Animals

The world Israel inherits is a world thick with animals — beasts of the earth and cattle and creeping things, the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, sea-monsters, serpents, and the wild creatures of the desert and the mountain. They are made by the Speech of God, named by Adam, preserved through the flood, sorted into clean and unclean, offered on the altar, fed and watered by their owners, eaten or spared by law, and finally pictured at peace under a child in a coming kingdom. The catalog runs from the praise of Yahweh in Psalm 104 to the dream-beasts of Daniel and the wisdom of the donkey-driver in Sirach.

Creation and Dominion

Animals appear on the fifth and sixth days. The waters are commanded to swarm: "And [the Speech of] God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living souls, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven" (Gen 1:20). The sea-monsters and every moving living soul are made "after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind" (Gen 1:21). Then the dry land is told to bring them forth — "And [the Speech of] God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind: and God saw that it was good" (Gen 1:25).

Dominion follows. "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (Gen 1:26). The blessing repeats the catalog — "have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Gen 1:28). The man's first act under that mandate is to name the catalog: "And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there wasn't found a matching helper for him" (Gen 2:20). The beasts pass before the man, but no companion is among them.

The Eighth Psalm refits the dominion language as praise. "You make him to have dominion over the works of your hands; You have put all things under his feet" (Ps 8:6) — and what follows is the same triple list: "The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas" (Ps 8:8). Sirach restates the gift in summary: "And he put the fear of them upon all flesh, And gave them dominion over beasts and birds" (Sir 17:4).

Noah's Ark and the Covenant with All Flesh

When the flood comes, the catalog comes with it. The animals are gathered and preserved: "And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort you will bring into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they will be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you, to keep them alive" (Gen 6:19-20). The clean beasts come in greater numbers: "Of every clean beast you will take to you seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female: of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the face of all the earth" (Gen 7:2-3). They walk in: "Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, there went in two and two to Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah" (Gen 7:8-9).

When the waters dry, Noah sends out the raven (Gen 8:7), and at last God commands the release: "Bring forth with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, both birds, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply on the earth" (Gen 8:17). On the altar, "Noah built an altar to [the Speech of] Yahweh, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar" (Gen 8:20). A new fear is set on them — "the fear of you⁺ and the dread of you⁺ will be on every beast of the earth, and on every bird of the heavens; With all by which the ground teems, and all the fish of the sea, into your⁺ hand they are delivered" (Gen 9:2) — and a new permission, "Every moving thing that lives will be food for you⁺, as I have given you⁺ everything of the green herb" (Gen 9:3).

The covenant that follows is not made with man alone. "And I, look, I establish my covenant with you⁺, and with your⁺ seed after you⁺; and with every living soul that is with you⁺, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you⁺, from all those coming out of the ark to all the beasts of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you⁺; neither will all flesh be cut off anymore by the waters of the flood; neither will there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth" (Gen 9:9-11). The bow in the cloud is set as its token "between [the Speech of] God and every living soul of all flesh that is on the earth" (Gen 9:16).

Clean and Unclean

The creation and ark catalog is sorted in Leviticus 11. "These are the living things which you⁺ may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatever parts the hoof, and is clovenfooted, [and] chews the cud, among the beasts, that may you⁺ eat" (Lev 11:2-3). The borderline cases are spelled out — the camel, the coney, the hare, the swine — each unclean for some failure of the rule (Lev 11:4-7). Of water creatures, "These you⁺ may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that you⁺ may eat" (Lev 11:9), with everything else detestable. A list of unclean birds names "the eagle, and the gier-eagle, and the osprey, and the kite, and the falcon after its kind, every raven after its kind, and the ostrich, and the nighthawk, and the seamew, and the hawk after its kind, and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the vulture, and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat" (Lev 11:13-19). Winged creeping things are detestable except "the locust after its kind, and the bald locust after its kind, and the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind" (Lev 11:22). Among ground creepers, the weasel, mouse, great lizard, gecko, land-crocodile, lizard, sand-lizard, and chameleon are unclean (Lev 11:29-30). The chapter's closing summary names the law itself — "the law of the beast, and of the bird, and of every living soul that moves in the waters, and of every soul that creeps on the earth; to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten" (Lev 11:46-47), with the holiness rationale, "For I am Yahweh your⁺ God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be⁺ holy; for I am holy" (Lev 11:44).

