Bible Dictionary: Bat

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Smith's Bible Dictionary

Bat

(Leviticus 11:19; 14:18) Many travellers have noticed the immense numbers of bats that are found in caverns in the East, and Mr. Layard said that on the occasion of a visit to a cavern these noisome beasts compelled him to retreat.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The Hebrew word (atalleph') so rendered (Leviticus 11:19; Deuteronomy 14:18) implies "flying in the dark." The bat is reckoned among the birds in the list of unclean animals. To cast idols to the "moles and to the bats" means to carry them into dark caverns or desolate places to which these animals resort (Isaiah 2:20), i.e., to consign them to desolation or ruin.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) A large stick; a club; specifically, a piece of wood with one end thicker or broader than the other, used in playing baseball, cricket, etc.

2. (n.) Shale or bituminous shale.

3. (n.) A sheet of cotton used for filling quilts or comfortables; batting.

4. (n.) A part of a brick with one whole end.

5. (v. t.) To strike or hit with a bat or a pole; to cudgel; to beat.

6. (v. i.) To use a bat, as in a game of baseball.

7. (n.) One of the Cheiroptera, an order of flying mammals, in which the wings are formed by a membrane stretched between the elongated fingers, legs, and tail. The common bats are small and insectivorous. See Cheiroptera and Vampire.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

BAT

(`aTaleph; Leviticus 11:19 Deuteronomy 14:18 Isaiah 2:20): Bats are the most widely distributed of mammals, reaching even the oceanic islands, and modern science has revealed the existence of an astonishing number of species, nearly twenty being recorded from Palestine. These include both fruit-eating and insect-eating bats, the latter being the smaller. It has not always been realized that they are mammals, and so it is not surprising that they should be mentioned at the end of the list of unclean birds in Leviticus 11:19 and Deuteronomy 14:18. It may, however, be significant that they are at the end of the list and not in the middle of it. The fruit bats are a pest to horticulturists and often strip apricot and other trees before the fruit has ripened enough to be picked. On this account the fruit is often enclosed in bags, or the whole tree may be surrounded with a great sheet or net. They commonly pick the fruit and eat it on some distant perch beneath which the seeds and the ordure of these animals are scattered. The insect bats, as in other countries, flit about at dusk and through the night catching mosquitoes and larger insects, and so are distinctly beneficial.

The reference in Isaiah 2:20, "cast. idols. to the moles and to the bats" refers of course to these animals as inhabitants of dark and deserted places. As in the case of many animal names the etymology of `aTaleph is doubtful. Various derivations have been proposed but none can be regarded as satisfactory. The Arabic name, waTwaT, throws no light on the question.

Alfred Ely Day

Greek

4520. sabbatismos -- a sabbath rest
... a sabbath rest. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: sabbatismos Phonetic
Spelling: (sab-bat-is-mos') Short Definition: a Sabbath rest Definition: a ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4520.htm - 6k

1687. embateuo -- to set foot upon
... to set foot upon. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: embateuo Phonetic Spelling:
(em-bat-yoo'-o) Short Definition: I enter, set foot on Definition: I enter ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1687.htm - 6k

4315. prosabbaton -- the day before the Sabbath
... the day before the Sabbath. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: prosabbaton
Phonetic Spelling: (pros-ab'-bat-on) Short Definition: the day before the ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4315.htm - 6k

944. batrachos -- a frog
... a frog. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: batrachos Phonetic Spelling:
(bat'-rakh-os) Short Definition: a frog Definition: a frog. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/944.htm - 6k

945. battalogeo -- to stammer
... to stammer. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: battalogeo Phonetic Spelling:
(bat-tol-og-eh'-o) Short Definition: I chatter, utter empty words Definition: I ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/945.htm - 6k

2895. krabattos -- a camp bed
... a camp bed. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: krabattos Phonetic
Spelling: (krab'-bat-os) Short Definition: a bed, mattress, mat Definition: a bed ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2895.htm - 7k

943. batos -- a bath, an Israelite liquid measure
... a bath, an Israelite liquid measure. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration:
batos Phonetic Spelling: (bat'-os) Short Definition: a bath, a liquid ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/943.htm - 6k

4521. sabbaton -- the Sabbath, ie the seventh day (of the week)
... the Sabbath, ie the seventh day (of the week). Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: sabbaton Phonetic Spelling: (sab'-bat-on) Short Definition: the ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4521.htm - 7k

942. batos -- a bramble bush
... a bramble bush. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine; Noun, Masculine Transliteration:
batos Phonetic Spelling: (bat'-os) Short Definition: a thorn bush or bramble ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/942.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

5847. atalleph -- a bat
... 5846, 5847. atalleph. 5848 . a bat. Transliteration: atalleph Phonetic
Spelling: (at-al-lafe') Short Definition: bat. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/5847.htm - 5k

3832. labat -- to thrust down, out, or away
... 3831, 3832. labat. 3833 . to thrust down, out, or away. Transliteration: labat
Phonetic Spelling: (law-bat') Short Definition: ruined. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/3832.htm - 5k

6642. tsabat -- to reach, hold out
... 6641, 6642. tsabat. 6643 . to reach, hold out. Transliteration: tsabat Phonetic
Spelling: (tsaw-bat') Short Definition: served. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/6642.htm - 5k

1327. battah -- a precipice
... 1326, 1327. battah. 1328 . a precipice. Transliteration: battah Phonetic
Spelling: (bat-taw') Short Definition: steep. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/1327.htm - 6k

987. battuchoth -- security, safety
... 986, 987. battuchoth. 988 . security, safety. Transliteration: battuchoth
Phonetic Spelling: (bat-too-khoth') Short Definition: secure. ...
/hebrew/987.htm - 6k

