same creature is meant we call the badger...''" (badger).</ref>

	=====Avraham ben HaRambam 13th century=====
	], ''Abraham ben Moses ben Maimon'', 1186-1237, the son of ] (Rambam), appointed court physician in Egypt at the age of eighteen, became '']'' (the leader) of the Jewish community in Egypt after the death of his father in 1204, when he was 69: he was already recognized as the greatest scholar in his community. Like his father, his works include a '''''commentary on the Torah'''''—only his commentaries on Genesis and Exodus are still extant—as well as commentaries on parts of his father Maimonides' '']'' and commentaries on various tractates of the Talmud. He wrote a work on '']'' (Jewish Law), combining philosophy and ethics (written also in Arabic), as well as several ''medical'' works; his "''Discourse on the Sayings of the Rabbis''" which discusses '']'' is frequently quoted.<ref></ref>

	Abraham Maimon Ha-Nagid (''Avraham ben HaRambam'') like ''Saadia'' and ''Ibn Janah'' before him, interprets tahash skins as ''"'''black leather''' (dark blue skins)", leather worked in such a manner as to come out dark and waterproof.''<ref>—''see also'' .</ref>

	=====Medieval Bestiaries: 12th to 16th centuries=====

	<ref>This section is relevant because the Medieval bestiaries don't include the word ''tahash'' or ''tachash'' as the '''''name''''' of an animal. Some of the animals described do resemble the description of the tahash. This is important for an understanding of the etymology (history of meaning) of the word.</ref> ] are popular compendiums of beasts in illustrated volumes that describe various real and mythological animals and birds, and even rocks, each entry in them usually accompanied by a moral lesson (see ].) They are particularly popular in England and France around the 12th century and are mainly compilations of earlier texts. The word ''tahash'' is not included. The ''monoceros'' and the ''unicorn'' are included.] (''Monoceros'').]]]]]

	The earliest bestiary in the form in which it was later popularized during this period was an anonymous 2nd century CE Greek volume called the ], which was itself a summary of ancient knowledge and wisdom about animals in the writings of classical authors such as Aristotle's '']'' and various works by ], ], ], ] and other naturalists.
	Following the ''Physiologus'' Saint ] (Book XII of the '']'', AD 635) and Saint ] expanded the religious message with reference to passages from the ] and the ]. They and other authors ''freely expanded or modified'' the pre-existing models they drew upon, constantly refining the moral content without interest in or access to much more detail regarding the ''factual'' content (]). Nevertheless, the often fanciful accounts of these beasts and birds are widely read and generally believed to be true. Outstanding examples are the ] and the ]. ''There is no entry for "Tahash" in any of the Bestiaries of the Middle Ages, but there are entries for the unicorn and the monoceros.'' ('''')

	The opinions of the Talmud and of Rashi's Commentary are taken as authoritative support for the generally held ] among the Jews that "tahash" (because of ]) now denotes a ], a large, kosher, multi-colored '''unicorn of the desert''', which was brought into existence solely to supply the skin for the outer covering of the Tabernacle, and which ceased to exist afterward when the Tabernacle was completed.<ref>See '']'', and "'''The Legends of the Jews'''" by Rabbi ] (</ref> Some justification for this view is also found in the Bible:

	:"For thy almighty hand which made the world of matter without form, was not unable to send upon them a multitude of bears, or fierce lions, or '''unknown beasts of a new kind''', full of rage: either breathing out a fiery vapour, or sending forth a stinking smoke, or shooting horrible sparks out of their eyes: whereof not only the hurt might be able to destroy them, but also the very sight might kill them through fear." (] 11:18-19a ])

	=====Douay-Rheims Bible 16th and 17th centuries=====

	In the second half of the 16th century (years 1550-1600 CE) Catholic scholars (]) exiled from England begin work on a new ] from the Latin Vulgate of Jerome which had been translated from the Hebrew Tanakh/Bible. Comparing the Hebrew Tanakh ''tahas'' and the Greek Septuagint ''huakinthina'' with various Jewish and Christian commentaries and the standard Latin Vulgate ''ianthinas'' together with what is known to them at the time of the ancient languages, they render ''tahas'' as the color '''violet''' in all the passages of the Biblical text where it appears; for example:

