(αἴλουρος , aı́louros ): The only mention of this animal is in Baruch 6:22. It is not mentioned in the canonical Scriptures, though Bochart (Hieroz ., 862) gives "wild cats" as the equivalent of cı̄yı̄m in Isaiah 13:21; Isaiah 34:14; Jeremiah 50:39; Psalm 74:19 , where English Versions of the Bible gives "wild beasts of the desert." Mention is, however, made of cats, cathod , in the Welsh Bible (lsa Psalm 34:14 ). The only mention of the catta in classical Latin writers is in Martial xiii.69. How the cat was regarded in Egypt is described in Herod. ii.66 and Rawlinson's notes. In Baruch 6:22 cats are mentioned with "bats, swallows and birds" as sitting with impunity on the images of the heathen gods which are unable to drive them off. See also ZOOLOGY .
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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