Animals in the Bible

• Deer — (אַיָּל‎ ʾayyāl, female אַיָּלָה‎ ʾayyālāh). Deer's graceful appearance, swiftness, shyness, and love for their fawns are alluded to. Proverbs 5:19 and other mentions indicate that אַיָּל‎ and אַיָּלָה‎ were well-known terms of endearment between lovers.
• D.V.
  . The word is translated to "wild beasts of the desert", "wild beasts", "desert creatures", "hyenas" or "wildcats" in other translations of the Bible.
• Dispas — The
  A.V.
  rightly puts it, and not any kind of serpent.
• Dog (כֶּלֶב‎ keleḇ)  — References to dogs in the Bible are overwhelmingly negative, reflective of the prevalence of domestic dogs as feral scavengers, and thus being regarded as overwhelmingly unclean. However, there are also references to dogs as livestock guardians (Job 30:1) and guards (Isaiah 56:10). In Proverbs 30:31, זַרְזִיר מָתְנַיִם‎ (zarzîr mot̲nayim, literally "girt in the loins") is translated as "greyhound" in some translations such as the KJV, but as "(strutting) rooster" or "war horse" in other translations. Jesus refers to dogs in positive light in the New Testament and a symbol of great faith and humbleness in Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30. "But He answered and said, 'It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.' And she said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.' Then Jesus answered and said to her, 'O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.' And her daughter was healed from that very hour."
• Song of Songs 2:14; Jeremiah 48:28), that filled the echoes of the mountain gorges with the rustling of their wings. The metallic lustre of their plumage, the swiftness of their flight, their habit of sweeping around in flocks, their plaintive coo, are often alluded to by the different sacred writers. The dark eye of the dove, encircled by a line of bright red skin, is also mentioned; its gentleness and innocence made it the type of trust and love, and, most naturally, its name was one of the most familiar terms of endearment. Jesus spoke of the dove as a symbol of simplicity; the sum of its perfections made it a fitting emblem for the Holy Spirit
  .
• Dragon, a word frequently found in the translations of the Bible as substitute, so it seems, for other names of animals that the translators were unable to identify. It stands indeed for several Hebrew names:
  1. תַנִּ֑ thán (Job 30:29; Isaiah 34:13; 35:7; 43:20; Jeremiah 9:11; 10:22; 14:6; 49:33; 51:37; Micah 1:8; Malachi 1:3), unquestionably meaning a denizen of desolate places, and generally identified with the jackal;
  2. תנין tánnîn, in a few passages with the sense of serpent [Deuteronomy 32:33; Psalm xc (Hebr., xci), 13; Dan., xiv, 22-27], in others most likely signifying the crocodile [Ps., lxxiii (Hebr., lxxiv), 13; Isaiah 51:9; Ezekiel 29:3], or even a sea-monster (Ezekiel 32:2), such as a whale, porpoise, or dugong, as rightly translated in Lam., iv, 3, and as probably intended in Ps., cxlviii, 7;
  3. לִוְיָתָן líweyãthãn (leviathan), meaning both the crocodile [Ps., lxxiii (Hebr., lxxiv), 14] and sea-monster [Ps. ciii (Hebr., civ), 26];
  4. צִיִּים֙ tsîyîm (Psalm 73:14; Jeremiah 1:39), which possibly means the hyena.

Other places, such as Esther 10:7; 11:6; Ecclus., xxv, 23, can be neither traced back to a Hebrew original, nor identified with sufficient probability. The author of the Apocalypse repeatedly makes mention of the dragon, by which he means "the old serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world" (Revelation 12:9, etc.). Of the fabulous dragon fancied by the ancients, represented as a monstrous winged serpent with a crested head and enormous claws, and regarded as very powerful and ferocious, no mention is found in the Bible. The word dragon, consequently, should really be removed from Bibles, except perhaps from Isaiah 14:29 and 30:6, where the draco fimbriatus is possibly spoken of. See § Basilisk, 4.

• Isaiah 60:6
  , signifies "a swift and finely bred camel".
• Dugong — See § Badger.

