Reference: Beast
Easton
This word is used of flocks or herds of grazing animals (Ex 22:5; Nu 20:4,8,11; Ps 78:48); of beasts of burden (Ge 45:17); of eatable beasts (Pr 9:2); and of swift beasts or dromedaries (Isa 60:6). In the New Testament it is used of a domestic animal as property (Re 18:13); as used for food (1Co 15:39), for service (Lu 10:34; Ac 23:24), and for sacrifice (Ac 7:42).
When used in contradistinction to man (Ps 36:6), it denotes a brute creature generally, and when in contradistinction to creeping things (Le 11:2-7; 27:26), a four-footed animal.
The Mosaic law required that beasts of labour should have rest on the Sabbath (Ex 20:10; 23:12), and in the Sabbatical year all cattle were allowed to roam about freely, and eat whatever grew in the fields (Ex 23:11; Le 25:7). No animal could be castrated (Le 22:24). Animals of different kinds were to be always kept separate (Le 19:19; De 22:10). Oxen when used in threshing were not to be prevented from eating what was within their reach (De 25:4; 1Co 9:9).
This word is used figuratively of an infuriated multitude (1Co 15:32; Ac 19:29; comp. Ps 22:12,16; Ec 3:18; Isa 11:6-8), and of wicked men (2Pe 2:12). The four beasts of Da 7:3,17,23 represent four kingdoms or kings.
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And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, "Say unto thy brethren, 'This do ye: lade your beasts and get you hence. And when ye be come unto the land of Canaan,
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt do no manner work: neither thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, neither thy manservant nor thy maidservant, neither thy cattle neither yet the stranger that is within thy gates.
If a man do hurt field or vineyard, so that he put in his beast to feed in another man's field: of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
and the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still, that the poor of thy people may eat, and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat: In like manner thou shalt do with thy vineyard and thine olive trees. Six days thou shalt do thy work and the seventh day thou shalt keep holy day, that thine ox and thine ass may rest and the son of thy maid and the stranger may be refreshed.
"Speak unto the children of Israel and say, 'These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth: whatsoever hath hoof and divideth it into two claws and cheweth cud among the beasts, that shall ye eat. read more. Nevertheless, these shall ye not eat of them that chew cud and have hoofs. The camel, for he cheweth cud but he divideth not the hoof into two claws, therefore he shall be unclean unto you. And the cony, for he cheweth the cud but divideth not the hoof into two claws, therefore he is unclean to you. And the hare, for he likewise cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof into two claws, he is therefore unclean to you. And the swine, for though he divide the hoof into two claws, yet he cheweth not the cud and therefore is unclean to you.
"'Keep mine ordinances. Let none of thy cattle gender with a contrary kind, neither sow thy field with mingled seed, neither shalt thou put on any garment of linen and woollen.
Thou shalt not offer unto the LORD that which hath his stones bruised, broken, plucked out or cut away, neither shalt make any such in your land,
and for thy cattle and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
"'But the firstborn of the beasts that pertain unto the LORD, may no man sanctify: whether it be ox or sheep, for they are the LORD's already.
Why have ye brought the congregation of the LORD unto this wilderness, that both we and our cattle should die here?
"Take the staff and gather, thou and thy brother Aaron, the congregation together; and say unto the rock, before their eyes, that he give forth his water. And thou shalt bring them water out of the rock and shalt give the company drink, and their beasts also."
And Moses lift up his hand with his staff and smote the rock two times, and the water came out abundantly, and the multitude drank and their beasts also.
Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.
Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.
Many oxen are come about me; fat bulls of Bashan close me in on every side.
For many dogs are come about me, the counsel of the wicked layeth siege against me.
Thy righteousness standeth like the strong mountains; thy judgments are like the great deep. Thou, LORD, shalt save both man and beast.
How he smote their cattle also with hail stones, and their flocks with hot thunderbolts;
She hath killed her victuals, poured out her wine, and prepared her table.
I communed with mine own heart also concerning the children of men: how God hath chosen them, and yet letteth them appear as though they were beasts.
Then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb, and the Leopard shall lie down by the goat. Bullocks, Lions and cattle shall keep company together, so that a little child shall rule them. The cow and the Bear shall feed together, and their young ones shall lie together. The Lion shall eat straw like the ox, or the cow. read more. The child while he sucketh, shall have a desire to the serpents nest, and when he is weaned, he shall put his hand in to the Cockatrice den.
The abundance of camels shall cover thee, and the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah shall come all of them from Sheba, and bring gold and frankincense, and shall preach the praise of the LORD.
and four great beasts came up from the sea, one unlike another.
'These four great beasts, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth.
He gave me this answer, 'That fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth: it shall be more than all other kingdoms, it shall devour, tread down, and destroy all other lands.
and went to him, and bound up his wounds, and poured in wine, and oil, and put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and made provision for him.
