Horse Leech
“From a root meaning to adhere, stick close, or hang fast”
Summary
The horse leech is a blood-sucking aquatic worm mentioned in Proverbs as an emblem of insatiable greed and rapacity.
☩The Proverb
The horse leech appears only once in Scripture: "The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give" (Proverbs 30:15). This proverb follows a description of "a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw-teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men." The horse leech is introduced as an illustration of such covetous persons and the two distinguishing vices of which it is the parent: avarice and cruelty.
☩Identification and Characteristics
Although the Hebrew word alukah is translated "leech" in nearly all ancient versions, there has been dispute about its precise meaning. Some scholars, including Bochart, have argued it means "destiny" or "fate," with the two daughters being Sheol (for the soul) and the grave (for the body). However, most accept the traditional translation, as the leech is an apt emblem of rapacity used by writers throughout history. The horse leech proper is a species of leech discarded for medical purposes due to the coarseness of its bite. It is abundant in Palestinian waters and known for fastening itself within the nostrils or mouths of animals as they drink.
☩Symbolism of the Two Daughters
The "two daughters" crying "Give, give" may be a figurative description of the leech's two lips, which are perfectly formed as part of its complicated mouth. It is agreeable to Hebrew style to call parts of things "daughters," as branches are called daughters of trees in Genesis 49:22. Solomon uses the leech to represent rapacious people with two insatiable dispositions: rapacity and avarice, which never say they have enough but continually demand additional gratifications. Cicero similarly called the common people of Rome "horse-leeches of the treasury," and Plautus used the image of one who would "turn myself into a horse-leech and suck out their blood."
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Horse-leech," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Edwin W. Rice, "Horse-leech," in The People's Dictionary of the Bible (American Sunday-School Union, 1893).
- 3.John Kitto, "Horse-Leech," in A Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, vol. I (Mark H. Newman, 1845).
- 4.Richard Watson, "Horse-Leech," in A Biblical and Theological Dictionary (John Mason, 1831).