E

• Circaetus gallicus. Many allusions are made to the eagle in the Bible: its inhabiting the dizziest cliffs for nesting, its keen sight, its habit of congregating to feed on the slain, its swiftness, its longevity, its remarkable care in training its young, are often referred to (see in particular Job 39:27-30). When the relations of Israel with their neighbours became more frequent, the eagle became, under the pen of the Jewish prophets and poets, an emblem first of the Assyrian, then of the Babylonian, and finally of the Persian
  kings.
• Elephant — We learn from Assyrian inscriptions that before the Hebrews settled in Syria, there existed elephants in that country, and Tiglath-Pileser I tells us about his exploits in elephant hunting. We do not read, however, of elephants in the Bible until the Maccabean times. True, III Kings speaks of ivory, or "[elephants'] teeth", as the Hebrew text puts it, yet not as indigenous, but as imported from Ophir. In the post-exilian times, especially in the books of the Maccabees, elephants are frequently mentioned; they were an important element in the armies of the Seleucids. These animals were imported either from India or from Africa.
• Talmudic (qúppádh), Syriac (qufdô'), Arabic (qúnfúd) and Ethiopian (qinfz) names of the hedgehog. Several scholars, however, discard this identification, because the hedgehog, contrary to the qíppôdh, lives neither in marshes nor ruins, and has no voice. The bittern meets all the requirements of the texts where the qíppôdh is mentioned. It should be noticed nevertheless that hedgehogs are far from rare in Israel. As to the qîppôz of Is. 34:15, read qíppôdh by some Hebrew Manuscripts, and interpreted accordingly by the Septuagint, Vulgate
  and the versions derived therefrom, its identity is a much discussed question. Some, arguing from the authorities just referred to, confound it with the qíppôdh, whereas others deem it to be the arrow-snake; but besides that no such animal as arrow-snake is known to naturalists, the context seems to call for a bird.
• Hebrew, six names at least, with their feminines, express the different stages of development of the sheep. Its domestication goes back to the night of time, so that the early traditions enshrined in the Bible speak of the first men as shepherds. Whatever may be thought of this point, it is out of question that from the dawn of historical times down to our own, flocks have constituted the staple of the riches of the land. The ewe of Israel is generally the ovis
  laticaudata, the habits of which, resembling those of all other species of sheep, are too well known to be here dwelt upon. Let it suffice to notice that scores of allusions are made in the Holy Books to these habits as well as to the different details of the pastoral life.

• Falcon — See § Hawk.
• Mount Thabor. If it is mentioned at all in the Bible, it is probably ranked among the deer.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• St. Jerome, for Hebrew, 'íyyîm. St. Jerome explains that they were wild beings, denizens of deserts and woods, with a hooked nose, a horned forehead, and goat feet. He translated the Hebrew as fig-faun, adding to the original the adjective ficarii, possibly following in this the pagan idea which, supposing that figs incline to lust, regarded fig-groves a well fitted abode for fauns. The same Hebrew word is rendered in Is., xiii, 22 as owls, and in Is., xxxiv, 14, as monsters, which shows a great perplexity on the part of the translators. The true meaning, being "howlers", seems to point out the jackal
  , called the "howler" by the Arabs.
• Fawn (Proverbs 5:19), for Hebrew, yá'alah, feminine of yã'el which should be regularly, as it is in several passages, rendered by wild goat (Nubian ibex). See § Goat, wild
  .
• Fish — Fish are mentioned extensively in the Bible, although no particular species is named. Fishermen are mentioned in both Old and New Testaments, including several of Jesus' followers. The biblical fish category includes marine mammals. ("Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones..." Lamentations 4:3 A.V. & D.V.) Jonah's fish: According to the Book of Jonah, a "great fish" swallowed the prophet Jonah (Jonah 1:17 A.V.), and he was in its belly for three days, before being vomited up. Matthew 12:40 refers to it as a whale.^[18]
• Flea, spoken of I K., xxiv, 15; xxvi, 20, as the most insignificant cause of trouble that may befall a man.
• dappled or piebald, forming a very marked contrast..." (Tristram). The shepherd usually leads the flock, calling the sheep by their names from time to time; in his footsteps follows an old he-goat, whose stately bearing affords to the natives matter for several comparisons; the Arabs
  , indeed to this day, call a man of stately mien a "he-goat". The shepherd at sunset waters his flock, folds them ordinarily in some of the many caves found on every hillside, and with trained dogs guards them at night.
• Fly — Two Hebrew words are thus translated:
  1. 'ãrõbh is the name of the Egyptian fly of the fourth plague; this name, a collective one, though translated as dog-fly in the Septuagint, seems to signify all kinds of flies. Flies are at all times an almost insufferable nuisance; the common house-fly, with the gnat, vexes men, while gad-flies of every description tsetse, œstru, hippoboscida, tabanus marocanus, etc., infest animals.
  2. Zebhûbh is likewise the collective name of the Israeli fly, but more specifically of the gad-fly.

