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Beware of the Dogs: The Position and Role of Dogs in Biblical Discourse

Received: 27 February 2015     Accepted: 12 March 2015     Published: 18 March 2015
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Abstract

Animals and humanbeings are closely connected,whether this be in harmony or conflict. Animals may be our friends and helpers, but also may become our food. The history of religions, shows us that animal can become a centre of religious worship (zoolatry) or/and a sacrificial offering.The latter becomes themeans of mediation between the human and the divine realm. In biblical discourse, the relationship between people and animalsis depictedeither in terms of human superiority over the animal world,“so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Gen 1:26-30) or as a relationship of mutual fear, “The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands”. (Gen 9:2). Finally, in biblical discourse, animals are food for humans, “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything”. (Gen 9:3).Examining biblical bestiary, we shall particularly be interested in relation to the position of dogs in the Bible.

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 3, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20150301.12
Page(s) 7-11
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Animals, Livestock, Dog, Zoonymy, Anthroponym, Bestiary,Zoolatry, Spirit, Guide

References
[1] Berković, Danijel (2012). Bestijarij u Psalmima Vrhovčeve kajkavske Biblije (eng. Bestiaries in the Psalm’s of Vrhovac’s Kajkavian Bible). Kairos, Evanđeoski teološki časopis, 6/2,
[2] Black, J. and Green, A. (1998). Gods, demons and symbols of ancient Mesopotamia (BritM, London)
[3] Bockmuehl, M. (1997). The Epistle to the Philippians (A&C Black, London)
[4] Botterweck, G.J. (1980). Zebh (in TDOT, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids)
[5] Brnčić, J. (2007). Životinje u Bibliji i biblijskoj duhovnosti (u Kulturni bestijarij) (eng. Animals in the Bible and biblical spirituality (in Cultural Bestiary))
[6] Budge, E.W. (ed.) (1960). The Book of the Dead (Gramercy Books, NY) (orig.1895)
[7] Chevalier, J. and Gheerbrant, A. (1987). Rječnik Simbola (Dictionary of Symbols) (NZ MH, Zagreb)
[8] Gray, J. (1962). Dagon (in Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, vol.1, Abingdon Press)
[9] Marjanić, S. and Kiš, A. (2007). Kulturni bestijarij (eng. Cultural Bestiary) (HSN, Zagreb)
[10] McCullough, W. (1962). Dog (Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible; Abingdon Press)
[11] Peterlin, D. (1995). Paul's letter to the Philippians in the light of disunity. (Brill, Leiden)
[12] Rad, G.von (1972). Genesis (SCM, London)
[13] Schwab, G. (1985). Najljepše priče klasične starine I-III(eng. The Best Stories of the Ancient Classics) (GZH, Zagreb)
[14] Simeon, R. (1969). Enciklopedijskirječniklingvisitičkihnaziva (eng.Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Linguistic Terms) (MH, Zagreb)
[15] Skok, P. (1972). Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika(eng. Etymological Dictionary of the Croatian and Serbian languages)(JAZU, Zagreb)
[16] Swanson, D.C. (1958). Diminutives in the Greek New Testament (JBL 77/2)
[17] Watt, J.M. (2013). Diminutive Suffixes in the Greek New Testament (BAGL 2)
[18] Wenham, G. (1987). Genesis-15 (Word Books, Waco)
[19] Whitekettle, R. (2001). Rats are like snakes, and hares are like goats… (Biblica82)
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  • APA Style

    Daniel Berkovic. (2015). Beware of the Dogs: The Position and Role of Dogs in Biblical Discourse. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 3(1), 7-11. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150301.12

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    ACS Style

    Daniel Berkovic. Beware of the Dogs: The Position and Role of Dogs in Biblical Discourse. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2015, 3(1), 7-11. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20150301.12

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    AMA Style

    Daniel Berkovic. Beware of the Dogs: The Position and Role of Dogs in Biblical Discourse. Int J Lit Arts. 2015;3(1):7-11. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20150301.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20150301.12,
      author = {Daniel Berkovic},
      title = {Beware of the Dogs: The Position and Role of Dogs in Biblical Discourse},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {3},
      number = {1},
      pages = {7-11},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20150301.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150301.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20150301.12},
      abstract = {Animals and humanbeings are closely connected,whether this be in harmony or conflict. Animals may be our friends and helpers, but also may become our food. The history of religions, shows us that animal can become a centre of religious worship (zoolatry) or/and a sacrificial offering.The latter becomes themeans of mediation between the human and the divine realm. In biblical discourse, the relationship between people and animalsis depictedeither in terms of human superiority over the animal world,“so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Gen 1:26-30) or as a relationship of mutual fear, “The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands”. (Gen 9:2). Finally, in biblical discourse, animals are food for humans, “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything”. (Gen 9:3).Examining biblical bestiary, we shall particularly be interested in relation to the position of dogs in the Bible.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    AB  - Animals and humanbeings are closely connected,whether this be in harmony or conflict. Animals may be our friends and helpers, but also may become our food. The history of religions, shows us that animal can become a centre of religious worship (zoolatry) or/and a sacrificial offering.The latter becomes themeans of mediation between the human and the divine realm. In biblical discourse, the relationship between people and animalsis depictedeither in terms of human superiority over the animal world,“so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Gen 1:26-30) or as a relationship of mutual fear, “The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands”. (Gen 9:2). Finally, in biblical discourse, animals are food for humans, “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything”. (Gen 9:3).Examining biblical bestiary, we shall particularly be interested in relation to the position of dogs in the Bible.
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Author Information
  • Biblical institute, Zagreb, Croatia

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