	:"Thou shalt make also another cover to the roof, of rams' skins dyed red; and over that again another cover of violet coloured skins." Exodus 26:14 (DV)

	:"And I clothed thee with embroidery, and shod thee with violet coloured shoes: and I girded thee about with fine linen, and clothed thee with fine garments." Ezechiel 16:10 (DV)

	:"''How beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O prince's daughter!''"
	:Canticle of Canticles 7:1b (DV) (''Song of Songs / Song of Solomon'')

	The New Testament was published by ] at ], France, AD 1582, the Old Testament by The English College at ], France, beginning AD 1609 (the first volume: ''Genesis to Job'') and completed AD 1610 (the second volume: ''Book of Psalms to 2 Machabees, plus the ] of the ]: ], ] and ], and ]'').

	=====Authorized King James Version 17th century=====
	See ], ], ], ] and ].

	In 1604 the English translation known today as the ] (AV) or the King James Version (KJV) is first commissioned. The translators see a similarity between the Latin '''''taxus''''' (''Meles taxus'', a ],) the German '''''dachs''''' (badger,) and the Hebrew '''''tahas'''''—also, ''Rashi on Ezekiel 16:10'' gives the reading that the shoes or sandals are ''taisse''—and accordingly they translate the Masoretic Text of the word תחשים as "badger": "badgers' skins".

	According to Jewish Hebrew scholars this translation of '''''T'''a'''H'''a'''S'''h'''M''''' has no basis in fact.<ref>Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 19 SOM-TN, page 435.</ref> And the ] and ] Latin translations of the Hebrew text never render '''''tahas''''' as '''''taxus''''' (or as any form of ''Meles taxus'', either singular or plural.) ''Meles taxus'' is the 17th century Latin '']'' designation for "badger", but the '']'' does not appear in any of the Latin versions of the Bible anywhere in the text as the Latin translation of Hebrew ''tahas''.

	The Authorized Version is completed in 1611 by the ], and then later revised, ''twice'', in two authorized editions issued by ], the first in 1629 and the second in 1638. The word "badger" is retained as the KJV translation of tahash.

	''Bible versions and translations of תחש representative of this period in history:''
	*The New King James Version (badger's skins)
	*The American King James Version (badger's skins)
	*The Jewish Publication Society of America Version (JPS) 1917 (badger's skins)
	*Young's Literal Translation (badgers' skins)
	*The Authorized King James Version (badgers' skins)

	=====18th century=====
	'''] Complete Commentary on the Bible 1708-1710''', first published in 1706, offers a ] of the King James Version's translation "''badgers' skins''" in the :
	:"...badgers' skins, so we translate it, but it should rather seem to have been some strong sort of leather (but very fine), for we read of the best sort of shoes being made of it, Eze. 16:10."

	The Latin ''taxus'' (a badger) is soon given official scientific sanction. The first edition of the ''''']''''' (Carolus Linnaeus) is published in 1735. Its fundamental philosophy, its form and structure, reflects the influence of the ''''']'''''. This is the beginning of the modern system of ] using Latin as the standardized form of scientific ]. Using an academic vocabulary already current at this time, the European badger is officially classified as '''''Meles taxus'''''.

	The Douay-Rheims Bible of 1610 is now extensively revised by Bishop ]: the New Testament, in three editions 1749, 1750, and 1752 (this last edition of the New Testament having important changes from the 1749 edition in both text and notes, the variations numbering over two thousand); and an edition of the Old Testament (minus the Vulgate apocrypha), in 1750. The 1750 edition of the complete Douay-Rheims Bible is in fact a ''new version'', taking as its base the KJV rigorously checked and extensively adjusted for improved readability and consistency with the Clementine edition of the Vulgate: —"'''violet coloured skins'''" is retained as the translation of Latin "'''''pelles ianthinas'''''" (hyacinth skins) from Hebrew ''''' 'orot tahasim'''''. Most 20th century printings and on-line versions of the D.V. follow Challoner's 1750 text. The Challoner revision is still often the Bible of choice of English-speaking ].

