Bible Animals: Being a Description of Every Living Creature Mentioned in the ... - John George Wood - Google Bøker

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CONTENT S.

MAMMALIA.

THE APE.

The Monkey tribe rarely mentioned in Scripture—Why the Ape was introduced

into Palestine-Solomon's ships, and their cargo of Apes, peacocks, ivory, and gold—Various species of Monkey that might have been imported— The Rhesus Monkey—The Hoonuman, or Entellus-Habits of the Monkey, and reverence in which it is held by the natives—The Egyptians and their Baboon worship-Idols and memorials—The Wanderoo-Its singular aspect-Reasons why it should be introduced into Palestine-General habits of the Wanderoo -Its love of curiosities— Probability that Solomon had a menagerie- Various species of Monkey that may be included in the term Kophim, The Satyr of Scripture-Babylon in its glory and fall—Fulfilment of prophecy--Judaic ideas of the Satyrs, or Seirim

1

THE BAT.

The Bat mentioned always with abhorrence-Meaning of the Hebrew name- --The

prohibition against eating Bats—The edible species, their food and mode of life—The noisome character of the Bat, and the nature of its dwelling-placeIts hatred of light-Baruch and his prophecy- Appropriateness of the prophecy-Singular Mahommedan legend respecting the original creation of the Bat—The legend compared with the apocryphal gospels—The Bats of Palestine

- Mr. Tristram's discoveries—Bats found in the quarries from which the stone of the Temple was hewn-Edible Bats in a cave near the centre of PalestineAnother species of long-tailed Bat captured in the rock caves where hermits had been buried—Other species which probably inhabit Palestine ... 11

THE LION.

Frequent mention of the Lion in the Scriptures—Probability that it was once

a common animal, though now extinct-Reasons for its disappearance-The Lion employed as an emblem in the Bible—Similarity of the African and Asiatic species—The chief characteristics of the Lion-Its strength, activity,

and mode of seizing its prey–Various names of the Lion---Its courage when

roused-Its roar, and peculiar mode of utterance-Invisibility of the Lion at

dusk— The Lion lying in wait-The dwelling-place of the Lion-Its restless-

ness at night-. Passages illustrative of these characteristics-- Modes of cap-

turing the Lion—The pitfall and the net-Lions kept as curiosities—The

Lion-hunt as depicted on the buildings of ancient Nineveh .

The Leopard not often mentioned in the Scriptures-Its attributes exactly

described-Probability that several animals were classed under the name-

How the Leopard takes its prey-Craft of the Leopard-Its ravages among

the flocks—The empire of man over the beast — The Leopard at bay.-

Localities wherein the Leopard lives - The skin of the Leopard—Various

passages of Scripture explained .

The Cat never mentioned by name in the canonical Scriptures, and only once in

the Apocrypha—The Cat domesticated among the Egyptians, and trained in

bird-catching-Neglected capabilities of the Cat-Anecdote of an English

Cat that caught fish for her master-Presumed reason why the Scriptures are

silent about the Cat--The Cat mentioned by Baruch

Antipathy displayed by Orientals towards the Dog, and manifested throughout

the Scriptures-Contrast between European and Oriental Dogs---Habits of

the Dogs of Palestine–The city Dogs and their singular organization—The

herdsman's Dog- Various passages of Scripture - Dogs and the crumbs-

Their numbers--Signor Pierotti's experience of the Dogs-Possibility of their

perfect domestication—The peculiar humiliation of Lazarus-Voracity of the

Wild Dogs—The fate of Ahab and Jezebel- Anecdote of a volunteer Watch-

dog-Innate affection of the Dog towards mankind-Peculiar local instinct of

the Oriental Dog--Albert Smith's account of the Dogs at Constantinople-

The Dervish and his Dogs—The Greyhound-Uncertainty of the word. 39

Identity of the animal indisputable-Its numbers, past and present—The Wolf

never mentioned directly-Its general habits--References in Scripture-Its

mingled ferocity and cowardice--Its association into packs—The Wolf's bite

-How it takes its prey-Its ravages among the flocks-Allusions to this

habit---The shepherd and his nightly enemies—Mr. Tristram and the Wolf-

A semi-tamed Wolf at Marsaba .

THE FOX, OR JACKAL.

The two animals comprehended under one name—The Jackal—Its numbers in

ancient and modern Palestine--General habits of the Jackal-Localities

where the Jackal is found—Samson, and the three hundred "foxes”—Popular

objections to the narrative–The required number easily obtained-Signor

Pierotti's remarks upon the Jackal—An unpleasant position-How the fields

were set on fire—The dread of fire inherent in wild beasts-The truth of the

warrative proved—The Fox and Jackal destructive among grapes--Allusions

to the Fox in the New Testament--Partially tamed Foxes

THE HYÆNA.

