No, No, Bad Dog: Dogs in the Bible
Israelite attitudes toward dogs
Dogs in the Bible were not well loved. To be called a dog was to be associated with evil and low status. Therefore it is surprising that Caleb, one of the great Hebrew spies, means “dog” in Hebrew. Pictured is a stone relief created in 1958 by sculptor Ferdinand Heseding. The relief, which appears on a fountain in Dusseldorf, Germany, depicts the Biblical spies Joshua and Caleb carrying a cluster of grapes back from the Promised Land (Numbers 13:1-33).
Everyone loves dogs—don’t they? Dogs—or celeb in Hebrew—are humanity’s best friends. We welcome them into our homes, we walk them, feed them, clean up after them and excuse their bad behavior. But in ancient Israel, people had an entirely different view of dogs.
Of the more than 400 breeds of dogs around today, all came from the same ancestor—ancient wolves. Dogs were first domesticated perhaps as far back as 12,000 years ago. Because dogs are the only animals with the ability to bark, they became useful for hunting and herding. Dogs in the Bible were used for these purposes (Isaiah 56:11; Job 30:1).
There is evidence in the Bible that physical violence toward dogs was considered acceptable (1 Samuel 17:43; Proverbs 26:17). To compare a human to a dog or to call them a dog was to imply that they were of very low status (2 Kings 8:13; Exodus 22:31; Deuteronomy 23:18; 2 Samuel 3:8; Proverbs 26:11; Ecclesiastes 9:4; 2 Samuel 9:8; 1 Samuel 24:14). In the New Testament, calling a human a dog meant that the person was considered evil (Philemon 3:2; Revelation 22:15).
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Some scholars hypothesize that the negative feelings expressed in the ancient Near East toward dogs was because in those days, dogs often ran wild and usually in packs. Dogs in the Bible exhibited predatory behavior in their quest for survival, which included the eating of dead bodies (1 Kings 14:11; 16:4; 21:19, 23-24; 22:38; 2 Kings 9:10, 36; 1 Kings 21:23).
There is archaeological evidence, such as figurines, pictures and even collars, that demonstrates that Israel’s neighbors kept dogs as pets, but from the skeletal remains found within the Levant, the domestication of dogs did not happen until the Persian and Hellenistic periods within Israel.
The word for dog in Hebrew is celeb, from which the name Caleb derives. Due to the negative attribution of dogs for the ancient Israelites, it is surprising that one of the great Hebrew spies bears this name. As the Israelites were preparing to enter the land of Canaan, Moses called a chieftain from each tribe to go before them and scout the land. Caleb was the representative of the tribe of Judah. When these spies returned, they reported that the land surpassed expectation but that the people who live there would be mighty foes. The Israelites did not want to go and face the peoples of Canaan, but Caleb stepped forward and urged them to proceed. After more exhortation from Moses, Aaron and Joshua, the people relented. Caleb was rewarded for his faith: Joshua gave him Hebron as an inheritance (Numbers 14:24; Joshua 14:14).
Ellen White, Ph.D. (Hebrew Bible, University of St. Michael’s College), was the senior editor at the Biblical Archaeology Society. She has taught at five universities across the U.S. and Canada and spent research leaves in Germany and Romania. She has also been actively involved in digs at various sites in Israel.
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This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on January 26, 2015.
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Interestingly, the translation of dog (k’lev) in Hebrew means “like heart / like a heart / of like heart” in connection to it’s human master. I have never seen any Biblical references to support violence towards dogs—that would be an islamic* response and not a Hebraic one. However, I have seen many references implying that we are to have dominion over animals meaning that we are to be caretakers, not aggressors. *According to some explanations of islamic hatred towards dogs comes from Mohammed who was plagued with epileptic fits which frightened dogs causing them to growl at him.
In my opinion their attitude towards dogs was wrong. They also owned slaves, and I think that’s wrong also.
It was never ok to be mean to a dog, read the verse.
A dog that eats his own vomit refers to someone who goes back to doing the same foolish thing, they once did before
They owned slaves for 7 years and then they had to release them with their wife and kids too, God always protected his children, those slaves, live in maids were always treated fairly as long as their owner followed the Lord , like today people start to do what they want and not what God wants and that’s when it starts to go down hill. These slaves were taken care of given homes and food when they had none, they were given a job to raise a family, it was the order of that time. Slavery was not restricted to black people. The Egyptian s were cruel and they paid dearly for that.
