Author Archives: davidcox

Wolf

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Wolf.

Wolves were a menace to the sheep farmers of Palestine. Man’s first dogs were probably tamed wolf pups. Perhaps this kinship enabled wolves to lurk near sheepfolds and gain their reputation for treachery.

Of his youngest son, the patriarch Jacob said: “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf” (Gen. 49:27). The Hebrew word translated ravenous means “to rip and tear,” indicating the bloodthirsty nature of the wolf. Wolves seem particularly cruel because they seek out the weak, old, and defenseless as victims. The flow of blood incites them to rip and tear even more with their powerful jaws.

In many Bible references, wolves represent ruthless enemies. Jesus warned of false prophets “who come… in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly… are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15).

Source: [Anon-Animals]

The Wolf

The wolf is rather larger than our largest dogs, and looks somewhat like them; but he seems more wild, savage and cruel. The wolves go in large companies, making a terrible howling noise; and though they are in general cowardly, yet when they are very hungry they attack large animals, and even men. They almost always go out by night, and the Bible refers to this when it says, “Their horses are more fierce than the evening wolves.” Jacob, just before his death, said of one of his sons, “Benjamin shall raven as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at evening he shall divide the spoil.”

There were once a great many wolves in New England and in other parts of the United States, and some are left yet, although many have been killed or driven away. There are still great numbers of them in some countries. In England the month of January used to be called Wolf- monat, or wolf-month; “because,” as an old book says, “people are wont in that moneth to be more in danger to be devoured of wolves than in any season els of the yeare, for that through the extremity of cold and snow those ravenous creatures could not find other beasts sufficient to feed upon.”

A sad story is told of something that happened in Russia a few years since. A woman was one day riding on a sledge with her three children over a lonely road, when suddenly she heard the noise of wolves behind her. She was not very far from home, and tried to urge her horse on, to get out of their reach; but they gained upon her every moment, and were just on the point of rushing on the sledge, when the poor woman, to save the lives of the rest, caught up one of the children and threw it to the wolves. This stopped them but a short time; they devoured it at once and again ran howling after the sledge. The mother threw out a second child, hoping to escape with the other; but in vain. Again the cruel animals were close behind her, and to save her own life, hardly knowing what she did, she threw over her only remaining child. She succeeded in reaching home herself, in safety, but where were her children? She told the terrible story; but while she was endeavoring to excuse herself by telling of her exceeding fright and danger, a man who stood by struck her on the head with an axe and killed her at one blow-saying that a woman who would thus give up her children to save her life, was not fit to live.

The Bible tells us of a time yet to come, when “The wolf shall feed with the lamb.” Perhaps this will be exactly true of the animals in those days, though it now seems so unlikely; but I suppose it means also that wicked and cruel men shall become holy and Christ-like. Then all will be peace on earth, and “none shall hurt or destroy in all” God’s “holy mountain.”

[Cook, Scripture Alphabet of Animals]

Worm

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Worm.

Worms have no backbone, legs, or eyes, although their bodies are sensitive to light and temperature. But they do play a useful role. They improve the soil by working decaying vegetation into the earth and aerating it with their tunnels.

The Bible speaks both literally and figuratively of worms. The word worm also refers to a worm-like creature, such as insect larva. For instance, the palmerworm, cankerworm, and caterpillar of (Joel 1:4) are all caterpillars, which is the larval stage of various moths. (The NKJV, however, translates these as various kinds of locusts.) Grub is another word used for worm in various translations (Is. 51:8), (NEB, NASB). (Job 7:5) and other passages, which refer to infestation of worms, probably mean maggots, the larvae of flies. Decaying matter often teems with tiny worm-like maggots.

Some worms, such as tapeworms and pinworms, are parasites which invade the human body. Thus Herod could be described as “eaten by worms” (Acts 12:23).

