Biblical Types, Symbols & Patterns
Conies
Claim-level biblical evidence review with contextual controls, canonical relationships, and preserved interpretive history.
Aliases: Rock Hyrax
How to read this entry
Evidence grades apply to individual claims, not to the headword as a whole. Strong biblical identification is kept separate from plausible or traditional interpretations, and unsupported proposals remain visible as negative evidence rather than being silently removed.
Conies as rock hyraxes / rock badgers
KJV conies renders Hebrew shaphan, the rock hyrax/rock badger, an actual animal associated with rocky refuge.
Context control: The animal is literal in dietary law and creation descriptions before proverb imagery is considered.
The KJV “conies” are the Hebrew shaphan (rock hyrax/rock badger); this zoological/translation identification must be distinguished from the proverb’s figurative lesson.
Grade 4: Recurrent canonical motif or strong thematic patternScope: Species terminology is secondary to the secure textual features: a small/weak rock-dwelling animal.
Residual uncertainty: No material residual uncertainty beyond the stated scope limitation.
Evidence sources
- Canonical Scripture: MT/LXX/NA28 with NET/ESV comparison — Text loci verified for TSP-S0F Batch 1
- BibleHub lexical summary — Hebrew shaphan: rock hyrax / coney — Accessed/verified 2026-09-20
Rock badger as explicit wisdom exemplar in Proverbs
Proverbs 30 explicitly places the rock badger among four small things described as exceedingly wise and specifies its weakness and rock dwelling.
Context control: The inspired text itself supplies the wisdom frame.
Proverbs 30 explicitly presents the rock badger/coney as a wisdom exemplar: though not mighty, it makes its home in the rocks.
Grade 1: Explicit biblical interpretationScope: The established meaning is passage-specific proverbial wisdom grounded in weakness and secure habitation; “wisdom in hiding” is an imprecise legacy compression.
Residual uncertainty: No material residual uncertainty beyond the stated scope limitation.
Scripture
Evidence sources
- Canonical Scripture: MT/LXX/NA28 with NET/ESV comparison — Text loci verified for TSP-S0F Batch 1
- BibleHub lexical summary — Hebrew shaphan: rock hyrax / coney — Accessed/verified 2026-09-20
Lexical mappings
These are cross-tier mappings only; lexical definitions remain owned by the site’s lexical resources.
- HEBREW: שָׁפָן shaphan — H8227
Study-aid notice
This page is part of an AI-assisted conservative evangelical Bible-study project. It has passed structured research, review, and QA gates, but it is not inspired or infallible and does not replace Scripture, prayer, pastors, teachers, or local church discernment.
Claims should be tested against Scripture in context. Corrections and Review Policy.