Bad news for my family. Our ‘family’ is called People of the Dog-Spirit, and there’s a whole linguistic group in Mexico called Chichimec (People of the Dogs), which includes the Aztec. One son-in-law is Sunni Moslem and a great man, very open and friendly and dogs adore him… Even strays will come up and beg for him to pet them. This is hilarious even when we sympathize with him Eventually, he learned to laugh at it, telling my daughter, well, what do you expect, he did marry one! 🙂 Walk in God’s Beauty!
For a closer look at the name Caleb, see http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Caleb.html
The Father used dogs throughout History. He sealed the mouth of Lions and opened the mouths of Dogs. Knowing this, if the Father sends a Dog then it’s not a good thing. It is not the Dog that is evil, rather the Dog is sent to evil. As it is in some Nations where they confuse the teachings of the Father with their own mythology, so it was with Israel. A lot of these fears and interpretations come from the stay in Babylon. They survived a frightening time in History when they, as it is now, were unsure of the lines drawn between their Father and the many other gods they were exposed to. They did the same with cats because of their worship by Egypt. The same thing happened to the snake and a few other animals in History. They need to seriously put it in their minds that all things belong to the Father for his purpose and just because mindless peoples worship animals as if they are above man, does not mean that they are no longer possessions of the Father and created by the Father. They need to do what we call today “own it”. The Father I have been taught of, the owner of ALL things, gives nothing to the pagans.
From time immemorial, mankind has observed the characteristics and habits of animals and has applied them in a figurative or symbolic sense to persons, peoples, governments, and organizations. The BIBLE makes good use of this effective means of illustration. Examples pertaining to the figurative use of the qualities residing in an animal, or suggested by its characteristics, are listed in the accompanying charts.
SYMBOLISM OF DESIRABLE THINGS
ANIMAL,CHARACTERISTIC,SYMBOLISM OR QUALITY:(Find out the animals se link below)
SYMBOLISM OF THAT WHICH IS BAD AND UNDESIRABLE
ANIMAL,CHARACTERISTIC,SYMBOLISM,OR QUALITY:(Find out more animals than dogs in the link below)
Dog:
Viciousness,Wicked enemies of David uncleanness
Ps 22:16, For dogs surround me;
They close in on me like a pack of evildoers,
Like a lion they are at my hands and feet.
Ps.59:6, They return each evening;
They growl like dogs and prowl around the city.
Ps.59:14, Let them return in the evening;
Let them growl like dogs and prowl around the city.
Operating in Sexual pervert: De 23:18, You must not bring the price paid to a female prostitute or the price paid to a male prostitute Lit., “a dog.” into the house of Jehovah your God to fulfill a vow, for both of them are something detestable to Jehovah your God.
Packs:Php 3:2, Look out for the dogs; look out for those who cause injury; look out for those who mutilate the flesh.Re 22:15,Outside are the dogs and those who practice spiritism and those who are sexually immoral and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices lying.
Unsatisfied: Worthless individual 2Sa 16:9,Then A·bish′ai the son of Ze·ru′iah said to the king: “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over, please, and take off his head.”
In sexual,Wicked shepherds of Israel
Desire:Isa 56:10, 11,His watchmen are blind, none of them have taken note.
All of them are speechless dogs, unable to bark.
They are panting and lying down; they love to slumber.
They are dogs with a voracious appetite;
They are never satisfied.
They are shepherds who have no understanding.
They have all gone their own way;
Every last one of them seeks his own dishonest gain and says.
Ancient Jewish view of uncircumcised Gentiles Mt 15:26, 27,In answer he said: “It is not right to take the bread of the children and throw it to the little dogs.” She said: “Yes, Lord, but really the little dogs do eat of the crumbs falling from the table of their masters.”
Apostates 2 Pe 2:22, What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog has returned to its own vomit, and the sow that was bathed to rolling in the mire.”
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200000591
Thanks you, Ellen White for your rich raport . The Jews perhaps developed this negative relation between men and dogs. Was there the same attitude to the serpents which had cultic value in the pagan religions? In many respects the Jews adopted the contrast, and the Christians borrowed it from them? Outside the Bible the Book of Tobias feels differently with the dogs. Such one followed Tobit and his friend to a long journey (5:17) and returned with them (11:4). There were already then dogs as “man’s best friends”?