The common earthworm also appears in the Bible. (Micah 7:17) refers to worms (snakes, NKJV) coming out of their holes. Perhaps it was an earthworm also that God appointed to strike at the root of Jonah’s shade (Jon. 4:7). The psalmist lamented: “I am a worm… and despised” (Ps. 22:6). Job claimed kinship with the lowly worm (Job 17:14). (Isaiah 41:14) uses “you worm Jacob” as a metaphor of weakness. The Jews associated worms and fire with the place reserved for the ungodly dead Isa. 66:24; Mark 9:44,48.

Source: [Anon-Animals]

See also Lice, Maggots,

Fornication (+)

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Fornication is a sexual sin, in that it is a perversion of what is that just and right will of God for us. It involves a misuse of what God has given us.
• See Adultery; Lasciviousness
Adultery; Lasciviousness

 

Ox, Oxen (+)

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Ox, Oxen (see Cattle).

Source: [Anon-Animals]

* Aurochs, or wild ox (urus, bos primigenius), is undoubtedly the rimu of the Assyrian inscriptions, and consequently corresponds to the re’em or rêm of the Hebrews. The latter word is translated sometimes in our D.V. by rhinoceros (Numbers 23:22; 24:8; Deuteronomy 33:17; Job 39:9, 10), sometimes by unicorn (Psalm 22:21; 29:6; 92:10; Isaiah 34:7). That the re’em, far from being unicorn, was a two-horned animal, is suggested by Ps., 22:21, and forcibly evidenced by Deut. 33:17, where its horns represent the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasses. That, moreover, it was akin to the domestic ox is shown from such parallelisms as we find in Ps. 24:6, where we read, according to the critical editions of the Hebrew text: “The voice of Yahweh makes Lebanon skip like a bullock, and Sirion like a young re’em”; or Is. 34:7: “And the re’em shall go down with them, and the bulls with the mighty”; and still more convincingly by such implicit descriptions as that of Job, 39:9-10: “Shall the rêm be willing to serve thee, or will he stay at thy crib? Canst thou bind the rêm with thy thong to plow, or will he break the clods of the valleys after thee?” These references will be very clear, the last especially, once we admit the re’em is an almost untamable wild ox, which one would try in vain to submit to the same work as its domestic kin. Hence, there is very little doubt that in all the above-mentioned places the word aurochs should be substituted for rhinoceros and unicorn. The aurochs is for the sacred poets a familiar emblem of untamed strength and ferocity. It no longer exists in Western Asia.

