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GREYHOUND
[Heb., zar·zirʹ moth·naʹyim].
A very swift, keen-sighted dog, with a pointed muzzle, a slender streamlined body, and long, strong legs. There is considerable uncertainty, though, as to what is designated by the Hebrew expression, which literally means “the [animal] girded in at the hips (loins).” A number of Bible translations use “greyhound” in the main text at Proverbs 30:31, but in footnotes list “war-horse” and “rooster” as alternate renderings. (AS, NW, Ro) The reading “rooster” or “cock” (AT, Dy, JB, Kx, Mo, RS) has the support of the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate. “Greyhound” is an appropriate rendering, however, for it fits the description of an animal that does well with its “pacing.” (Pr 30:29) The greyhound has been clocked at a speed of about 64 km/hr (40 mph). Also, the slenderness of the greyhound’s lumbar regions, as if the animal were “girded in at the hips,” would harmonize with what is considered to be the literal significance of the Hebrew designation.