	The tenth edition of ''Systema Naturae'', 1758, is today regarded as the beginning of modern zoological nomenclature. The '''''thirteenth and final definitive edition''''' of the '''''Systema Naturae''''' is published in 1767. The classification of the European badger by the Latin ''Meles taxus'', similar in sound to German ''dachs'' (a badger), and similar in sound to '''תחש ''t-h-s''''', is taken as scientific support validating the King James Bible translation of וערות תחשים as "badgers' skins".

	The Authorized King James Version is twice again corrected and updated with revisions at Cambridge, first in 1762, and finally in 1769 (some 24,000 places in the text) in the now ] of the text of the King James Version most familiar to modern readers today: —"'''badgers' skins'''" is retained as the translation of ''''' 'orot tahasim'''''. (see ], and ], and ].)

	<ref group="nb">'''''1776''''' — In 1843 ] designated the dugong as ''Halicore '''tabernaculi'''''. The "timeline" begins here with the first official 1776 zoological classification of the dugong as ''Trichechus dugon''—instead of the much later 1843 ''Halicore '''tabernaculi'''''—and lists each of the changes in the scientific name as they occur over the following decades.</ref> The Arabic '''' (dugong) is first classified by ] in 1776 as '''''Trichechus dugon''''', a member of the manatee genus previously defined by ].

	]. ''Keresh of Dvei Ilai''?]]'''''The tachash''''', as described in the 12th-15th centuries, an enormous, multi-colored, one-horned, animal of the desert, not found since the completion of the tabernacle by Moses, is now regarded as a ] of ], along with ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ],<ref>''basilisk'': see Isaiah 14:29, Psalm 90:13, Biblia Sacra Vulgata, Douay-Rheims Bible (Psalm 91:13 Hebrew/Protestant versions)</ref> the ], the ], the ], the ] called ], the ], the ],<ref>Talmud: Chullin 59b. ''The '''keresh''' is a giant deer, the '''tigris''' is a giant lion, '''Dvei Ilai''' is a dense forest''.</ref> the ], the ], and ]. This traditional understanding of the identity of ''the tachash'' becomes an enduring part of Jewish cultural identity.

	''Trichechus dugon'' (dugong) is classified '''''Trechechus dugung''''' by ] 1777.

	While the Arabs at this time apply the descriptive '''tukhas''' – '''البدر''' / '''دلفبن''' – to dugongs and sea cows, to dolphins and porpoises, from which they harvest skins for leather for their tents and curtains and sandals, the Jews apply the word '''tukhas''' – '''תחש''' – to derrieres, i.e. buttocks. (see ]—see ]—see linguistic term "].") To "leather" or "tan" someone's tukhas is to administer a prudent corrective physical punishment for disobedient naughtiness.

	''Trechechus dugung'' (dugong) is classified '''''Dugong indicus''''' by ] 1799.

	=====19th century=====
	''Dugong indicus'' (dugong) is classified '''''Dugong dugong''''' by ] 1811.

	The ] of the academic field of ] within the ] of ], developed over many years, now culminates in the 19th century.

	''Dugong dugong'' (dugong) is classified '''''Halicore lottum''''' and '''''Halicore hemprichii''''' by ] 1832.

	Scientists, linquists and Bible translators have the following facts at this time:
	*The Masoretic Text of Ezekiel 16:10 lists "...sandals of ''tahash''..." ( '''תחש''' )
	*The Bedouin make leather sandals from the skins of very large sea-mammals they call ''tucash'' ( '''ذروف البدر''' / '''دلفبن''' ).
	*Linguists using the comparative method of historical linguistics see ''tucash'' and ''tahash'' as ]s.<ref>Encyclopedia Judaica: "TAHASH"</ref>
	*The Masoretic Text of Exodus 26:14 states that the outer covering of the ''Mishkan'', the '''Tabernacle''', is to be made of "''skins of tachashim''."
	*The Sages of the '''''Talmud''''' say that ''tachash'' denotes a ''very large animal''.
	*] (dugongs and manatees) have recently (about 1840) been '']'' as belonging to the order ] (''which includes cattle/bison, goats, sheep, giraffe, elk, deer, antelope and gazelle.'')

	Accordingly, ] (Rupell and ], 1828, 1831) classifies the large sea-mammals the Bedouin call ''tucash'' (dugong) as "''''']'''''" (1843).

