Story of the Bible Animals: A Description of the Habits and Uses of every living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, with Explanation of Passages in the Old and New Testament in which Reference is made to themWood, J. G. (John George)
Religion
Story of the Bible Animals: A Description of the Habits and Uses of every living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, with Explanation of Passages in the Old and New Testament in which Reference is made to them
Wood, J. G. (John George)
Animals in the Bible; Nature in the Bible
If we turn from the Old to the New Testament, we find the same
contemptuous feeling displayed towards the Dog. It is mentioned as
an intolerable aggravation of the sufferings endured by Lazarus the
beggar as he lay at the rich man's gate, that the dogs came and
licked his sores. In several passages, the word Dog is employed as
a metaphor for scoffers, or unclean persons, or sometimes for those
who did not belong to the Church, whether Jewish or Christian. In
the Sermon on the Mount our Lord himself uses this image, "Give not
that which is holy unto dogs" (Matt. vii. 6.) In the same book,
chapter xv. 26, Jesus employs the same metaphor when speaking to
the Canaanitish woman who had come to ask him to heal her daughter:
"It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs."
And that she understood the meaning of the words is evident from
her answer, in which faith and humility are so admirably blended.
Both St. Paul and St. John employ the word Dog in the same sense.
In his epistle to the Philippians, chapter iii. 2, St. Paul writes,
"Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers." And in the Revelation,
chapter xxii. 14, these words occur: "Blessed are they that do his
commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates to the city; for without are dogs, and
sorcerers, ... and murderers, and idolaters, and whomsoever loveth
and maketh a lie."
That the dogs of ancient times formed themselves into bands just as
they do at present is evident from many passages of Scripture, among
which may be mentioned those sentences from the Psalms, wherein
David is comparing the assaults of his enemies to the attacks of the
dogs which infested the city. "Thou hast brought me into the dust
of death; for dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked
have enclosed me." This passage will be better appreciated when
the reader has perused the following extract from a recent work
by Signor Pierotti. After giving a general account of the Dogs of
Palestine and their customs, he proceeds as follows:--
"In Jerusalem, and in the other towns, the dogs have an organization
of their own. They are divided into families and districts,
especially in the night time, and no one of them ventures to quit
his proper quarter; for if he does, he is immediately attacked by
all the denizens of that into which he intrudes, and is driven
back, with several bites as a reminder. Therefore, when an European
is walking through Jerusalem by night, he is always followed by a
number of canine attendants, and greeted at every step with growls
and howls. These tokens of dislike, however, are not intended for
him, but for his followers, who are availing themselves of his
escort to pass unmolested from one quarter to another.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account