2251. chabat -- to beat off, beat out
... 2250, 2251. chabat. 2252 . to beat off, beat out. Transliteration: chabat Phonetic
Spelling: (khaw-bat') Short Definition: beat. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/2251.htm - 6k

5027. nabat -- to look
... 5026, 5027. nabat. 5028 . to look. Transliteration: nabat Phonetic Spelling:
(naw-bat') Short Definition: look. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/5027.htm - 6k

5670. abat -- to take or give a pledge
... 5669, 5670. abat. 5671 . to take or give a pledge. Transliteration:
abat Phonetic Spelling: (aw-bat') Short Definition: borrow. ...
/hebrew/5670.htm - 6k

Library

On Deck
... when we played games with a team from another village we had a scorer who not only
kept tally of the runs, but also told us who was to be the next at the bat. ...
/.../chidley/fifty-two story talks to boys and girls/on deck.htm

Moreover, Since Celsus Asserts that "The Soul is the Work of God.. ...
... that "the soul is the work of God, but that the nature of body is different; and
that in this respect there is no difference between the body of a bat, or of a ...
/.../origen/origen against celsus/chapter lvi moreover since celsus.htm

God in Human Garb.
... The bat has shunned the light so long through so many bat-generations that it has
become blind, but it has remarkable ears, and nature has grown for it an ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/gordon/quiet talks on johns gospel/god in human garb.htm

The Arminian Controversy. AD 1604-1619.
... Ludg. Bat.1614, 2d ed. (with the Oratio Petri Bertii de vita et obitu Arminii.).
Armin. Opera, Lugd. Bat.1629; and other editions. ...
/.../ 65 the arminian controversy.htm

The Old Testament and Comparative Religion
... (2) The name Sha-bat-tu has been found in the inscriptions as an interpretation
of the phrase, um nuh libbi, which means, a day for appeasing the heart (of the ...
/.../eiselen/the christian view of the old testament/chapter v the old testament.htm

The Helvetic Consensus Formula. AD 1675.
... Spanheim (the elder): Disputatio de gratia universali, Lugd. Bat. 1644; and
Exercitationes de gratia universali, Lugd. Bat. 1646 (1856 pages). ...
/.../ 61 the helvetic consensus.htm

Survival of the Fittest
... spent their imaginations on the unimaginable theme; but Tintoretto alone, says Mr.
Ruskin, has grappled with this awful event in its verity: "Bat-like, out of ...
/.../berkhof/new evangelism and other papers/survival of the fittest.htm

Fearlessness.
... of men's hearts and bid them look within at their own slime and filth; who will
"cry aloud and spare not," though the infuriated cohorts of bat-winged demons ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/rees/the heart-cry of jesus/chapter vi fearlessness.htm

John 3:3; 2 Cor. 5:17 Questions About Regeneration
... 3; 2:Cor.5:17). 2. Bat are not all professing Christians real Christians?
Certainly not. Thousands, unhappily, are only Christians ...
/.../the upper room being a few truths for the times/chapter xviii john 3 3 2.htm

New Shoes
... The more he thought of them, the more he couldn't. He sprang up and hunted around
until he found a good size brick-bat, which he flung with such vigorous hand ...
/.../shaw/touching incidents and remarkable answers to prayer/new shoes.htm

Thesaurus

Bat (2 Occurrences)
... The Hebrew word (atalleph') so rendered (Leviticus 11:19; Deuteronomy 14:18) implies
"flying in the dark." The bat is reckoned among the birds in the list of ...
/b/bat.htm - 10k

Lapwing (2 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Lapwing (2 Occurrences). Leviticus 11:19 And the stork,
the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. (KJV WBS YLT). ...
/l/lapwing.htm - 8k

Receive (350 Occurrences)
... 8. (vt) To bat back (the ball) when served. ... 10. (vi) To return, or bat back, the
ball when served; as, it is your turn to receive. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/r/receive.htm - 36k

Batanaea
... BATANAEA. bat-a-ne'-a: The name used in Greek times for BASHAN (which see), Josephus,
Life, II; Ant, XV, x, 1; XVII, ii, 1, "toparchy of Butanea.". ...
/b/batanaea.htm - 6k

Arbatta
... ar-bat'-a, ar-bat'-is the King James Version Arbattis, (en Arbattois (plural)):
Apparently a district in the neighborhood of Galilee, from which the Jews who ...
/a/arbatta.htm - 7k

Sebat (1 Occurrence)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. SEBAT. se-bat', se'-bat (Zechariah 1:7).
See SHEBAT. Multi-Version Concordance Sebat (1 Occurrence). ...
/s/sebat.htm - 7k

Heron (2 Occurrences)
... Heron (2 Occurrences). Leviticus 11:19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe,
and the bat. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). ...
/h/heron.htm - 9k

Stork (6 Occurrences)
... Stork (6 Occurrences). Leviticus 11:19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe,
and the bat. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). ...
/s/stork.htm - 14k

Hoopoe (2 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Hoopoe (2 Occurrences). Leviticus 11:19 the stork, any
kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. (WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS RSV NIV). ...
/h/hoopoe.htm - 9k

Kinds (110 Occurrences)
... kind, (See JPS). Leviticus 11:19 and the stork, the heron after its kind,
and the hoopoe, and the bat. (See JPS NAS). Leviticus 11 ...
/k/kinds.htm - 36k

Bible Concordance

Bat (2 Occurrences)

Leviticus 11:19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 14:18 and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Bat

Bat: General Scriptures Concerning

Related Terms

Lapwing (2 Occurrences)

Receive (350 Occurrences)

Batanaea

Arbatta