Deuteronomy 14 restates the law in a positive form. "These are the beasts which you⁺ may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, the hart, and the gazelle, and the roebuck, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the antelope, and the chamois. And every beast that parts the hoof, and has the hoof cloven in two, [and] chews the cud, among the beasts, that may you⁺ eat" (Deut 14:4-6). Camel, hare, coney, swine are again excluded (Deut 14:7-8); fish without fins and scales are unclean (Deut 14:9-10); raptors and carrion-birds are listed by name and refused (Deut 14:12-18). The closing summary on either side is short: "Of all clean birds you⁺ may eat" (Deut 14:11, 20).

Animal Care Laws

The same Torah that sorts the catalog also defends it. The Sabbath commandment numbers the beasts among those who rest: "you will not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is inside your gates" (Ex 20:10), and Deuteronomy spells out the rest more fully — "nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle … that your male slave and your female slave may rest as well as you" (Deut 5:14). Lost or laboring animals belong to a network of mercy: "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you will surely bring it back to him again" (Ex 23:4); "If you see the donkey of him who hates you lying under his burden, you will forbear to leave him, you will strengthen [it] with him" (Ex 23:5); "You will not see your brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide yourself from them: you will surely bring them again to your brother" (Deut 22:1). The mother-bird is spared: "If a bird's nest chance to be before you in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you will not take the dam with the young" (Deut 22:6). Mismatched yoking is forbidden: "You will not plow with an ox and a donkey together" (Deut 22:10). Above all stands the muzzle rule: "You will not muzzle the ox when he treads out [the grain]" (Deut 25:4). Paul cites it twice — "For it is written in the law of Moses, You will not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn. Is it for the oxen that God cares" (1 Cor 9:9), and "For the Scripture says, You will not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn. And, The worker is worthy of his wages" (1 Tim 5:18). Proverbs gives the rule as a sketch of character: "A righteous man regards the soul of his beast; But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel" (Pr 12:10).

The Sabbath test in the gospels turns on the same instinct. "You⁺ hypocrites, does not each of you⁺ on the Sabbath loose his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead him away to watering?" (Lk 13:15). "Which of you⁺ will have a son or an ox fallen into a well, and will not immediately draw him up on a Sabbath day?" (Lk 14:5).

Wild Beasts in Covenant Blessing and Curse

The covenant ties the people's fortunes to the behavior of the wild animals. In the Levitical blessing the beasts withdraw: "And I will give peace in the land, and you⁺ will lie down, and none will make you⁺ afraid: and I will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land, neither will the sword go through your⁺ land" (Lev 26:6). In the curse they advance: "And I will send the beast of the field among you⁺, which will rob you⁺ of your⁺ children, and destroy your⁺ cattle, and make you⁺ few in number; and your⁺ ways will become desolate" (Lev 26:22). Deuteronomy turns the same image on the corpse: "And your dead body will be food to all birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the earth; and there will be none to frighten them away" (Deut 28:26). The prophets pick up both ends. The forsaken cities of Edom and Babylon become animal habitations — "it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches" (Isa 34:13); "I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals" (Jer 9:11); "Babylon will become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant" (Jer 51:37); "Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and [gave] his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness" (Mal 1:3).

The Peaceable Kingdom

Against that picture the peaceable kingdom is set. "And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; and the calf and the young lion will grow fat together; and a little child will lead them. And the cow and the bear will be shepherded; their young ones will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like the ox" (Isa 11:6-7). The list extends to the venomous: "And the nursing child will play on the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the adder's den. They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa 11:8-9). The picture is drawn again at the end of Isaiah, with the serpent kept in his place: "The wolf and the lamb will be shepherded together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent's food. They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, says Yahweh" (Isa 65:25). Sharon and the valley of Achor are pictured the same way — "And Sharon will be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for my people who have sought me" (Isa 65:10).

