In the Beg-inning, Dog Trivia Quiz

Answer: The killing of every firstborn Egyptian son

The modern Canaan dog is the descendant of the so-called pariah dogs that would have roamed wild in the Palestine of biblical times. There are several dog breeds that are said to have had their origin in ancient Egypt but to ask which of these the Israelites might have had in their midst is to miss the point.

The writer is trying to communicate a theological point rather than a literal one. The Egyptians are laid low by the devastating power of God. The Israelites, by contrast, protected by God, aren't even threatened by the empty growl of a dog.

Answer: They formed an army that routed the Midianites

For the ancient Israelites, talk of dogs would probably bring to mind one of three images. The first was of the household guard dogs that were allowed to share scraps from their master's table. Then there were the dogs used by shepherds to keep control of their flocks (Job 30 v .1). But the most common association would have been with the wild, pariah dogs that roamed the streets and scavenged in packs at the out-of-town rubbish sites. It is these negative connotations that are attached to most biblical uses of the word dog.

This seems to make it surprising, then, that in the formation of Gideon's army, it is the 300 men that lap like dogs who are chosen by God. A look at the wider story, though, makes it a little clearer. The army is reduced from 32,000 to 10,000 and then to 300 so as to demonstrate that victory will be entirely down to God. The selection of the 300 is not, therefore, to demonstrate their worthiness but the precise opposite.

Answer: He was shot by an arrow in battle

The story of Ahab's demise is told in 1 Kings 22. Mindful of Elijah's prophecy, he is keen to conceal his identity when entering a combat zone:
"The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.' So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle" (1 Kings 22 v. 30).

Unfortunately for Ahab, if you're in the Bible and God says you're going to die, there's no way to dodge the bullet (or arrow in this case):
"But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, 'Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I've been wounded.' All day long the battle raged, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died" (1 Kings 22 v. 34-35).

The other gruesome deaths were all experienced by characters in the Bible - Samson (building - Judges 16 v. 30); Absalom (hair - 2 Samuel 18 v. 9) and Herod (worms - Acts 12 v. 23).

Answer: Greyhound

Greyhounds have long been associated with aristocracy and are mentioned in both Chaucer and Shakespeare. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that the compilers of the King James translation should opt for the breed in a list that draws similarities with lions and kings. The clincher may well have been that King James was an avid fan of greyhound racing.

The Hebrew word translated as "greyhound" is, however, notoriously difficult to translate. It literally means something like "girded at the loins" and most modern translations have opted for a phrase such as "strutting rooster" or similar.

Answer: Psalm 22

"Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment." (Psalm 22 v. 16-18)

Sadly, dogs were not exempt from the threat of crucifixion. Every year, in a macabre ritual, the Romans would stage a public canine execution. This was the downside of geese being feted for saving the Capitoline Hill from attack by Gauls in the fourth century BC. The geese had come to the rescue after guard dogs, allegedly, failed in their duties. The geese got hailed; the dogs got nailed:
"For the same reason dogs are punished with death every year, being crucified alive; on a cross of elder between the temple of Juventas and that of Summanus." (Source: "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder)

Seems as though it wasn't Peter that was needed in Rome but PETA.

Answer: Vomit

The proverb is also quoted in the New Testament book of 2 Peter, as the author uses it to condemn his opponents, and by the author Rudyard Kipling:

"As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!"

(Source: "The Gods of the Copybook Headings" by Rudyard Kipling)

Answer: Tobias

"Then he said to Tobias, 'Get ready for the journey, and good success to you both.' So his son made the preparations for the journey. And his father said to him, 'Go with this man; God who dwells in heaven will prosper your way, and may his angel attend you.' So they both went out and departed, and the young man's dog was with them." (Tobit 5 v. 16 - RSV translation)

What is remarkable is that the dog serves no useful purpose within the story. This is simply a celebration of the companionship between man and dog.

Answer: She was not Jewish

"He replied, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs.' 'Yes it is, Lord,' she said. 'Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.' Then Jesus said to her, 'Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.' And her daughter was healed at that moment." (Matthew 15 v. 26-28)

Matthew describes the woman as a Canaanite coming from the coastal strip of Syro-Phoenicia, to the north of Galilee. Her conversation with Jesus picks up on two different canine portrayals. Firstly, Jesus states that what is for the children (the Jews) should not be wasted on the dogs (the Gentiles). He is tapping into a Jewish idea that the Gentiles were akin to the lawless, savage dogs that roamed wild in Israel's towns. The woman, in response, quotes a belief, held by some, that God's messianic blessings would overflow beyond the Jews and onto believing Gentiles too. They are, she says, like the household dogs, below the children in the pecking order but still provided with food from the same table.

Answer: Lazarus

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores." (Luke 16 v. 19-21)

The fact that Lazarus was "laid" at the gate implies that he was crippled and, perhaps also, that the rich man had familial responsibilities towards him. Again, two sorts of dog are featured in the story. The food that falls from the table brings to mind the household dogs that are treated better than Lazarus. The dogs that come and lick his ulcerated body are the street-living pariah dogs that he is powerless to resist.

Answer: Circumcision

"Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh - though I myself have reasons for such confidence." (Philippians 3 v.2-4)

Paul did not have much patience with those of his opponents that insisted upon circumcision. When writing to the Galatians he even expressed a desire that the knife might slip and they end up castrating themselves (Galatians 5 v. 12).