	Easton's Bible Dictionary (1823–1894) "Badger" says,

	:"Our translators seem to have been misled by the similarity in sound of the Hebrew ''tahas'' and the Latin '']'', 'a badger'. The revisers have correctly substituted 'seal skins.' The Arabs of the Sinaitic peninsula apply the name ''tucash'' to the seals and dugongs which are common in the Red Sea, and the skins of which are largely used as leather and for sandals."

	Dugongs are larger than seals. The adult female dugong is larger than the male: they have been known to attain a length of 4 meters and a weight of over 1,000 kilograms (over 13 feet in length and a weight of over 2,200 lbs.)

	The Arabic '''البدر''' / '''دلفبن''' '''t'kh's, t'h's''' is transliterated alternately and interchangeably "tucash," "tukhesh," "tukhas." Many scholars, from the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century, continue to see a linguistic closeness between the words '''tachash''' and '''tukhas''' in both sound and meaning, and accordingly render their expert opinion that the outer covering of the Tabernacle of the LORD was made of well-tanned '''tukhas''' hides.<ref>''Bible translations:'' ASV 1901, NWT 1961, NASB 1971, NIV 1978, JPS Tanakh 1985.</ref>

	''Halicore tabernaculi'' (dugong) is classified '''''Halicore australis''''' by ] in 1847.

	] (pub. Boston, 1850) under the word "tachash" states that the Arabs of Sinai wear sandals of dugong skin. This is taken to explain the meaning of the phrase in the Book of Ezekiel (16:10), "I gave you sandals of ''tahash'' skin." Later (pub. Leipzig, 1905) he cites ] (Aegyptiaca, i.ff) who ]s the Egyptian root t-ch-s and makes the expression ''' 'or tahash''' mean "soft-dressed skin."

	''Halicore australis'' (dugong) is classified '''''Halicore cetacea''''' by ] in 1877.

	Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890) under "" gives fourteen biblical references of the word,<ref>Exodus 25:5; 26:14; 35:7; 35:23; 36:19; 39:24; Numbers 4:6; 4:8; 4:10; 4:11; 4:12; 4:14; 4:25; Ezekiel 16:10</ref> associated with only one lexical number reference (popularly called Strong's number) directing the reader to the Hebrew Lexicon in that work, entry '''''', which gives the Hebrew characters ('''T'''av-'''CH'''eyth-'''SH'''iyn), the older English word '''tachash''', its phonetic pronunciation ''takh'-ash'', and tells the reader that the word is probably of foreign derivation, and that it denotes "a (clean) animal with fur, probably a species of ''antelope'':—badger." (The ] is not a species of ].) According to the Torah the badger is unclean:

	:"And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on ''all'' four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even." Leviticus 11:27 (KJV)

	<ref group="nb">''see'' ]. The investigations of cryptozoologists 1892-2010 do not include seeking any evidence for the existence of the legendary '''tahash''', indicating that they apparently do not regard the word "tahash" as denoting any kind of animal unknown to naturalists or rumored to exist.</ref>] publishes his 1892 study '']''. This marks the very beginning of a scholarly discipline that will later be called "'']''", the study of hidden animals.

	''Halicore cetacea'' (dugong) is recombined and classified '''''Halicore dugung''''' by ] in 1898.

	=====20th century=====
	1906 sees the publication of the influential (Protestant) ''']''', based on the Hebrew-German lexicon of William Gesenius as translated by Edward Robinson: ''''']''''' At the bottom of the linked page site locate '''Index''' number and click it to see the ''Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon'' page 1065 for entry '''תחש''' ''tahas''<ref>'''Brown-Driver-Briggs:''' ''at linked site locate index number'' , click it: image of page 1065 will appear on right, enlarge the page, locate fourth entry down '''†i. תחש tahas'''...</ref>
	:"a kind of leather or skin, and perhaps the animal yielding it (probably the dugong, cf. the Arabic ''t_kh_sh'' for dolphin; Assyrian ''tahjsu''), for which Dl conj. the meaning ''sheep(skin)''; Bondi cp. Egyptian ''ths'', leather...—leather used for (woman's) sandals Ez. 16:10; elsewhere for cover of tabernacle...."
	]
	S. M. Perlmann<ref>S. M. Perlmann, Shanghai businessman and scholar. See article ] "History" 9th paragraph, "Despite their isolation...", 6th sentence, "S. M. Perlmann, a Shanghai businessman..."</ref>(], set 4, XII, 256, 1908) suggests that the ], "a species of antelope," is the animal indicated by tachash.<ref>Alfred Ely-Day, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) "Badger" (end of entry).</ref> But the okapi is most closely related to the ]. (The okapi and the giraffe belong to the family '']'', the antelope belongs to the family '']'': the okapi is not a species of antelope.)