The Hyæna not mentioned by name, but evidently alluded to—Signification of

the word Zabua — Translated in the Septuagint as “ Hyæna”—A scene described

by the Prophet Isaiah— The Hyæna plentiful in Palestine at the present day

-Its well-known cowardice and fear of man—The uses of the Hyæna, and the

services which it renders—The particular species of Hyæna—The Hyæna in

the burial-grounds--Hunting the Hyæna-Curious superstition respecting

the talismanic properties of its skin-Precautions adopted in flaying it-

Popular legends of the Hyæna and its magical powers—The cavern home of

the Hyæna—The Valley of Zeboim .

Difficulty of identifying the Weasel of Scripture—The Weasel of Palestine--

Suggested identity with the Ichneumon

Translation of the Hebrew word Anakah--The Shrew-mouse of Palestine-

Etymology of the word—The Gecko or Fan-foot, its habits and peculiar cry

--Repugnance felt by the Arabs of the present day towards the Gecko 69

HE BADGER.

Difficulty of identifying the Tachash of Scripture-References to “ badgers' skins"

-The Dugong thought to be the Badger—The Bedouin sandals—Nature of

the materials for the Tabernacle-Habits of the Badger—The species found in

Palestine-Uses of the Badgers' skins-Looseness of zoological terms. : 70
THE BEAR.

The Syrian Bear-Identity of the Hebrew and Arabic titles—Its colour variable

according to age-Bears once numerous in Palestine, and now only occasion-

ally seen-Reason for their diminution--Present localities of the Bear, and

its favourite haunts—Food of the Bear-Its general habits--Its ravages

among the flocks—The Bear dangerous to mankind— The Bear robbed of her

whelps-Illustrative passagesIts mode of fighting—Various references to

the Bear, from the time of Samuel to that of St. John

THE HEDGEHOG, OR BITTERN.

Various readings of the word Kippôd—The Jewish Bible and its object—The

Syrian Hedgehog and its appearance-Its fondness for dry spots—The pro-

phecies of Isaiah and Zephaniah, and their bearing on the subject—The

Porcupine supposed to be the Kippôd— The Hedgehog and Porcupine called

by the same name in Greek and Arabic-Habits of the Porcupine—Its quills,

and the manner of their shedding

Presumed identity of the Kippôd with the Porcupine—The same Greek name

applied to the Porcupine and Hedgehog—Habits of the Porcupine–The

common Porcupine found plentifully in Palestine .

The two Hebrew words which are translated as “ Mole” --Obscurity of the former

-A parallel case in our own language—The second name- e-The Moles

and the Bats, why associated together—The real Mole of Scripture, its

different names, and its place in zoology--Description of the Mole-rat and

its general habits-Curious superstition-Discovery of the species by Mr.

Tristram-Scripture and science--How the Mole-rat finds its food--Distinc-

tion between the Mole and the present animal

Conjectures as to the right translation of the Hebrew word Akbar-Signification

of the word—The Mice which marred the land-Miracles, and their economy

of power—The Field-mouse- -Its destructive habits and prolific nature-The

insidious nature of its attacks, and its power of escaping observation—The

Hamster, and its habits—Its custom of storing up provisions for the winter

-Its fertility and unsociable nature—The Jerboa, its activity and destructive-

ness—Jerboas and Hamsters eaten by Arabs and Syrians- Various species of

Dormice and Sand-rats.

The prohibitions of the Mosaic law—The chewing of the cud and division of the

hoof-Identity of the Hare of Scripture-Rumination described- The Hare a

rodent and not a ruminant-Cowper and his Hares-Structure of the rodent

tooth-The Mosaic law accommodated to its recipients—The Hares of Palestine

and their habits.

The cattle of Palestine, and their decadence at the present day-Ox-flesh not

used for food in modern times—Oxen of the stall, and oxen of the pasture-

The use of the ox in agriculture—The yoke and its structure—The plough

and the goad—The latter capable of being used as a weapon—Treading out

the corn—The cart and its wheels—The ox used as a beast of burden-Cattle

turned loose to graze—The bulls of Bashan-Curiosity of the ox tribe-A

season of drought-Branding the cattle-An Egyptian field scene-Cattle-

keeping an honourable post_The ox as used for sacrifice-Ox-worship—The

bull Apis, and his history—Persistency of the bull-worship-Jeroboam's sin

-Various names of cattle—The Indian buffalo .

The TÔ, Wild Bull of the Old Testament-Passages in which it is mentioned

The Wild Bull in the net—Hunting with nets in the East—The Oryx sup-

posed to be the Tô of Scripture-Description of the Oryx, its locality, ap-

pearance, and habits—The points in which the Oryx agrees with the Tô--

The snare” in which the foot is taken, as distinguished from the net 116

THE REÊM, OR “UNICORN” OF SCRIPTURE.

The Reêm evidently known to the Jews—Various theories concerning the Unicorn

--Supposed identity with the Indian Rhinoceros—Passages of Scripture

alluding to the strength, violent and intractable temper of the Reêm—The

Reêm a two-horned animal-Its evident connexion with the Ox tribe-Its

presumed identity with the now extinct Urus,Mr. Dawkins' treatise on the

Urus—Enormous size and dangerous character of the Urus-Rabbinical legend

of the Reêm-Identity of the Urus with the modern varieties of cattle--The

Bull-hunts of Nineveh

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