“A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.” King James Version (KJV)
The Greyhound or better the hound is one of the oldest dog breeds. It is the only dog breed mentioned in the Bible and many of Shakespeare’s works and is the protagonist of the famous introduction of Don Quixote. Even the Simpsons dog, Santa’s helper, is a greyhound.
King David learned this teaching when he asked what is the goal of “creatures as evil” as spiders. Subsequently, God created an event in which a web of spiders saved his life, teaching the greatest of the kings of Israel that every creature has its purpose (Midrash Alpha Beta Women of-Ben Sira 9).
Imagine the message a child receives when daddy and mommy teach him that God wants all our animals to be fed before us (Talmud, Brachot 40a). Imagine the message your son receives when mom and dad teach him that God watches us see if we are compassionate to the animals around us (Talmud, Baba Metzia 85a). And imagine the message we give our children when we say that to be truly straight and spiritually complete, we must cultivate a sensitivity towards animals, as it is written: “A righteous person knows the needs of his animal” (Proverbs 12:10).
An idea we can draw from Torah regarding why God made animals is that they were created to express the “glory of the Creator” (Pirkei Avot 6:11). The immense diversity and beauty of animals lead us to appreciate the Creator, even more, leading us to exclaim: “How great is Your work, Lord!” (Psalm 92: 5).
We could say that this was precisely to highlight that our responsibility as caregivers of the garden did not end with Adam and Eve, but is an essential responsibility of humanity for all eternity. Also, one could even say that the way we treat animals is a reflection of the way we treat people.
What dogs are mentioned in the Bible?
Whilst dogs are mentioned multiple times in the Bible (more on that in a moment), there is only one breed that is specifically mentioned; and that’s the greyhound in Proverbs 30:29-31.
With the greyhound being the only dog breed that is specifically mentioned in the Bible, you are probably wondering what the context was, and what the passage says. Here’s the direct quote from the King James version.
The word “greyhound” is translated from the Hebrew phrase for “girt in the loins”. Does that mean is was an actual greyhound in the Bible (if the literal meaning is to be believed)?
Well, perhaps not… it was probably the closest the translators of the original Hebrew could get to.
Interestingly, there are other versions of the Bible where the greyhound character is instead described as a “strutting rooster” – it stands to reason that the translators for King James probably didn’t want to call him that!
It’s also worth mentioning that the greyhound breed of dog was very popular in the court of King James when this version of the Bible was published. This dog breed was probably high on the list of breed the translators were familiar with.
And was it even a greyhound in King James day anyway?
I read a post on a web forum from a person debating where it mentions greyhounds in the Bible, and he said this:
What Is The Only Dog Breed Specifically Mentioned In The Bible?
Long before man domesticated any other type of animal, we had dogs living with us. In fact, research suggests that dogs were domesticated around 15,000 years ago. I will explain a little more about that scientific research a little later, but what this does mean is that this date is possibly way before many Christians believe the world was created.
However, I’m not here to get into a theological discussion on belief or religion. My blog isn’t a place for that. What this is a place for though, is facts about dogs. I recently researched into what dogs are mentioned in the Bible, and how many times a dog is referenced.
It was an interesting study, as I don’t believe any other canine blog has ever taken the time to find out about dogs in the Bible. Here’s what I found…