Story
OF THE
Bible Animals
A Description of the
Habits and Uses of every living
Creature mentioned in the Scriptures,
WITH
Explanation of Passages in the Old and New Testament in
which reference is made to them.
————
BY
J. G. WOOD,
AUTHOR OF "HOMES WITHOUT HANDS,"
"THE ILLUSTRATED NATURAL HISTORY," ETC.
300 ILLUSTRATIONS.
————
PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICE OF
CHARLES FOSTER'S PUBLICATIONS,
No. 118 South Seventh Street,
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
PREFACE.
Owing to the different conditions of time, language, country,and race under which the various books of the Holy Scriptureswere written, it is impossible that they should be rightly understoodat the present day without some study of the customs andmanners of Eastern peoples, as well as of the countries in whichthey lived.
The Oriental character of the scriptural writings causes them toabound with metaphors and symbols taken from the common lifeof the time.
They contain allusions to the trees, flowers, and herbage, thecreeping things of the earth, the fishes of the sea, the birds ofthe air, and the beasts which abode with man or dwelt in thedeserts and forests.
Unless, therefore, we understand these writings as those understoodthem for whom they were written, it is evident that we shallmisinterpret instead of rightly comprehending them.
The field which is laid open to us is so large that only one departmentof Natural History—namely, Zoology—can be treated inthis work, although it is illustrated by many references to otherbranches of Natural History, to the physical geography of Palestine,Egypt, and Syria, the race-character of the inhabitants, andhistorical parallels.
The importance of understanding the nature, habits, and uses ofthe animals which are constantly mentioned in the Bible, cannot beoverrated as a means of elucidating the Scriptures, and withoutthis knowledge we shall not only miss the point of innumerablepassages of the Old and New Testaments, but the words of ourLord Himself will often be totally misinterpreted, or at least losepart of their significance.
The object of the present work is therefore, to take