	The ], 1907–1914, (in use to this day) under "Tabernacle" states simply and directly:
	:"...Two outer coverings (no dimensions are given), one of dyed rams' skin and one of '''dugongs'''' skin, protected the whole structure."

	The only English Catholic Bible in common use (1915) is the Douay-Rheims Version (DV), which says in Exodus 26:14:
	:"Thou shalt make also another cover to the roof, of rams' skins dyed red; and over that again another cover of '''violet coloured''' skins."

	The ] (ISBE), 1915, (in use to this day) under the entry "BADGER" states:
	:"baj'er: tachash: ...Septuagint dermata huakinthina. The Septuagint rendering would mean purple or blue skins, which however is not favored by Talmudic writers or by modern grammarians, who incline to believe that tachash is the name of an animal. The rendering 'badger,' is favored by the Talmudic writers and by the possible etymological connection of the word with the Latin taxus and the German dachs."

	The ISBE does not specify the reasons why "Talmudic writers" and "modern grammarians" (1915, not identified) do not favor the Septuagint rendering "purple or blue skins," it does not specify the reasons why Talmudic writers and modern grammarians incline to believe that tachash is the name of an animal, and it does not specify the reasons why Talmudic writers (not identified) favor the rendering "badger" over any other rendering, since the badger is unclean according to Leviticus 11:27-28.

	The ], 1938, 1948, 1952, 1962, Shabbath 28b says:
	:"R. Meir used to maintain, The tahash of Moses' day was a separate species, and the Sages could not decide whether it belonged to the genus of wild beasts or to the genus of domestic animals; and it bad one horn in its forehead, and it came to Moses' hand just for the occasion, and he made the Tabernacle, and then it was hidden. Now, since he says that it had one horn in its forehead, it follows that it was clean."

	]]]The ] of the Bible, an English translation published in the mid-20th century, poses the first serious challenge to the popularity of the ], aiming to be a readable and ] accurate modern English translation. The translation panel appointed by the ] (ICRE) uses the traditional ] for the Old Testament used by the ], rendering ''' 'oroth T'Hashim''' as '''''goatskins'''''.

	''Halicore Dugung'' (dugong) is recombined and classified '''''Dugong dugon''''' by ] and ] in 1963.<ref>V. B. Scheffer and D. W. Rice. 1963. A list of the marine animals of the world. ''United States Fish and Wildlife Service Special Scientific Report--Fisheries'' '''143:'''1-12.</ref>

	Researchers in the discipline of ] include in their investigations the (probably) extinct ''''']'''''. The descriptions and illustrations of this ] resemble the descriptions of the legendary tahash.

	''Bible versions and translations of תחש representative of this period in history.''
	*The World English Bible (sea cow hides)
	*The Revised English Bible (dugong-hides)
	*The New Jewish Publication Society translation: JPS Tanakh (dolphin, or sea cow)
	*The New International Version (sea cow hides)
	*The New American Standard Version (porpoise skin)
	*The New World Translation (sealskins)
	*The American Standard Version (sealskins)