Though a trifle less annoying than in Egypt, flies were, however, deemed a plague severe enough in Israel to induce the natives to have recourse to the power of a special god, Bá'ál-zebhûbh, the master of the flies, that they and their cattle be protected against that scourge.

• Fowl — This word which, in its most general sense, applies to anything that flies in the air (Genesis 1:20, 21), including the "bat" and "flying creeping things" (Leviticus 11:19-23 A.V.), and which frequently occurs in the Bible with this meaning, is also sometimes used in a narrower sense, as, for instance, III K., iv, 23, where it stands for all fatted birds that may be reckoned among the delicacies of a king's table; so likewise Gen., xv, 11 and Is., xviii, 6, where it means birds of prey in general. In this latter signification allusions are made to their habit of perching on bare or dead trees, or of flocking together in great numbers.
• Fox — Thus is usually rendered the Hebrew, shû'ãl, which signifies both fox and jackal, even the latter more often than the former. The fox, however, was well known by the ancient Hebrews, and its cunning was as proverbial among them as among us (Ezekiel 13:4; Luke 13:32).
• Frog — Though not rare in Israel, this word is only mentioned in the Old Testament in connection with the second
  rana esculenta, or common edible frog, and the hyla arborea
  , or green tree-frog. The former throngs wherever there is water. In Apoc., xvi, 13, the frog is the emblem of unclean spirits.

• Gazelle (Hebr., çebî, i. e. beauty) has been known at all times as one of the most graceful of all animals. Several species still exist in Israel. Its different characteristics, its beauty of form, its swiftness, its timidity, the splendour and meekness of its eye, are in the present time, as well as during the age of the Old Testament writers, the subjects of many comparisons. However, the name of the gazelle is scarcely, if at all, to be found in the Bible; in its stead we read roe, hart, or deer. Like a few other names of graceful and timid animals, the word gazelle has always been in the East a term of endearment in love. It was also a woman's favourite name (1 Chronicles 8:9; 2 Kings 12:1; 2 Chronicles 24:1; Acts 9:36).
• Gecko — Probable translation of the 'anãqah of the Hebrews, generally rendered in our versions by shrew-mouse, for which it seems it should be substituted. The gecko, ptyodactylus gecko of the naturalists, is common in Israel.
• neophron percnopterus
  ), or Pharao's hen, is generally believed to be signified. However, whether this bird should be really recognized in the Hebrew, rãhãm, is not easy to decide; for while, on the one hand, the resemblance of the Arabic name for the Egyptian vulture with the Hebrew word rãhãm seems fairly to support the identification, the mention of the rãhãm in a list of wading birds, on the other hand, casts a serious doubt on its correctness.
• Giraffe — See § Camelopardalus. Probably the תחשׁ (taḥash). (Numbers 4:5-15). Mistranslated as badger or dolphin.^{[citation needed]}
• Gnat — The same insect called sciniph in Ex., viii, 16, 17 and Ps. civ (Hebr., cv), 31, and known under the familiar name of mosquito, Culex pipiens, is taken in the New Testament as an example of a trifle.
• Goat — Though the sacred writers spoke of the ewe more frequently than of the goat, yet with the latter they were very well acquainted. It was indeed, especially in the hilly regions east of the Jordan, an important item in the wealth of the Israelites. The goat of Israel, particularly the capra membrica, affords numerous illustrations and allusions, Its remarkably long ears are referred to by Amos, iii, 12; its glossy dark hair furnishes a graphic comparison to the author of Cant., iv, 1; vi, 4; this hair was woven into a strong cloth; the skin tanned with the hair on served to make bottles for milk, wine, oil, water, etc. The kid was an almost essential part of a feast. The goat is mentioned in Dan., viii, 5, as the symbol of the Macedonian empire. The grand Gospel scene of the separation of the just and the wicked on the last day is borrowed from the customs of the shepherds in the East.
• Goat, wild, Job, xxxix, 1; I K., xxiv, 3, where it is an equivalent for yã' él, translated in Ps., ciii (Hebr., Civ), 18, as hart and in Prov., v, 19, as fawn, is most probably the Nubian ibex, a denizen of the rocky summits [Ps. ciii (Hebr., civ), 18]. It was regarded as a model of grace (Proverbs 5:19), and its name, Jahel, Jahala, was frequently given to persons (Judges 5:6; Ezra 2:56, etc.). See also: Nubian ibex § Cultural Significance and Human Exploitation
• D.V. uses the word locust
  . The grasshopper is one of the smaller species of the locust tribe.
• lammergeyer
  or bearded vulture, gypœtus barbatus, the largest and most magnificent of the birds of prey is probably intended. The opinion that the Bible here speaks of the fabulous griffon, i.e. a monster begotten from a lion and an eagle, and characterized by the beak, neck, and wings of an eagle and the legs and rump of a lion, is based only on a misinterpretation of the word.
• Gyps fulvus), the type, as it seems, of the eagle-headed figures of Assyrian
  sculpture, is most likely referred to in Mich., i, 16, on account of its bare neck and head.
• Grype, Deuteronomy 14:12. See § Griffon.

