ANIMALS ACTING ODDLY: PART 1

In a previous post (“Monsters in the Bible”) I discussed the various composite animal creatures that appear in the Scriptures. But in addition there are a number of examples in which seemingly normal animals act in a most uncharacteristic manner. In most, but not all, of these cases they do so at the prompting of some supernatural influence. In this first brief review, I will cover such odd animals that appear in the Old Testament history books.

Genesis 2

The serpent in the Garden of Eden would certainly be considered a prime example. We tend to just call him Satan, and that is the identification given to him in Revelation 12:9. However, within Genesis 2:1,14 he is just called “a wild animal” (NRSV). So which one is he? My own opinion is that we should view him as a regular snake who allows Satan to possess him. As confirmation of that theory just look at the punishments decreed by God in verses 14-15. First, the physical serpent is condemned to slither on the ground and then the spiritual Satan is predicted to be conquered by the woman's offspring – the first messianic prophecy in the Bible.

The major objection to such an interpretation is in regard to the snake's mode of transportation since he presumably already slithered on the ground even before the curse. At this point, science comes in with some interesting information. Ancient fossils have been found which indicate that snakes originally moved about on four legs.

Genesis 8:8-12

After the flood, Noah releases first a raven and then a dove, but both return to the ark. The second time the dove is sent out, he returns with an olive branch in his mouth. And the final time he is released, he does not come back. Wenham notes, “The find here [second flight of the dove] was the more significant in that it was 'freshly plucked'..., indicating that plants were growing again ready to feed man and beast.” So, if food was now available for the dove, why did he bother returning to the ark? The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery postulates that he returned in order to console Noah. That would make it a very empathetic bird indeed!

Hamilton says, “He who had received direct revelation from God must now resort to ornithology (or augury) for further data. The Creator speaks to Noah, but so does the creature.” We could add that the Creator obviously speaks to the creature as well.”

Genesis 41:1-4

These verses describe Pharaoh's dream in which seven thin cows eat up seven fat cows. Joseph interprets it to mean that there will be seven good years followed by seven years of famine in the land. There is no need to defend this story from critics who could rightly point out that cows' teeth are not designed for chewing meat and their multiple stomachs could not digest it anyway. This is obviously not a narrative account but a dream in which literal logic does not apply.

Exodus 7:8-12

We can attribute Aaron's staff becoming a snake to an obvious miracle from God, but what about the magicians and their similar feat? Various explanations have been made, all involving some sort of trickery (such as the snakes being hidden in their hollow rods).

Exodus 8:1-8

One school of thought rightly points out that almost all of the plagues of Egypt happen regularly in that land, and roughly in the same order. However, even if frogs do on occasion leave the Nile, especially if it is polluted with toxic red algae, it is highly doubtful that they would invade Pharaoh's palace to the extent that that they were jumping on his bed and croaking from inside the kitchen's oven.

Next we encounter three passages in the book of Numbers in which God's wrath brings about some supernatural events involving animals.

Numbers 11:31

After the Israelites in the wilderness complain that they are tired of eating manna all the time, God inundates them with a huge flock of quail who conveniently drop on the ground all around the camp. Scholars have pointed out that this is not necessarily a nature miracle since this was the season for birds to migrate north to Europe, and they can be caught in large numbers by Arabs in nets. But that certainly does not mean that the quail were acting in a total normal manner. The miraculous components include the tremendous number of birds, the fact that they dropped from the ground exactly around the camp but not within it, and at the appropriate period indicates that God was certainly directing them the whole way. Wenham perceptively notes that the quail fell in the non-consecrated ground and that when the Israelites went there to gather them it was an indication of their moving away from God. Thus, it is not surprising that the Israelites are at first overjoyed until they start stuffing themselves and become deathly ill.

Numbers 21:6-8

The serpents in this case provide a contrast to the one in the Garden of Eden in that they obey God by suddenly attacking the Israelites due to their continued complaining. And perhaps coincidentally, whereas the Genesis 3 story involved cherubim, the snakes of Numbers 21:6-8 are called in Hebrew seraphim (“fiery ones”).

It is obvious that the behavior of these snakes is unusual since the Israelites immediately recognize that they have come as an expression of God's wrath on the people for their grumbling (see v. 7). God responds to their repentance by providing the image of a snake on a pole that heals whoever looks on it. Jesus, in John 3:14-15, cites this as a type of his own death on a cross for the salvation of mankind.

Numbers 22:22-35

This is the famous story of Balaam and his donkey who bawls him out for not seeing the angel blocking the road ahead. As in the story of the serpent in the garden, the best way to interpret this narrative is in terms of supernatural possession of the donkey by God or an angelic being. Others, who treat the story as a fable, dismiss any factual component of the story and treat it more as a satire on the spiritual blindness of the foreign prophet Balaam.

There is an interesting correspondence between this story and that of the temptation in the Garden of Eden. Both not only involve talking animals, but in both stories supernatural being(s) from God (the cherubim / an angel) with a drawn sword stand to block the way (see Genesis 3:24)

I Samuel 6:7-16

After capturing the ark of the covenant in battle, the Philistines have nothing but trouble. At last, they are determined to get rid of the ark and at the same time learn if it really is the source of their woes. A clever plan is devised by which the ark is loaded in a cart and hitched to a team of cows who have just calved and never before been used as beasts of burden. The reasoning is that they will naturally return to their calves in order to nurse them if there is nothing supernatural about the ark. But instead, the cows head straight for Israelite territory pulling the cart behind them, proving that Yahweh was behind the whole thing. Unfortunately for them, the Jews sacrifice them for their troubles.