	=====Mid-20th century to beginning 21st century — tachash to tahash=====
	The ], a scholarly and commercial co-venture begun in 1956, initiates "a new era of cooperation among scholars in biblical research," which continues over several decades, producing a body of work consisting of a ''Commentary Series, Bible Dictionary,'' and ''Reference Library''. According to their research the precise meaning of ''tehasim'' is uncertain: during the 20th century Hebrew '''תחש''' ''tahas'' is often treated as the same as the Arabic term '''دلفبن''' ''tuhas'' (cf. ''duhas'') for "dolphin," "but this interpretation is not certain." '''''Tehasim''''' has been connected to an Assyrian word meaning "sheepskin" and an Egyptian word meaning "to stretch or treat leather": '''''tahas''''' seems to be ] with Akkadian ''dusu - tuhsia'' - "goat/sheep leather " out of which the tabernacle cover (Exodus 26:14; Numbers 4:6) and luxury boots and sandals were made (Ezekiel 16:10.)<ref>
	The Anchor Bible, Vol. 22, Ezekiel 1-20, 1964, page 270: "XV. Jerusalem the Wanton. Ezekiel 16:10", page 278: Comment: "''tahas'', out of which..."
	The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 6 Si-Z, 1992, page 298, TABERNACLE: d. The Outer Enclosures; and page 307, TAHASH: "Heb. ''tahas''..."</ref> (This cognate with Akkadian ''dusu/duhsu'', ] ''tusiwe'', Sumerian ''DUH.SI.A'',<ref>''dusu/duhsu'' a reddish-yellow stone or leather of that color used for sandals and other purposes. William H. C. Propp, The Anchor Bible: Exodus 19-40: Volume 2A: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, Nov. 2006 (First Edition) p. 374.</ref> may indicate that the Hebrew singular should be vocalized ''tohas'', not ''tahas''.)<ref>William H. C. Propp, The Anchor Bible: Exodus 19-40: Volume 2A, p. 374.</ref> According to this scholarship, "tanned and (blue-)dyed skins" seems to be a more probable meaning for ''' 'orot tehasim''' than "dugong hides." The editors and translators of the Jewish '''World ORT''' translation, '''''Navigating the Bible II''''', render '' 'orot tahasim'' as "blue-processed skins":
	:::Exodus 25:5: "...''reddened rams' skins, '''blue-processed skins''', acacia wood,...''"

	] (2000, Journal of Semitic Studies 45:1-19, Faience and Beadwork, Hebrew ''tahas'', Akkadian ''duhsu'') marshalls ] and ] evidence as proof that ''dusu/duhsu/tahas'' is neither a substance (leather, dye) nor a color, but a technique of sewing ] ] beads onto leather to attain various chromatic effects. (2006) cites this research, translating ''tahas/tahasim'' as "beaded" ("beaded skins"), in his translation of Exodus in The ]: Exodus 19-40.<ref>The Anchor Bible: Exodus 19-40: Volume 2A, p. 310 "5 and reddened ram skins and beaded skins and acacia wood," and p. 374 "''beaded skins T'hasim'' (singular ''tahas'') is an ancient riddle..."</ref>

	The form of the English word for Hebrew ''tahas'' is also changed. The Anchor Bible Dictionary's entry and treatment is for TAHASH, not "tachash" (it has no entry for TACHASH.)

	The editors of the ] article TAHASH state that "because the Arabic ''tukhesh'' means the sea-mammal ''Dugong hemprichii'', some endeavor to identify it with the tahash." In conclusion, they say, "...the identity of the ''tahash'' remains obscure. The ] and ] translation of 'badger' has no basis in fact."

	==Importance of textual and cultural and religious context==

	Given the prohibitions in the ] (Pentateuch) forbidding the Israelites to touch anything they are to regard as ''unclean, abhorrent, abominations'' ( and ), a great number of commentaries and scholarly articles over the centuries, beginning with the ], have been written discussing the question of why scholars and translators and interpreters familiar with the Biblical text, and familiar with the importance of textual and cultural and religious context, should propose the skin of an '''unclean, non-kosher "abhorrent"''' (KJV) '''animal "abomination"''' (RSV) as the outer covering of the Tabernacle, rather than the skin of a clean, kosher animal, such as the sheep, goat or antelope instead.<ref group="nb">Talmud: Tractate Shabbath 28a,b.—–''see'' the ] 589-1038, the ] 11th-15th centuries, the ] 16th century to present. A general listing of their works can be seen at ]. ''See'' ] (covering answers to questions asked over a period of 1,700 years) and ]. The following articles are informative: —''']'''—.</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|title=Gold from the Land of Israel: A New Light on the Weekly Torah Portion from the Writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook\|author=Chanan Morrison\|ISBN=978-9657108925\|pages=147\|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wDCeNwEX9ywC&pg=PA147}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|title=Sacred Monsters: Mysterious and Mythical Creatures of Scripture, Talmud and Midrash\|author=Natan Slifkin\|ISBN=978-1933143187\|pages=68\|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_1fdxxS26RYC&pg=PA68}}</ref>

	:" the main text: ''' ''''] propounded: can the skin of an unclean animal be defiled with the defilement of tents'''?'''' What is his problem?—Said ]: His question relates to the tahash which was in the days of Moses,—was it unclean or clean? ] observed, What question is this to him? We learnt it! For the sacred work none but the skin of a clean animal was declared fit.