H

• Haje — See § Asp
  .
• unclean quadrupeds. Several subspecies of the European hare and the Cape hare live in Israel: Lepus europaeus syriacus in the north; Lepus europaeus judeae in the south and the Jordan valley, together with Lepus capensis sinaiticus, Lepus capensis aegyptius and Lepus capensis isabellinus
  , The statement of the Bible that the hare "cheweth the cud" is a classical difficulty. It should be noticed that this is not the reason why the hare is reckoned among the unclean animals; but the cause thereof should be sought for in the fact that though it chews the cud, which certainly it appears to do, it does not divide the hoof.
• Song of Songs 2:9; Isaiah 35:6), its sure-footedness [Ps. xvii (Hebr., xviii), 34; Hab., iii, 19], its affection (Proverbs 5:19), and its habit of hiding its young (Job
  39:1).
• birds of prey, the kestrel, merlin, sparrowhawk, hobby
  , and others, most common in Israel.
• strix
  flammea).
• Sparrow hawk (Accipiter nisus), one of the hawks of Israel, so common that it might be regarded, in reference to the Bible, as the hawk par excellence.
• Hedgehog — See § Ericus.
• Hen, See § Cock, Hen.
• A.V.
  correctly states it.
• Hind — See § Hart.
• Hippopotamus — See § Behemoth.
• Hobby (falco subbuteo). See § Hawk.
• Hoopoe — See § Houp.
• Deuteronomy 7:20; Joshua
  24:12).
• Messianic age
  as one in which no hostilities will be heard of; then all warlike apparel being done away with, the horse will serve only for peaceful use.
• A.V., see in the Hebrew dûkhîpháth, the lapwing. The Egyptians worshipped the houp and made it the emblem of Horus
  .
• Striped hyena — This word is not to be found in any of the English translations of the Bible; it occurs twice in the Septuagint, Jer., xii, 9, and Ecclus., xiii, 22, being in both places the rendering for the Hebrew name çãbhûá. The hyenas are very numerous in the Holy Land, where they are most active scavengers; they feed upon dead bodies, and sometimes dig the tombs open to get at the corpses therein buried. Two Hebrew names are supposed to designate the hyena:
  1. çãbhûá'. This word, which has been interpreted "speckled bird", Jer., xii, 9, by modern translators following the
     Hebrew
     names for the hyena, fairly support the identification of the çãbhûá' with this animal.
  2. çíyyím, rendered in divers manners in different places: wild beasts, Is., xiii, 21; demons, Is., xxxiv, 14; dragons, Ps. lxxiii (hebr., lxxiv), 14; Jer., 1, 39.

