Reptiles (crawling and creeping things)

The Hebrew words zachal and remes literally mean “creeping [things]” or “crawling [things]", which is the Hebrew way of referring to small unclean creatures, reptiles in particular. The Hebrew word sherets literally means “swarming things” and refers to mammals and reptiles that move close to the ground in groups or swarms. In Israel some vipers give birth to live offspring that live near each other until full maturity. They congregate near each other again at mating time. These vipers are included in the term sherets. The Greek word herpeton is also a general word for reptile; it includes snakes and lizards. All of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin words usually exclude fish, the one possible exception being Genesis 1:20.