Then God turned himself, and gave them up, that they should worship the stars of the sky, as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'O ye of the house of Israel: gave ye to me sacrifices and meat offerings by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
And all the city was on a roar, and they rushed into the common hall with one assent, and caught Gaius, and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions.
And deliver them beasts that they may put Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the high deputy;
That I have fought with beasts at Ephesus after the manner of men, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not again? "Let us eat and drink, tomorrow we shall die."
All flesh is not one manner of flesh: but there is one manner flesh of men, another manner flesh of beasts, another manner flesh of fishes, and another of birds.
But these, as brute beasts, naturally made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of that they know not, and shall perish through their own destruction,
and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and bodies; and souls of men.
Fausets
Representing two distinct Hebrew words, bihemah and chay, "cattle" and "living creature," or "animal." Beir means either collectively all cattle (Ex 22:4; Ps 78:48) or specially beasts of burden (Ge 45:17). The "beheemah" answer to the hoofed animals. In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 some principal divisions of the animal kingdom are given; the cloven footed, chewing the cud, ruminantia. The aim of Scripture is not natural science, but religion. Where system is needful for this, it is given simple and effective for the purposes of religion. If Scripture had given scientific definitions, they would have been irrelevant and even marring to the effect designed. The language is therefore phenomenal, i.e. according to appearances.
Thus the hare and hyrax have not the four stomachs common to ruminant animals, but they move the jaw in nibbling like the ruminants. The hare chews over again undigested food brought up from the aesophagus though not a genuine ruminant. The teeth of the rodentia grow during life, so that they necessarily have to be kept down by frequent grinding with the jaws; this looks like rumination. The hare and the coney represent really the rodentia; (the Coney, or Hyrax, though a pachyderm, is linked with the hare, because externally resembling the rodentia;) swine, pachydermata; "whatsoever goeth upon his paws," "all manner of beasts that go on all four," carnivora: only those of a limited district, and those at all possible to be used as food, are noticed, it is noteworthy that it is only "every animal of the field" that Jehovah brought to Adam to name, namely, animals in any way useful to man (Ge 2:19), mainly the herbivora. (See CONEY; HYRAX.) Dominion is not specified as given over the (wild, savage) "beasts of the earth" (mainly carnivora), but only "over all the earth."
So in Ps 8:7 man's dominion is over "the beasts of the field." Noah is not said to take into the ark beasts of the earth; but in Ge 9:9-10, "beasts of the earth" are distinguished from "all that go out of the ark." Next to fear of a deluge was their fear of the beasts of the earth; but God assures men "the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth" (Ge 9:2). Symbolically, man severed from God and resting on his own physical or intellectual strength, or material resources, is beastly and brutish. He is only manly when Godly, for man was made in the image of God. So Asaph describes himself, when envying the prosperous wicked," I was as a beast before Thee" (Ps 73:22). "Man in honor (apart from God) abideth not, he is like the beasts that perish" (Ps 49:12).
The multitude opposing Messiah are but so many "bulls" and "calves" to be stilled by His "rebuke" (Ps 68:30). Those "that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, as natural brute beasts, are made only to be taken and destroyed" (2Pe 2:12). So persecutors of Christians, as Paul's opponents at Ephesus (1Co 15:32). The "beast" (Revelation 13; Revelation 15; Revelation 17; Revelation 19) is the combination of all these sensual, lawless, God opposing features. The four successive world empires are represented as beasts coming up out of the sea whereon the winds of heaven strove (Daniel 7). The kingdom of Messiah, on the contrary, is that of "the Son of MAN," supplanting utterly the former, and alone everlasting and world wide. In Revelation 4; 5, the four cherubic forms are not "beasts" (as KJV), but "living creatures" (zoa).
The "beast" (theerion) is literally the wild beast, untamed to the obedience of Christ and God (Ro 8:7). The "harlot" or apostate church (compare Re 12:1, etc., with Re 17:1, etc.; Isa 1:21) sits first on the beast, which again is explained as "seven mountains upon which she sitteth"; probably seven universal God-opposed empires (contrast Jer 51:25 with Isa 2:2) of which the seven-hilled Rome is the prominent embodiment, namely, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Mede Persia, Greece, Rome (including the modern Latin kingdoms), and the Germano-Sclavonic empire.
The woman sitting on them is the church conformed to the world; therefore the instrument of her sin is retributively made the instrument of her punishment (Ezekiel 23; Jer 2:19; Re 17:16). "The spirit of man," even as it normally ascends to God, whose image he bore, so at death "goeth upward"; and the spirit of the beast, even as its desires tend downward to merely temporal wants, "goeth downward" (Ec 3:21). God warns against cruelty to the brute (De 22:6-7). He regarded the "much cattle" of Nineveh (Jon 4:11). He commanded that they should be given the sabbath rest. As to the creature's final deliverance, see Ro 8:20-23.