I

• Ibex — See § Goat, wild and Nubian ibex § Cultural Significance and Human Exploitation
• Bubo ascalaphus), which they term great owl, is spoken of. The ibis was worshipped by the Egyptians as the emblem of Thoth
  .
• Ichneumon — See § Weasel.
• Irchin —
  D.V. Psalm 103:18. See § Cherogrillus
  .

• D.V. nor in any of the western translations, probably because the animal, however common in Africa and south-western Asia is unknown in European countries. The name regularly substituted for jackal is fox. The jackal seems to be designated in Hebrew by three different names: shû'ãl, "the digger"; 'íyyîm, "the howlers"; and tãn, "the stretcher", although we are unable to state the differences marked by these three names, numerous references may be found throughout the Bible to the jackal's howlings and gregarious habits. The most likely species mentioned is the golden jackal
  , which is the only jackal to live in the Middle East.
• unclean animals indicated under the general name of mouse
  .

• Kestrel — A slender falcon, most likely one of the species intended by Leviticus 11:16, for it is very common in Israel. The remark of Job 39:26, strikingly points out the Tinnulus cenchris, one of the Israeli kestrels.
• Kid — See § Goat.
• Kind — See § Species.
• Kine — See § Cattle.
• birds of prey of the country, and for this reason, is carefully protected by the villagers. Other kinds of kites, in particular the Milvus regalis
  , are common in Israel.

• Lamb — The Paschal Lamb was both a commemoration of the deliverance from the bondage in Egypt, and a prophetic figure of the Son of God sacrificed to free His people from their slavery to sin and death. See § Ewe
  .
• Lamia (Isaiah 34:14) — Is a translation of Hebrew, lîlîth; according to the old popular legends, the lamia was a feminine bloodthirsty monster, devouring men and children. In the above cited place, some kind of owl, either the screech or the hooting owl
  , is very probably meant.
• D.V.
• Larus — Lev., xi; 16; Deut., xiv, 15. See § Cuckoo.
• medicinal leech
  and the horse-leech are frequently found in the streams, pools, and wells; they often attach themselves to the inside of the lips and nostrils of drinking animals, thereby causing them much pain.
• carnivorous animals more or less resembling the real leopard (felis leopardus), namely felis jubata, felis lynx, felis uncia, etc., all formerly numerous throughout Israel, and even now occasionally found, especially in the woody districts. The leopard is taken by the biblical writers as a type of cunning (Jeremiah 5:6; Hosea
  13:7), of fierceness, of a conqueror's sudden swoop (Dan., vii, 6; Hab., i, 8). Its habit of lying in wait by a well or a village is repeatedly alluded to.
• D.V. has kept this name, Job, iii, 8; xl, 20; Is., xxvii, 1; it is rendered by dragon Ps. lxxiii (Hebr., lxxiv), 14, and ciii (Hebr., civ), 26; The word leviathan means a sea-monster in Isaiah
  27:1); Job 41
• Jesus Christ as the lion of the tribe of Juda. The craft and ferocity of the lion, on the other hand, caused it to be taken as an emblem of Satan
  (1 Peter 5:8) and of the enemies of the truth (2 Timothy 4:17).
• Lizard — Immense is the number of these reptiles in Israel; no less than 44 species are found there, Among those mentioned in the Bible we may cite:
  1. The Letã'ah, general name of the lizard, applied especially to the
     blindworm
     , etc.;
  2. the chõmét, or sand lizard;
  3. the çãb, or dább of the Arabs (
     Uromastix
     spinipes);
  4. the kõâh, the divers kinds of monitor (psammosaurus scincus, hydrosaurus niloticus, etc.);
  5. the 'anãqah or gecko;
  6. the semãmîth or stellio.
• Locust — One of the worst scourges of the East, very often referred to in Bible. As many as nine Hebrew words signify either the locust in general or some species:
  1. 'árbéh, probably the
     locusta migratoria
     ;
  2. gãzãm, possibly the locust in its larva state, the palmerworm;
  3. Gôbh, the locust in general;
  4. chagab, most likely the grasshopper;
  5. hãsîl, "the destroyer", perhaps the locust in its hopper state, in which it is most destructive;
  6. hárgõl, translated in the
     D.V.
     as ophiomachus;
  7. yéléq, the stinging locust;
  8. çelãçâl possibly the cricket; and
  9. sôl'ãm, rendered by attacus, or bald locust (probably the truxalis).

