BROOKLYN MUSEUM, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND
Hedgehogs appear in figurative art and literature across the biblical world but their identification in the Bible is problematic. About 16 species of hedgehog, distributed among five different genera from the family Erinaceidae, currently live naturally in most of Eurasia and Africa, in various habitats from deserts to tundra.
Hedgehogs are characteristically equipped with thousands of stiff, sharp spines known as quills that serve as their defense against predators. When threatened, hedgehogs can curl up in a pincushion-like ball of needles. Feeding mostly on invertebrates, such as insects, worms, and slugs, these solitary nocturnal mammals can be surprisingly loud, stomping and giving out a pig-like grunt—hence their name in English (baby hedgehogs can be called piglets!). Contrary to popular belief, they do not use their quills to carry food and cannot shoot their spines or roll along when curled into a ball.
In the Hebrew Bible, the words qippod and qippoz have historically been translated as “hedgehog.” However, qippod, which appears in Isaiah 14:23 (prophesying the destruction of Babylon), Isaiah 34:11 (pronouncing judgment against Idumea), and Zephaniah 2:14 (prophesying divine judgment against Assyria), most likely refers to the bittern or another member of the heron family. Although English translations variously see here an owl, urchin, crow, or porcupine, the water bird is more likely given the context (swamps and loud cries), which surely disqualifies the hedgehog. The word qippoz in the so-called “Little Apocalypse of Isaiah” (Isaiah 34:15) has been translated as “hedgehog.” But most translations see here either an arrow snake, a great owl, or a sand partridge. It appears, then, that hedgehogs are missing from the Bible.
In ancient Egypt, hedgehogs were both eaten and valued in funerary and religious contexts, likely for their ability to protect themselves against predators, hibernate (then seemingly rise from the dead), and hunt snakes and scorpions. As symbols of resilience and rebirth, these spiky creatures of the night feature in tomb decorations, especially in the nocturnal journey of the sun. Hedgehog-shaped objects appear in Egyptian jewelry and were used as protective amulets, stamp seals, scarabs, and cosmetics containers. This figurine in blue-green faience with black-painted spots represents a hedgehog on an elliptical base, with its back scored in a grid pattern to simulate quills. Less than 3 inches long, it dates to the 19th or 18th century BCE.
Hedgehogs appear in figurative art and literature across the biblical world but their identification in the Bible is problematic. About 16 species of hedgehog, distributed among five different genera from the family Erinaceidae, currently live naturally in most of Eurasia and Africa, in various habitats from deserts to tundra. Hedgehogs are characteristically equipped with thousands of stiff, sharp spines known as quills that serve as their defense against predators. When threatened, hedgehogs can curl up in a pincushion-like ball of needles. Feeding mostly on invertebrates, such as insects, worms, and slugs, these solitary nocturnal mammals can be surprisingly loud, stomping […]