	:"] objected: ] said: There are two coverings, one of dyed rams' skins, and one of tahash skins. ] said: There was one covering and it was like a squirrel. But the ] is unclean!—This is its meaning: like a squirrel, which has many colors, yet not the squirrel, for that is unclean, whilst here a clean . Said ]: That being so, that is why we translate it sasgawna that it rejoices in many colors. '''...'''

	:"What is our conclusion with respect to the tahash which existed in Moses' days?—Said ] in the name of ], ] used to maintain, The tahash of Moses' day was a separate species, and the Sages could not decide whether it belonged to the genus of wild beasts or to the genus of domestic animals; and it bad<ref group="nb">"bad" is the older form of the past tense for "bear": i.e. "and it '''bore''' one horn on its forehead..."</ref> one horn in its forehead, and it came to Moses' hand just for the occasion, and he made the Tabernacle, and then it was hidden. Now, since he says that it had one horn in its forehead, it follows that it was clean. For ] said, The ox which Adam the first sacrificed had one horn in its forehead, for it is said, and it shall please the Lord better than an ox, or a bullock that hath a horn and hoofs. But makrin implies two?—Said ]:<ref group="nb">search "Nahman '''bar''' Isaac" (not "'''ben''' Isaac") then click on "'''JewishEncyclopedia.com- NAHMAN BAR ISAAC'''" for article.</ref> Mi-keren is written. Then let us solve thence that it was a genus of domestic animal?—Since there is the keresh, which is a species of beast, and it has only one horn, one can say that it is a kind of wild beast."
	:::<ref>Soncino Babylonian Talmud: Translated into English, with notes, glossary and indices, under the editorship of Rabbi Dr. I. Epstein, B.A., Ph.D., D. Lit., c. 1938, 1948, 1952, 1961, The Soncino Press, London.</ref>

	==Summary: the current meanings of "tahash"==
	====Legendary animal of Jewish tradition====
	]Students of the Talmud, and of Jewish culture in general, today are fully persuaded by tradition that ''tekheleth'' is a blue dye produced by snails and not the color blue, and that Aramaic ''sasgawon'', the Masoretic ''tahas'', is a legendary multi-colored one-horned animal of the desert specially created by Heaven for the adornment of the ''Mishkan'' and not a specially prepared and finished leather. This is the '''modern traditional meaning''' of tahash. —''image of Thomson's Gazelle evocative of "multi-colored" horned tachash''.

	—See .

	====Badger according to the King James Version====

	]Christians holding the ] of the Bible in highest esteem as the infallible Word of God, today are fully persuaded by tradition that the outer covering of the Tabernacle of the Lord was made of badgers' skins, according to {{Bibleref\|Exodus\|25-26\|KJV}}, {{Bibleref\|Exodus\|35-36\|KJV}}, {{Bibleref\|Exodus\|39\|KJV}}, {{Bibleref\|Numbers\|4\|KJV}}, and {{Bibleref\|Ezekiel\|16:10\|KJV}}. This is the '''modern ''literal'' King James meaning''' of tahash. —''image of ] (formerly Meles taxus 16th-17th c.)''.

	====Allegorical sign of the community of God: ''Qahal''====

	]According to the ] read into the sacred scriptures by those who are fully persuaded that there is a deeper, richer meaning in the word than appears on the surface, the tahash is the sign of the '''''', the congregation, multitude, assembly of the people whom God has ''called out'' from among the nations of the earth to Himself, to submit to Him alone, and bear witness to His Name—among Jews the '']''—among Christians a ] of the ] of the ], and of the ] he formed as the temple of the Holy Spirit of God among us. The thought of the tachash lifting its horn to the sky is evocative of the sight of the Torah being lifted up in the sight of the people. Debates about the "literal" meaning that the word tahash might have had in the past are far less important than the "spiritual meaning" it has for us today. This is the '''modern allegorical meaning''' of tahash. —''image of Yemeni Jew at morning prayer''.