Unlike other insects, locusts are most voracious in every stage of their existence.

• Louse — According to some this species of vermin was one of the features of the third Egyptian plague. It is but too common through all eastern countries.

M

• D.V. as an equivalent for Hebrew, hãsîl, which probably means a kind of locust
  .
• blind mole rat
  (Spalax typhlus), a blind burrowing rodent.
• Monkey — See § Ape. Occurs in 1 Kings 10:22 (NKJV).
• Mosquito — See § Gnat.
• D.V. besides Is., xiv, 11, where it stands for rímmah, "worms", the common rendering for two words: 'ãsh (Job 4:19), and sãs (Isaiah 51:8), the exact meaning of the former is uncertain, whereas by the latter the clothes moth
  is meant.
• Mouflon — See §§ Chamois​ and Camelopardalis.
• dormice, jerboas, and hamsters
  , about twenty-five species of which exist in the country.
• Leviticus 19:19), the Israelites early in the course of their history possessed mules; these animals, in a hilly region such as the Holy Land, were for many purposes preferable to horses and stronger than asses
  ; they were employed both for domestic and warlike use.

• Night-hawk — See § Hawk
  .

• Oryx — See § Antelope.
• Osprey (Hebr. עָזְנִיָּה ‘āzənîyāh) — The fishing eagle, which name probably signifies all the smaller eagles.
• Ossifrage — See § Lammergeyer
  .
• swallow
  ."
• A.V.; and the qîppôz (קִפוֹז) of Isaiah 34:15, as yet unidentified and sometimes translated "arrow snake" or "tree snake
  ."
• Ox — See § Cattle.
• Ox, wild, Is., hi, 20, probably Antilope bubalis. See § Antelope.

P

• Palmerworm (Hebr., gãzãm) A general word for the locust, very likely in its larva
  state.
• Partridge — Partridges are mentioned three times in the Bible: 1 Kings 26:20, Jeremiah 17:11, and Sirach 11:30 (in the Apocrypha). Francolins and sand partridges are found in the Holy Land.
• Peacock — A common translation of תֻּכִּיִּים‎ (tukkiyyîm), mentioned in 1 Kings 10:22 and 2 Chronicles 9:21 as an import from Tarshish alongside apes (monkeys). The word is a hapax legomenon. The interpretation as "peacock" is based on similarity to Dravidian words such as Tamil தோகை (tōkai, "peacock tail"). In Modern Hebrew, תֻּכִּי‎ refers to parrots
  .
• D.V., Psalm 102:7 (Vulgate: Psalm 101), for Hebr. qã'áth, in other places is rendered by bittern, for which it might be advantageously substituted. Pelicans are usually found about marshes (Isaiah 34:11), and are in the habit of sitting for hours in sandy desolate places Psalm 102:7
  (Vulgate: Psalm 101); Soph., ii, 14] after they have gorged.
• D.V., after Vulgate and Septuagint, should not be slighted.^[20]
• Pigeon — See § Dove
  .
• Plunger — See § Cormorant.
• Porcupine — Believed by some, on account of a certain analogy of the Hebrew qîppõd with the Arabic name of this animal, to be spoken of in the Bible. See § Ericus.
• Porphyrio porphyrio), or the Egyptian vulture, should be identified with the rãhãm remains uncertain. See § Gier-eagle
  .
• Deuteronomy 14:5) — This word, a mere adaptation from the Greek, means "white-rumped", a character common to many species, though the antilope addax
  is possibly signified by the Hebrew word dîshõn.