badger

A medium-sized burrowing mammal. The Hebrew word (shaphan) translated “badger” in (Prov 30:26) and “rock badger” in (Lev 11:5) and (Deut 14:7) more likely refers to the coney (Ps 104:18) or hyrax (Procavia capensis), a hare-sized, rock-dwelling ungulate. The true badger (Meles meles) also lives in Palestine, but is rarely to be seen.