The Mosaic prohibition of the pig--Hatred of Swine by Jews and Mahometans--A strange use of bacon--The prodigal son--Resistance to the prosecution of Antiochus--Swine hated by the early Egyptians--Supposed connexion between Swine and diseases of the skin--Destruction of the herd of Swine--The locality of the event discovered--Pigs bred for the monasteries--The jewel of gold in a Swine's snout--The wild boar of the woods, and the beast of the reeds--The damage which it does to the vines--General account of the wild boar of Palestine--Excellence of its flesh 292 THE ELEPHANT. The Elephant indirectly mentioned in the Authorized Version--Solomon's ivory throne--Ivory used in Egypt--Horns of ivory--The ivory palaces--Beds of ivory--The Tyrian ships--Ivory mentioned by Homer--Vessels of ivory--The Elephant as an engine of war--Antiochus and his Elephants--Oriental exaggeration--Self-devotion of Eleazar--Attacking the Elephants, and their gradual abandonment in war--The Talmudical writers on the Elephant--A funeral and an omen 302 THE CONEY, OR HYRAX. The Shaphan of Scripture, and the correct meaning of the word--Identification of the Shaphan with the Syrian Hyrax--Description of the animal--Its feet, teeth, and apparent rumination--Passages in which the Coney is mentioned--Habits of the animal--Its activity and wariness--The South African Hyrax, and its mode of life--Difficulty of procuring it--Similarity in appearance and habits of the Syrian species--Three species of Hyrax known to naturalists--The Talmudical writers on the Shaphan--The jerboa and the rabbit--A curious speculation and a judicious compromise 312 BEHEMOTH. Literal translation of the word _Behemoth_--Various theories respecting the identity of the animal--The Hippopotamus known to the ancient Hebrews--Geographical range of the animal--"He eateth grass like the ox"--Ravages of the Hippopotamus among the crops--Structure of the mouth and teeth--The "sword or scythe" of the Hippopotamus--Some strange theories--Haunts of the Hippopotamus--The Egyptian hunter--A valuable painting--Strength of the Hippopotamus--Rising of the Nile--Modern hunters--Wariness of the Hippopotamus--The pitfall and the drop-trap 318 BIRDS. THE LÄMMERGEIER, OR OSSIFRAGE OF SCRIPTURE. Difficulty of identifying the various birds mentioned in Scripture--The Vultures of Palestine--The Lämmergeier, or Ossifrage of Scripture--The Hebrew word _Peres_, and its signification--The Ossifrage, or Bone-breaker--Appearance of the Lämmergeier--Its flight and mode of feeding--How the Lämmergeier kills snakes and tortoises, and breaks marrow-bones--Mode of destroying the chamois and mountain sheep--Nest of the Lämmergeier 333 THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE, OR GIER-EAGLE.