Original Word: לְטָאָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: lta'ah
Pronunciation: leh-tah-ah
Phonetic Spelling: (let-aw-aw')
KJV: lizard
NASB: lizard
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to hide]

1. a kind of lizard (from its covert habits)

lizard

From an unused root meaning to hide; a kind of lizard (from its covert habits) -- lizard.

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
(a kind of) lizard
NASB Translation
lizard (1).

לְטָאָה noun feminine a kind of lizard (Late Hebrew id.); — named as unclean Leviticus 11:30 (with צָב, אֲנָקָה, כֹּחַ, חֹמֶט, תִּנְשֶׁמֶת), ᵐ5 χαλαβώτης, ᵑ9 stellio. — See Di^{on the passage} Tristr^{Nat. Hist. Bib. 266 ff}.

Occurrence and Identification

Strong’s Hebrew 3911 designates a single creature named within the catalogue of unclean land-dwellers in Leviticus 11:30. Most English versions render the word as “lizard,” “monitor lizard,” or “great lizard,” reflecting a large reptile found in the Near East. The context groups it with other small ground-creeping animals, indicating a creature familiar to the Israelites and easily recognized in daily life.

Context in Leviticus

Leviticus 11:29-31 lists eight “swarming creatures” that Israelites were forbidden to eat or even touch once dead. Among them, verse 30 states: “the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon”. The appearance of לְטָאָה in this series underscores two points:

1. The creature is classified by locomotion (“swarming on the ground”) rather than habitat or diet.
2. Any contact with its carcass rendered a person ceremonially unclean until evening (Leviticus 11:31), extending impurity to household items (verses 32-35).

Ritual and Theological Significance

The inclusion of לְטָאָה within the unclean category served a pedagogical function. The law taught Israel that holiness permeated even mundane activities like handling household pests. Unclean creatures symbolized the pervasive presence of death associated with the fall (Genesis 3), reminding the covenant people of their need for constant vigilance and cleansing. Touching a dead לְטָאָה did not morally defile an Israelite, yet it restricted entry to the sanctuary community until purification, reinforcing the boundary between the holy and the common (Leviticus 10:10).

Historical and Cultural Background

Archaeological finds and artistic depictions show various large lizards, including monitor species, thriving along the Nile Valley and Levant. Because such reptiles were scavengers, ancient peoples associated them with decay and impurity. Egyptian religion sometimes elevated lizards to protective deities, but Israel’s law rejected any hint of veneration, differentiating Yahweh’s people from surrounding pagan practices (Deuteronomy 14:2).

New Testament Reflection and Christian Application

The ceremonial categories in Leviticus foreshadowed Christ, who “offered himself without blemish” to purify the conscience (Hebrews 9:14). After the cross, dietary and contact restrictions no longer define covenant membership (Mark 7:19; Acts 10:14-15). Nevertheless, the passage offers enduring instruction:
• Holiness encompasses every sphere of life (1 Peter 1:15-16).
• Uncleanness pictures sin’s defilement, pointing believers to continual confession and cleansing (1 John 1:7-9).
• God’s created order remains good (Genesis 1:25), yet distinctions made under the Law highlight His sovereign right to set boundaries and to fulfill them in Christ (Galatians 3:24-25).

Ministry Significance

Pastors and teachers can employ לְטָאָה to illustrate:

1. The meticulous nature of God’s standards and the impossibility of self-purification.
2. The necessity of a Substitute whose holiness transcends ceremonial washings.
3. The call for God’s people to avoid spiritual “contamination” while engaging the world (2 Corinthians 6:17).

Related References

Leviticus 11:29-38; Numbers 19:11-13; Isaiah 65:3-4; Mark 7:20-23; Acts 10:9-16; Hebrews 10:19-22.

וְהַלְּטָאָ֑ה והלטאה vehalletaAh wə·hal·lə·ṭā·’āh wəhalləṭā’āhInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts