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How many times are dogs mentioned in the Bible?

Question #46911. Asked by romeomikegolf.

Related Trivia Topics: Religion   The Bible   Dogs  
Arpeggionist
Answer has 4 votes
Arpeggionist
21 year member
2173 replies

Answer has 4 votes.
I can think offhand of two occasions in the Old Testament. When David approaches Goliath, Goliath asks "am I a dog that you're coming to with sticks?" Also, raw unclean meat is to be thrown to the dogs (Exodus 23?)

Apr 27 2004, 11:49 PM
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TabbyTom
Answer has 3 votes
TabbyTom
23 year member
1233 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.
The SwordSearcher program comes up with 15 uses of the word "dog" and 24 uses of "dogs" in the King James Version.

Apr 27 2004, 11:54 PM
Senior Moments
Answer has 5 votes
Currently Best Answer
Senior Moments

Answer has 5 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
Greyhounds are the only breed of dogs mentioned in the Bible, in Proverbs 30: 29-31

Apr 28 2004, 12:18 AM
Arpeggionist
Answer has 2 votes
Arpeggionist
21 year member
2173 replies

Answer has 2 votes.
That's a mistranslation. The Hebrew mentions lions, wild boars and goats, but no dog.

Apr 28 2004, 12:27 AM
Senior Moments
Answer has 2 votes
Senior Moments

Answer has 2 votes.
It may well be a mistake in translation but the question was not specific about which version of the bible.

Proverbs 30: 29-31 reads: -
There be three things which go well, yea,
Which are comely in going:
A lion, which is strongest amongst beasts and
Turneth not away from any;
A Greyhound;
A he-goat also.

Four centuries ago scholars knew much less about the ancient languages than they do today. In some cases the translators faced words they had never seen before. They could only guess at the meaning. That's why the King James Version, in Proverbs 30:31, says "greyhound" when it should say "rooster," and in Job 30:29, it says "dragon" when it should say "jackal."

Apr 28 2004, 12:32 AM
Arpeggionist
Answer has 2 votes
Arpeggionist
21 year member
2173 replies

Answer has 2 votes.
Modern Hebrew isn't all that different from biblical Hebrew. A few small differences in the grammar but even those are small differences only. The Hebrew word "zarzir" which is translated as "greyhound" in the King James bible, is really one of the Hebrew words for wild boar. The word for rooster is "Sechvi" or "Tarnegol". Also, the King James bible was compiled in England, where the wildlife was considerably different from that of the Middle East, and different animals symbolized different things.

Apr 28 2004, 1:26 AM
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