ANIMALS

PART 1

The Bible mentions animals from Genesis to Revelation. Animals played an important part in many key biblical events. Think about their role in Creation -- YHVH made the animals before He created humans. Consider Adam and Eve’s encounter with the serpent, known as the fall of man. Generations later, pairs of animals were also brought on Noah’s Ark during the Flood. YHVH featured animals during the ten plagues to get his point across to the stubborn pharaoh. Animals were also used in Hebrew worship as sacrifices. Additionally, animals touched the life of Yeshua and affected His teaching style. No doubt, animals played a unique role in biblical times just as they continue to be a significant part of our lives as well. The people of both Old Testament and New Testament times lived close to the land and were well acquainted with various animals. The Bible often uses animals as object lessons to explain a certain truth. The Bible groups animals together differently than modern science. Structure, or what the animals look like, forms the modern biologists’ present system of classification, which traces back to Carolus Linnaeus {an eighteenth-century Swedish botanist}. Habitat, or where the animals live, forms the biblical basis of classification. Thus, Genesis 1 speaks of organisms that live in water {Genesis 1:20}; organisms that fly {1:21}; animals that crawl on the ground {1:24}; cattle or domesticated animals {animals that live in association with humans} {1:24}; and wild animals {1:24}. Leviticus 11 and the whole of Scripture follow the same system of classification. The various animals of the Bible are listed here in alphabetical order-including reptiles, fish, and even invertebrates such as insects, spiders, worms, and sponges.

ADDER

The adder is one of twenty poisonous snakes found in Israel and the surrounding countries. It is also referred to as cockatrice and viper. The poison of adders, or vipers, attacks the respiratory system and disintegrates red blood cells. Both Yeshua and John the Baptist referred to the viper several times {Matthew 3:7; 12:34; 23:33}. Yeshua used the viper to illustrate how dangerous some people can be to our faith. The reference in Acts 28:3 is probably to a small viper that strikes rapidly and is very quarrelsome.

ANT

The ant is mentioned only twice in the Bible, both times in the book of Proverbs. Scientists now recognize at least three species of grain-storing ants -- two occur in Israel and the other in Mediterranean countries. The particular species referred to by Solomon {Proverbs 6:6-8; 30:24-25} is probably the harvester ant.

ANTELOPE

Scripture refers to several antelope-like creatures. One seems to be the white oryx, referred to in Deuteronomy 14:5 {KJV “wild ox”; RSV “antelope”} and Isaiah 51:20 {KJV “wild bull”; RSV “antelope”}. The oryx was probably the antelope, commonly used for food because its long horns made it relatively easy to catch. The Bible mentions another antelope called the addax in Deuteronomy 14:5. It is a native of North Africa with greyish white hind parts, a white patch on the forehead, and twisted and ringed horns. It is common in Africa and in Arabia, where Arabs hunt it with falcons and dogs. Antelopes are very graceful and run with their heads held high. Antelopes are alert, wary, and keen sighted. Both addax and oryx were ceremonially clean in Jewish Law, meaning the Jews could use them for food.

APE

This primate is not native to Palestine. The two references to apes in the Old Testament {1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chronicles 9:21} refer to King Solomon’s import business. He imported apes with other treasures on board the ships of his fleet.

ASP

The asp is a poisonous snake. Most biblical references to the asp {Deuteronomy 32:33} seem to be to the Egyptian cobra, which conceals itself in holes, walls, and rocks. Cobra poison attacks the nervous system, causing paralysis. The Egyptians looked upon it as a sacred creature; they regarded it as a protector since it fed on the rodents that ate their crops. The “fiery serpents” {Numbers 21:6; Deuteronomy 8:15, both RSV} may have been cobras; “fiery” probably refers to the burning fever caused by their venom. Isaiah 14:29 and 30:6 {“flying serpent”} may refer to the hood of the cobra.

BADGER

A badger is a small hoofed mammal. The King James Version calls it a “coney,” while modern translations name it a “rock badger” {Leviticus 11:5; Deuteronomy 14:7; Psalm 104:18; Proverbs 30:26}. Rock badgers, or hyraxes, live together in colonies of six to fifty animals, often sunning themselves on rocks. They are difficult to catch. Guards are posted, and if approaching danger is sighted, the whole group will scurry for cover, warned by the sharp whistles of the guards. Thus, they are commended for taking refuge in the rocks {Psalm 104:18} and are called wise for making “their houses in the rocks” {Proverbs 30:24, 26, KJV}.

BAT

Bats are flying mammals according to modern classification. They have hair and provide milk for their young. The Bible classifies them with other aerial creatures. Bats take shelter in caves, crevices, tree cavities, buildings, and also in exposed places on trees. In colder areas they hibernate or migrate. The normal resting position for a bat is hanging head downward. Bats “swim” through the air rather than fly because they move with their legs as well as with their wings. Eight varieties of bats are known in the Holy Land. One of them, the little brown bat, is found worldwide. It eats insects and probably has the widest distribution of any nonhuman land mammal. Brown bats are mostly cave dwellers. The females form maternity colonies that may number in the tens of thousands. The bats found in the Holy Land vary in size from that of a mouse to the size of a rat; the largest species measures more than twenty inches across the wings. The bat was unclean to the Jews {Leviticus 11:19; Deuteronomy 14:18}.