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And after that the LORD God had made of the earth all manner beasts of the field, and all manner fowls of the air, he brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them. And as Adam called all manner living beasts: even so are their names.
And after that the LORD God had made of the earth all manner beasts of the field, and all manner fowls of the air, he brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them. And as Adam called all manner living beasts: even so are their names.
The fear also and dread of you be upon all beasts of the earth, and upon all fowls of the air, and upon all that creepeth on the earth, and upon all fishes of the sea, which are given unto your hands.
The fear also and dread of you be upon all beasts of the earth, and upon all fowls of the air, and upon all that creepeth on the earth, and upon all fishes of the sea, which are given unto your hands.
"See, I make my covenant with you and your seed after you, and with all living things that is with you: both fowl and cattle, and all manner beast of the earth that is with you, of all that cometh out of the ark, whatsoever beast of the earth it be.
and with all living things that is with you: both fowl and cattle, and all manner beast of the earth that is with you, of all that cometh out of the ark, whatsoever beast of the earth it be.
And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, "Say unto thy brethren, 'This do ye: lade your beasts and get you hence. And when ye be come unto the land of Canaan,
And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, "Say unto thy brethren, 'This do ye: lade your beasts and get you hence. And when ye be come unto the land of Canaan,
If the theft be found in his hand alive - whether it be ox, ass or sheep - he shall restore double.
If the theft be found in his hand alive - whether it be ox, ass or sheep - he shall restore double.
If thou chance upon a bird's nest by the way, in whatsoever tree it be or on the ground, whether they be young or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs: thou shalt not take the mother with the young.
If thou chance upon a bird's nest by the way, in whatsoever tree it be or on the ground, whether they be young or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs: thou shalt not take the mother with the young. But shalt in any wise let the dam go and take the young, that thou mayest prosper and prolong thy days.
But shalt in any wise let the dam go and take the young, that thou mayest prosper and prolong thy days.
Nevertheless, man will not abide in honour, seeing he may be compared unto the beasts that perish; this is the way of them.
Nevertheless, man will not abide in honour, seeing he may be compared unto the beasts that perish; this is the way of them.
Reprove the beasts among the reeds, the heap of bulls with the calves, those that drive for money. O scatter thou the people that delight in war.
Reprove the beasts among the reeds, the heap of bulls with the calves, those that drive for money. O scatter thou the people that delight in war.
So foolish was I, and ignorant, even as it were a beast before thee.
So foolish was I, and ignorant, even as it were a beast before thee.
How he smote their cattle also with hail stones, and their flocks with hot thunderbolts;
How he smote their cattle also with hail stones, and their flocks with hot thunderbolts;
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the breath of the beast that goeth down into the earth?
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the breath of the beast that goeth down into the earth?
How happeneth it then that the righteous city, which was full of equity, is become unfaithful as an whore? Righteousness dwelt in it, but now murder.
How happeneth it then that the righteous city, which was full of equity, is become unfaithful as an whore? Righteousness dwelt in it, but now murder.
It shall come to pass in the last days that the mount of the house of the LORD, shall be set in the top of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills: and all nations shall resort thereto.
It shall come to pass in the last days that the mount of the house of the LORD, shall be set in the top of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills: and all nations shall resort thereto.
Thine own wickedness shall reprove thee, and thy turning away shall condemn thee: that thou mayest know and understand, how evil and hurtful a thing it is, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and not feared him, sayeth the LORD God of Hosts.
Thine own wickedness shall reprove thee, and thy turning away shall condemn thee: that thou mayest know and understand, how evil and hurtful a thing it is, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and not feared him, sayeth the LORD God of Hosts.
"Behold, I come upon thee, thou noisesome hill, sayeth the LORD; thou that destroyest all lands. I will stretch out my hand over thee, and cast thee down from the stony rocks; and will make thee a burnt hill,
"Behold, I come upon thee, thou noisesome hill, sayeth the LORD; thou that destroyest all lands. I will stretch out my hand over thee, and cast thee down from the stony rocks; and will make thee a burnt hill,
And should not I have compassion on Nineveh that great city, wherein there is a multitude of people, even above a hundred thousand that know not their righthand from the left, besides much cattle?"
And should not I have compassion on Nineveh that great city, wherein there is a multitude of people, even above a hundred thousand that know not their righthand from the left, besides much cattle?"
because that the fleshly mind is enmity against God: For it is not obedient to the law of God, neither can be.
because that the fleshly mind is enmity against God: For it is not obedient to the law of God, neither can be.
because the creatures are subdued to vanity against their will: but for his will which subdueth them in hope.
because the creatures are subdued to vanity against their will: but for his will which subdueth them in hope. For the very creatures shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.
