Bible Dictionary
Badger Skins
Badger skins, used in the tabernacle and for sandals, probably came from a marine animal such as a seal, porpoise, or dugong rather than the common land badger. The precise identification remains uncertain.
Definition
Badger skins are the skins called tachash in the tabernacle descriptions and in Ezekiel’s reference to sandals. The traditional identification with badgers is uncertain; the word may refer to the skins of marine animals or possibly to a color.
Biblical Usage
The skins were used as coverings for the tabernacle and as material for shoes or sandals. Ezekiel uses the same term in describing the adornment of Jerusalem as a maiden.
Historical Background
The supplied material notes that seals, dolphins, porpoises, and dugongs inhabit seas bordering Egypt and Sinai. The hardness of some marine skins would suit shoe soles.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
There is much obscurity as to the meaning of the word tachash, rendered “badger” in the Authorized Version, (Exodus 25:5; 35:7) etc. The ancient versions seem nearly all agreed that it denotes not an animal but a color, either black or sky-blue. The badger is not found in the Bible lands. The Arab duchash or tufchash denotes a dolphin, including seals and cetaceans. The skins referred to are probably those of these marine animals, some of which are found in the Red Sea. The skin of the Halicore, one of these, from its hardness would be well suited for making soles for shoes. (Ezekiel 16:10)