Mare

Mare (see Horse).

A mare is a female horse is a beast of burden, carrying both men and goods on their backs. A Horse gives a man a great advantage is what is carried as well as distance traveled.

Source: [Anon-Animals]

Hoopoe

Hoopoe.

The hoopoe is a beautiful bird with a disgusting habit: it probes foul places for insects with its sharp, slender beak. Its wing feathers bear a zebra stripe, and its head sports a lovely crown of feathers. When frightened, the hoopoe may flutter his crest or drop to the ground and play dead. The offensive odor picked up from its feeding grounds is enough to drive away most of its enemies.
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Mole

Mole. Palestine has no true moles. The few Bible references to moles probably mean a burrowing rat that resembles a mole. “Mole rats” live underground and feed on roots and bulbs, to the distress of farmers. Their tiny ears and eyes are nearly hidden in their thick coats of fur. Because these mole rats live in darkness, the prophet Isaiah referred to them as symbols of the spiritually blind. The NEB translates “dung-beetles” (Is. 2:20). Also see Weasel.

Source: [Anon-Animals]

The Mole. I remember but two places in the Bible where this animal is mentioned. One is in Leviticus, where it is named among the unclean animals which the Israelites were forbidden to eat; and the other is this verse in the second chapter of Isaiah: “In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats.” Have you read about the first missionaries who went to the Sandwich Islands? And do you remember that although the people had always been worshippers of idols, they had cast them all away just before the missionaries came? That was a very wonderful thing to happen; and it seems as though God was making these poor people ready to hear about the Savior, when the missionaries should come. Well, this verse in Isaiah declares that the same thing will happen by and by over the whole earth. You know that there are now millions and millions of poor heathen who worship nothing but images of gold, or brass, or stone; but the day is coming when not an idol shall be seen, and no being shall be worshipped but the true God. The mole lives under ground, and the bat in gloomy, dark caves where nobody thinks of going; so when it is said that the idols shall be “Cast to the moles and to the bats,” it means that they shall be thrown away in dark and neglected places, just as we throw away old shoes, or any thing that we care nothing about. Will you try to remember this verse about the idols? Perhaps you may live to see the near approach of that day.

The mole is a very curious animal in its appearance and in its manner of living. It is almost always under ground, and we should think that the little creature could not be very happy; but its skin is as smooth and handsome as that of any animal, and it seems very well contented with its dark home. God made it to live there, and he has given it just such a body at it needs. It is covered with fine, short, silky hair, almost like soft velvet, so that the earth does not stick to it; and its legs are very short, so as not to be in the way. If its legs were long it could not get through the ground very well, you know. Its eyes are very small, because it does not need to see much, and they are almost buried too under its soft fur, which keeps out all the dust and dirt. The opening of the ear is covered in the same way, so that nothing can hurt it.

Its fore-paws are made broad like a shovel, and are very strong; each one, too, has five short fingers with which the earth can be removed. The nose is sharp and bony, and this helps the mole to work its way through the earth. They throw up the earth when they make their houses under ground, and in this way mole-hills are made. They like to work at morning and evening, and also after a shower, when the earth is damp and soft, and easily moved.

The mole is larger than a mouse, but not as large as a rat. It eats insects and worms, and sometimes the roots of plants.

[Cook, Scripture Alphabet of Animals]

See also Mole Rat and Weasel

Raven

Raven is a bird associated with death, but also with sustaining life.

Raven.

In the Bible, raven is a catch-all term for crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, magpies, and jays. All were considered unclean by the Jewish people (Lev. 11:15). With a wingspread of about 1 meter (three feet), the raven is the largest member of this family. Raven
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Sparrow

Sparrow. Sparrow is the name given to several different species of birds in the Bible. They ate grain and insects and gathered in noisy flocks. The psalmist wrote, “I… am like a sparrow alone on the housetop” (Ps. 102:7). These tiny birds were such social creatures that a lone sparrow was the symbol of deep loneliness.

Sparrows build their untidy nests in the eaves of houses. Sparrows were not driven away when they built their nests in the Temple (Ps. 84:3).
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Spider

Spider. Hundreds of different species of spiders are found in the Holy Land. A spider’s skill at spinning threads into a web is one of nature’s miracles. The fragile web of a spider is used to demonstrate the folly of placing confidence in something other than the stable, dependable God (Job 8:14).
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Sponge

Sponge.

The sponge is a plant-like animal that lives on the ocean floor. It absorbs nourishment from water passing through its body. When a sponge is removed from water, the cells die, leaving a skeleton. The skeletons of some sponges are flexible and porous. These have been used for centuries as cleaning and water-absorbing tools. Such a sponge, dipped in sour wine, was offered to Christ on the cross (Matt. 27:48; Mark 15:36; John 19:29).
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Stork

Stork.

This goose-sized bird looks ungainly in flight, with its legs dangling and its wings slowly flapping. But people in Palestine were always glad to see the storks on their yearly migration from Europe to Africa. Storks had the reputation of bringing good luck. If they were numerous, surely crops would be good. Farmers welcomed storks because they helped their crops by eating insects.

Both black and white storks were often seen in Palestine. White storks nest as high as possible– often on chimneys. But since houses in the Holy Land had low, flat roofs, they nested instead in the fir trees (Ps. 104:17). In spite of their commendable features, storks were considered unclean (Lev. 11:19; Deut. 14:18).
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