Bible Dictionary
SEALSKIN
Sealskin is an older translation for the material called tachash, used for coverings of the tabernacle and in a figurative description of Jerusalem. The material may instead have been porpoise or dugong skin.
Definition
Sealskin is the rendering used for tachash in descriptions of tabernacle coverings and in Ezekiel’s figurative description of Jerusalem. The material may instead have been porpoise skin or the skin of a dugong.
Biblical Usage
The material is mentioned in Exodus 25:5 as part of the tabernacle materials and in Ezekiel 16:10 in the description of Jerusalem’s adornment.
Historical Background
A seal was found in the Mediterranean but not in the Red Sea. The supplied material therefore considers dugong, found in the Red Sea, a likely meaning of tachash. The King James Version has “badgers’ skins,” while the Revised Version margin gives “porpoise-skin.”
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>sel'-skin: The rendering of the Revised Version (British and American) (Ex 25:5; Eze 16:10) for `or tachash, the Revised Version margin "porpoise-skin," the King James Version "badgers' skin." A seal, Monachus albiventer, is found in the Mediterranean, though not in the Red Sea, but it is likely that tachash means the dugong, which is found in the Red Sea.</p><p>See BADGER; PORPOISE.</p>