BEAR

Bears are large, heavy mammals with short, powerful limbs, a short tail, and small eyes and ears. The Palestinian bear is a Syrian version of the brown bear. It can grow to a height of 6 feet and may weigh as much as 500 pounds. Bears have an excellent sense of smell but less developed senses of sight and hearing. They are omnivorous {eating any kind of food}; they survive largely on vegetation, fruits, insects, and fish. Bears are usually peaceful and inoffensive, but if they think they must defend themselves {Lamentations 3:10} or their young {2 Samuel 17:8; Proverbs 17:12; Hosea 13:8}, they may become dangerous. David boasted of his role as a bear killer {1 Samuel 17:34-37}. David pointed to the courage and strength he had as a young shepherd, running after a bear and wrenching one of his father’s sheep from its jaws. In comparison, fighting the giant, Goliath, was little challenge. The bear and the lion, often mentioned together in the Bible {1 Samuel 17:37}, were the two largest and strongest beasts of prey in the Holy Land. Thus, they symbolized both strength and terror {Amos 5:19}.

BEE

Bees gather nectar from flowers, transferring pollen from one flower to another in the process. It is believed that they convey the location of sources of nectar to other bees through a bee “dance,” which may indicate both distance and direction. The wild bees of the Holy Land are especially noted for their ferocity in attack. Only the female “worker” bees sting people and animals. Their venom increases its potency in warm weather. A number of biblical passages allude to the irritable, vindictive nature of bees and to the painful stings they inflict {Deuteronomy 1:44; Psalm 118:12; Isaiah 7:18}. In the Holy Land, beekeeping was probably not practiced until the Hellenistic period {second century BC}, although Ezekiel 27:17 suggests that it may have been practiced earlier. If domestic honey was not available to the Hebrews, wild honey certainly was.

CAMEL

A camel is a large beast of burden. Unintelligent, ill-natured, and quarrelsome, the camel is nevertheless a blessing to people living in the desert and on its borders because it is especially adapted to that habitat. It has been called the ship of the desert. Having thick elastic pads of fibrous tissue on its feet, it can walk on hot desert sands. It can go without water for long periods and can survive on vegetation. The camel’s nostrils are pinched together and can be closed at will to prevent penetration of sand during violent sandstorms. Camels are used for transporting both goods and people. A person riding a camel can cover from 60 to 75 miles in a day. A camel can carry a load weighing 600 pounds or more. Camels were used heavily in the spice trade {Genesis 37:25} and travelled regularly in camel trains between Arabia, Egypt, and Assyria. They were also ridden in time of war {Judges 6:5}. A camel can even be hitched to a plough in areas where the land is cultivated. Abraham had camels in Egypt {12:16}. Job had 3,000 camels {Job 1:3} at the beginning of his story. However, through a series of events, he lost everything. Yet the Bible uses his story to illustrate YHVH’s faithfulness. It points out that after his recovery; Job regained 6,000 camels {42:12}. The Bible chose camels as a monetary blessing of that time to illustrate how Job recouped twice as much as he lost.

CATERPILLAR

A caterpillar is the larval stage of insects that change into other forms through a process called metamorphosis. The word “caterpillar” occurs three times in the New Living Translation {1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chronicles 6:28; Psalm 78:46}. In the book of Joel, that same Hebrew word is translated “locust” {Joel 1:4; 2:25}.

CATTLE

Cattle are domestic animals of the bovine species. The Old Testament often emphasized the beauty of cattle. Egypt was rich in cattle, especially in the Nile River delta area {Goshen}, where the Hebrews settled under Joseph. Some scholars believe that milk rather than meat was the foremost consideration in the domestication of cattle and that in early civilizations meat supplies came chiefly from wild game. Cattle also supplied strong hides that supplanted wood in the manufacture of shields. Their dung was a source of fuel when wood was scarce {Ezekiel 4:15}. They were used as beasts of burden and for ploughing. Cattle helped with the development of wheeled transportation more than any other animal. The biblical term “cattle” often refers to all domesticated animals or livestock {Genesis 1:24; 2:20; 7:23; 47:6, 16-17; Exodus 9:3-7; Numbers 3:41, 45}. Occasionally, the term was used to refer to all large domestic animals {31:9; 32:26}. The patriarchs {biblical fathers of Israel} practiced cattle breeding {compare to Genesis 32:15; Job 21:10}. For breeding purposes, one bull is normally adequate for about thirty cows, but many more were kept since bulls were widely used in Israel for sacrifices. They might be used as a general sacrifice {Leviticus 22:23; Numbers 23} or for special sacrifices {Judges 6:25; 1 Samuel 1:24} at a certain feast or festival. Aaron, the first high priest, made a golden calf as a rival to the Ark of the Covenant {Exodus 32; Deuteronomy 9:16, 21}. Even though he represented the calf as an image of the invisible Elohiym, it was especially offensive because the calf was a fertility symbol related to Egyptian and Canaanite practices. Two calves were later made by Jeroboam I of Israel {930-909 BC} for his shrines at Bethel and Dan {1 Kings 12:28-33}. Hosea’s prophetic denunciations of calf worship were directed at those shrines {Hosea 8:5-6; 13:2}.

CHAMELEON

This lizard is characterized by its ability to change colour according to its surroundings. To the Israelites, the chameleon was ritually unclean {Leviticus 11:30}.

CRICKET

Crickets are related to grasshoppers and locusts. According to Leviticus 11:22, the cricket was edible. The King James Version translates the Hebrew word as “beetle.”