Ox, Oxen

• Often found wild Deu 14:5
• Includes the
– Bull Gen. 32:15; Job. 21:10
– Bullock Psa. 50:9; Jer. 46:21
– Cow Num 18:17; Job. 21:10
– Heifer Gen. 15:9; Num 19:2
• Was clean and fit for food Deu 14:4
• Described as
– Strong Psa. 144:14; Pro. 14:4
– Beautiful Jer. 46:20; Hos. 10:11
– Not without sagacity Isa. 1:3
• Horns and hoofs of, alluded to Psa. 69:31
• Lowing of, alluded to 1 Sam. 15:14; Job. 6:5
• Was fed
– With grass Job. 40:15; Psa. 106:20; Dan. 4:25
– With corn Isa. 30:24
– With straw Isa. 11:7
– On the hills Isa. 7:25
– In the valleys 1 Chr. 27:29; Isa. 65:10
– In stalls Hab. 3:17
• Rapid manner of collecting its food alluded to Num 22:4
• Formed a part of the patriarchal wealth Gen. 13:2; Gen. 13:5; Gen. 26:14; Job. 1:3
• Formed a part of the wealth of Israel in Egypt Gen. 50:8; Exo 10:9; Exo 12:32
• Formed a part of the wealth of the Jews Num 32:4; Psa. 144:14
• Required great care and attention Pro. 27:23
• Herdmen appointed over Gen. 13:7; 1 Sam. 21:7
• Urged on by the goad Jdg. 3:31
• Used for
– Drawing wagons Num 7:3; 1 Sam. 6:7
– Carrying burdens 1 Chr. 12:40
– Ploughing 1 Kgs. 19:19; Job. 1:14; Amo. 6:12
– Earing the ground Isa. 30:24; Isa. 32:20
– Treading out the corn Hos. 10:11
– Sacrifice Exo 20:24; 2 Sam. 24:22
– Food 1 Kgs. 1:9; 1 Kgs. 19:21; 2 Chr. 18:2
• Often stall-fed for slaughter Pro. 15:17
• Goes to the slaughter unconscious Pro. 7:22
• Young of, considered a great delicacy Gen. 18:7; Amo. 6:4
• Male firstlings of, belonged to God Exo 34:19
• Tithe of, given to the priests 2 Chr. 31:6
• Laws respecting
– To rest on the Sabbath Exo 23:12; Deu 5:14
– Not to be yoked with an ass in the same plough Deu 22:10
– Not to be muzzled when treading out the corn Deu 25:4; 1Cor. 9:9
– If stolen to be restored double Exo 22:4
– Of others not to be coveted Exo 20:17; Deu 5:21
– Of others if lost or hurt through neglect, to be made good Exo 22:9-13
– Killing a man, to be stoned Exo 21:28-32
– Mode of reparation for one, killing another Exo 21:35; Exo 21:36
– Straying to be brought back to its owner Exo 23:4; Deu 22:1; Deu 22:2
– Fallen under its burden to be raised up again Deu 22:4
– Fat of, not to be eaten Lev 7:23
• Increase of, promised Deu 7:13; Deu 28:4
• Publicly sold 2 Sam. 24:24; Luk. 14:19
• Often given as a present Gen. 12:16; Gen. 20:14
• The wicked often took, in pledge from the poor Job. 24:3
• Custom of sending the pieces of, to collect the people to war 1 Sam. 11:7
• Sea of brass rested on figures of 1 Kgs. 7:25
• Illustrative
– (Engaged in husbandry,) of Ministers Isa. 30:24; 32:20
– (Not muzzled in treading corn,) of Minister’s right to support 1Cor. 9:9-10
– (Prepared for a feast,) of the provision of the gospel Pro. 9:2; Mat. 22:4
– (Led to slaughter,) of a rash youth Pro. 7:22
– (Led to slaughter,) of saints under persecution Jer. 11:19
– (Stall fed,) of sumptuous living Pro. 15:17
• Bull or bullock illustrative
– Of fierce enemies Psa. 22:12; 68:30
– (Firstling of,) of the glory of Joseph Deu 33:17
– (In a net,) of the impatient under judgment Isa. 51:20
– (Fatted,) of greedy mercenaries Jer. 46:21
– (Unaccustomed to the yoke,) of intractable sinners Jer. 31:18
• Kine illustrative
– Of proud and wealthy rules Amo. 4:1
– (well favoured,) of years of plenty Gen. 41:2, 26, 29
– (Lean,) of years of scarcity Gen. 41:3; Gen. 27:30
• Heifer illustrative
– Of a beloved wife Jdg. 14:18
– (Sliding back,) of backsliding Israel Hos. 4:16
– (Taught, &c) of Israel’s fondness for ease in preference to obedience Hos. 10:11
– (Of three years old,) of Moab in affliction Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:34
– (Fair,) of the beauty and wealth of Egypt Jer. 46:20
– (At grass,) of the luxurious Chaldees Jer. 50:11

Sea Gull

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Sea Gull. Sea gulls are birds about the size of pigeons. They have long wings, which they use to swoop and soar gracefully on air currents. Gulls gather in flocks near bodies of water. They are scavengers who eat garbage as well as fish and insects. Sea gulls are mentioned only in some translations of the Bible. Others translate the Hebrew term as cuckoo, sea mew, or owl (Lev. 11:16; Deut. 14:15).




Source: [Anon-Animals]

Sea Gull