Yahweh's Catalog from the Whirlwind

Job's last chapters are a procession of beasts no one tames. The lion is fed by Yahweh: "Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, When they couch in their dens, [And] remain in the covert to lie in wait?" (Job 38:39-40). The young raven cries to him: "Who provides for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry to God, [And] wander for lack of food?" (Job 38:41). The wild-ox refuses the yoke — "Will the wild-ox be content to serve you? Or will he spend the night by your crib?" (Job 39:9). The ostrich's plumage is proud and her care is wild: "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; [But] is it a pious plumage and down?" (Job 39:13); she leaves her eggs on the earth (Job 39:14). The horse is given his might and his quivering mane (Job 39:19); the hawk soars by no human wisdom (Job 39:26). Behemoth eats grass like an ox (Job 40:15) and lies in the lotus-shade (Job 40:22). Leviathan cannot be drawn out with a fishhook or pressed down with a cord (Job 41:1); a rope cannot be put into his nose, nor a hook through his jaw (Job 41:2); smoke comes out of his nostrils (Job 41:20); "He beholds everything that is high: He is king over all the sons of pride" (Job 41:34).

The same wonder runs through Sirach's hymn to creation: "In it are marvels, the wonders of his works, All manner of living things, and mighty things of the deep" (Sir 43:25), and through Psalm 104, where the high mountains are for the wild goats and the rocks a refuge for the conies (Ps 104:18), and the birds nest among the foliage (Ps 104:12, 17), and Yahweh "gives to the beast his food, [And] to the young ravens which cry" (Ps 147:9).

Daniel's Beasts

Daniel sees the catalog turn into history. "And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I looked until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand on two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it. And, look, another beast, a second, like a bear; and it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus to it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I looked, and saw another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night-visions, and, look, a fourth beast, terrible and powerful, and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the remnant with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns" (Dan 7:3-7). The interpretation is given plainly: "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, that will arise out of the earth" (Dan 7:17). The dominion that flowed to Adam in Genesis 1 — "the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens he has given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold" (Dan 2:38) — is now bestowed on a beast: "and dominion was given to it" (Dan 7:6).

A second vision pairs with the first. "Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked, and saw there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any who could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself" (Dan 8:3-4). In Daniel's lions' den the figure works in reverse: "Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in a hurry to the den of lions" (Dan 6:19) — and the beasts are the threat the man is delivered from.

Serpents

The serpent runs as its own thread through the catalog. Moses' rod becomes a serpent before Pharaoh (Ex 4:3; 7:10). In the wilderness, "And [the Speech of] Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died" (Num 21:6); the wilderness itself was full of "fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water" (Deut 8:15). The wisdom literature uses the snake as a figure for slander — "They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent; Adders' poison is under their lips" (Ps 140:3) — and as the ending of unwary drinking, "At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like an adder" (Pr 23:32). Sirach widens the figure: "Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent; For if you come near it, it will bite you; Its teeth are lion's teeth, Slaying the souls of men" (Sir 21:2); "There is no poison above the poison of a serpent, And there is no wrath above the wrath of a woman" (Sir 25:15). The same lexicon turns up in John's call: "You⁺ offspring of vipers, who warned you⁺ to flee from the wrath to come?" (Lk 3:7). Even the serpents serve a purpose: "Beasts of prey, scorpions and vipers, And the avenging sword to slay the wicked, All these are created for their uses, And are in [his] treasure-house, and in [their] time will be requisitioned" (Sir 39:30). And the Psalmist already pictures their final humiliation: "You will tread on the lion and cobra: The young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot" (Ps 91:13).

Sirach on the Beast and the Slave

Sirach is candid about how a working household actually treats animals. The owner of a beast must watch it — "Do you have a beast? Keep your eyes on it. And if it is trustworthy, establish it" (Sir 7:22). The fool is a saddled horse: "Like a saddled horse is the love of a fool, He neighs under everyone who sits upon him" (Sir 33:6). And in a line that aligns the donkey with the household servant, the same triad of treatment runs through both: "Fodder, and a stick, and burdens, for a donkey; Bread, and discipline, and work, for a servant" (Sir 33:24). [ABSOLUTE]

The natural enmities are also Sirach's stock instruction. "Why will a wolf be joined to a lamb? So it is with the wicked to the righteous" (Sir 13:17); "From a man there can be peace between a hyena and a dog. From where can there be peace between the rich and the poor?" (Sir 13:18). Sirach's animals are still wild, still useful, still working — and still standing in for the social order until the day the wolf and the lamb are shepherded together.