17 "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, behind one in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, declares YHWH."
It's the mouse that gnaws the rope to save the day, or it's the little hummingbird that comes in and she's the hero.
2015 Genetic Study on House Mice:
Significance: The house mice on the Azores were studied to trace human migration due to their role as common stowaways on boats.
Genetic Relationships: Most house mice on the Azores are genetically related to mice in Iberia, aligning with the known history of Portuguese colonization.
Clade F Discovery: On two islands, Santa Maria and Terceira, a significant number of house mice belong to clade F, which is rare in Iberia.
Geographical Association: Clade F mice are typically found in Norway, Northern Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.
Historical Context: This clade is closely associated with the medieval Norse, indicating these mice traveled on Norse (Viking) boats.
Potential Norse Presence: The presence of clade F mice suggests that Norse boats might have reached the Azores, potentially bringing these mice with them.
The presence of clade F mice alone is not conclusive proof.
The genetic history of mice on the Azores offers intriguing clues about early human activity on the islands, potentially pointing to Norse exploration predating the Portuguese arrival.
The Miracle of the Mice:
Herodotus recounts a miraculous event where field mice gnawed through the quivers, bowstrings, and shield handles of the Assyrian army, rendering their weapons useless.
He then marched with such troops as would follow him and encamped in Pelusium at the mouth of the Nile; here he was joined by a multitude of field mice, which devoured all the quivers and bowstrings of the enemy, and the handles of their shields, so that on the morrow, being unarmed, they were easily overcome" .
In gratitude for the divine intervention, Sethos is said to have erected a statue of himself holding a mouse, with an inscription that highlighted the miraculous event.
"After this the Egyptian king, returning home in triumph, raised in the temple of Hephaestus a statue of himself, holding in his hand a mouse, and bearing the following inscription: 'Look on me and learn to reverence the gods".