	====Scholarly interpretations and Bible translations====

	''See ], above:''

	]19th and 20th century Biblical commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias, reference works, and study guides and materials for Bible students, propose the meanings "''dugong hides, sealskins, sheepskins, fine leathers,''" or more generally, "''a kind of leather, skin, or animal hide,''" as the meaning of "Heb. ''tahas'', tachash"—sometimes adding that the original meaning is "''obscure or uncertain''".

	—''image of dugong''.

	The meaning favored by students or readers is influenced by their personal perceptions of the reputation of the researchers or scholars of these works expressing opinions viewed by them as most authoritative and/or trustworthy, depending on their perceptions of the religious or secular (non-religious) standing of the authors and researchers, and/or the various reputations of the published works themselves. The current 19th-21st century several meanings of '''''Tahash''' skins'' are: "'''hyacinth'''" (blue) skins, "'''indigo'''" skins, "'''richly dyed'''" skins, "'''joy colors'''('''joyous color''')" skins, "'''purple'''" skins, "'''violet'''" skins, "'''''taisse''' ('''lair''', '''den''', '''retreat''', '''hider''')''" skins, "'''badger'''" skins, "'''seal'''" skins, "'''sea cow'''" hides, "'''leather'''", "'''sheep'''" skins ''or'' "'''goat'''" skins, "'''porpoise'''" hides, "'''dugong'''/'''manatee'''" hides, "'''fine-leather'''", "'''soft leather'''", "'''antelope'''" (addax) skins, "'''tachash'''" skins, "'''blue-processed'''" skins, "(''Egyptian faience'') '''beaded'''" skins.] —''image of small blue-green beads

	Each of these translations represents a '''''previously'' modern Biblical meaning''' of tahash current at the time of its publication, each having proponents and defenders and critics, informed and uninformed, which researchers must understand when presenting the results of their most current studies of the ancient sources.

	—''See'' and , ''in particular''

	====Skilled indigo work: translations of the ancient witnesses====

	]Today, because of an increase in knowledge of the languages, the opinions of the ancient witnesses ''prior'' to 100 CE / AD 100 have influenced recent translators to render the Hebrew word תחש ''tahas'', '''''t'ch'sh''''', as English '''tahash'''. Other translators and editors choose to render it as the ancient translators variously suggested: '''fine leather''', and '''blue-processed''' skins: i.e. soft-dressed indigo-dyed antelope hide, skins of skilled indigo work (''beaded''), or sheepskins dyed blue. This is the '''modern linguistic meaning''' derived from the results of careful archaeological and linguistic studies of the ancient sources. —''image of violet pigment tones''.

	====Historical linguistics and Grammatical-Historical Exegesis====

	]Historians and students of history who look to historical documentation of ancient texts for understanding of the past, to discern the "original intent" of the Biblical authors' words by using the most current insights and data available from ''], ]'' and '']'', today are persuaded that the ''tahash'' of the ] was most likely "a species of antelope"<ref> תחש ''and'' , '''''takh'-ash''; prob. of for. der.; a (clean) animal with fur, prob. a species of ''antelope''—badger.'''" See ]. The word for the particular antelope "addax" is phonetically very similar to the Hebrew " 'adash" and "tahash". Another antelope that anciently ranged the region of the Levant is the ]. Both are multi-colored, each has a distinctive, singular horn. The NAB translation (Deut. 14:5) lists the addax and the oryx separately: the NJB lists them as "antelope and oryx"; the REB lists them as "white-rumped deer and long-horned antelope".</ref> of the ] (citing as support for their opinion material from sources such as those cited and presented in the ''"Etymology"'' section of this article, including the centuries-old traditional opinion of the Sages of the Talmud and Rashi's commentary that '''תחש''' / '''תחשים''' denotes an animal and not the color of the skins covering the Mishkan — ''see above'': ] and ]) —''image of a species of domestic antelope (addax) native to the Levant''.

	This is the '''modern Grammatical-Historical ]''' of the "original Biblical meaning" of tahash.

	—See , also , and , and

	==See also==
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*] (works of)

	==Notes==
	{{reflist\|group="nb"}}

	==References==
	{{Reflist}}

	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]

	]
	]
	]

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