For the very creatures shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. For we know that every creature groaneth with us also, and travaileth in pain even unto this time.
For we know that every creature groaneth with us also, and travaileth in pain even unto this time. Not they only, but even we also: which have the first fruits of the spirit mourn in ourselves and wait for the adoption and look for the deliverance of our bodies.
Not they only, but even we also: which have the first fruits of the spirit mourn in ourselves and wait for the adoption and look for the deliverance of our bodies.
That I have fought with beasts at Ephesus after the manner of men, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not again? "Let us eat and drink, tomorrow we shall die."
That I have fought with beasts at Ephesus after the manner of men, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not again? "Let us eat and drink, tomorrow we shall die."
But these, as brute beasts, naturally made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of that they know not, and shall perish through their own destruction,
But these, as brute beasts, naturally made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of that they know not, and shall perish through their own destruction,
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.
And there came one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, "Come, I will show thee the judgment of the great whore, that sitteth upon many waters,
And there came one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, "Come, I will show thee the judgment of the great whore, that sitteth upon many waters,
And the ten horns, which thou sawest upon the beast, are they that shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
And the ten horns, which thou sawest upon the beast, are they that shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Hastings
BEAST
1. In OT (1) beh
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And said, "I will destroy mankind which I have made, from off the face of the earth: both man, beast, worm and fowl of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them."
Of all clean beasts take unto thee seven of every kind, the male and his female, and of unclean beasts a pair, the male and his female:
both they and all manner of beasts in their kind, and all manner of cattle in their kind and all manner of worms that creep upon the earth in their kind, and all manner of birds in their kind, and all manner of fowls whatsoever had feathers.
And God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to blow upon the earth, and the waters ceased;
The fear also and dread of you be upon all beasts of the earth, and upon all fowls of the air, and upon all that creepeth on the earth, and upon all fishes of the sea, which are given unto your hands.
And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, "Say unto thy brethren, 'This do ye: lade your beasts and get you hence. And when ye be come unto the land of Canaan,
and it shall turn to dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall make swelling sores with blains both on man and beast in all the land of Egypt." And they took ashes out of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it up into the air: And there brake out sores with blains both in man and beast:
And the hail smote in the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast. And the hail smote all the herbs of the field and broke all the trees of the field:
If a man do hurt field or vineyard, so that he put in his beast to feed in another man's field: of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
"Speak unto the children of Israel and say, 'These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth:
I know all the fowls upon the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are in my sight.
The wild boar out of the wood hath rooted it up, and the beasts of the field have devoured it.
and he was there in the wilderness forty days, and was tempted of Satan, and was with wild beasts. And the angels ministered unto him.
When the men of the country saw the worm hang on his hand, they said among themselves, "This man must needs be a murderer: Whom, though he have escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live."
One being of themselves, which was a poet of their own said, "The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and slow bellies."
For they were not able to abide that which was spoken. If a beast had touched the mountain, it must have been stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
All the natures of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and things of the sea, are meeked and tamed of the nature of man.
Morish
Besides the ordinary use of this word
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All the beasts also, and all the worms, and all the fowls, and all that crept upon the earth, went out of the ark, every one unto his like.
And they took ashes out of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it up into the air: And there brake out sores with blains both in man and beast:
Thy righteousness standeth like the strong mountains; thy judgments are like the great deep. Thou, LORD, shalt save both man and beast.
So foolish was I, and ignorant, even as it were a beast before thee.
Take heed, ye unwise among the people: O ye fools, when will ye understand?
They are altogether unlearned and unwise. All their cunning is but vanity:
His wisdom maketh all men fools. And confounded be all casters of images, for that they cast is but a vain thing, and hath no life.
For the herdsmen have done foolishly, that they have not sought the LORD. Therefore have they dealt unwisely with their cattle, and all are scattered abroad.
By the reason of wisdom, all men are become fools. Confounded be all the casters of images: for the thing that they make is but deceit, and hath no breath.
and four great beasts came up from the sea, one unlike another. The first was as a Lion, and yet had he Eagle's wings. I saw, that his wings were plucked from him, and he taken away from the earth: that he stood upon his feet as a man, and that there was given him a man's heart. read more. Behold, the second beast was like a Bear, and stood upon the one side. Among his teeth in his mouth he had three great long teeth, and it was said unto him, 'Arise, eat up, much flesh.' Then I looked, and behold, there was another like unto a leopard: this had wings as a fowl, even four upon the back. This beast had four heads, and there was power given him. After this I saw in a vision by night, and behold, the fourth beast was grim and horrible, and marvelous strong. It had great iron teeth, it devoured and destroyed, and stamped the residue under feet. It was far unlike the other beasts that were before it: for it had ten horns, whereof I took good heed. And behold, there came up among them, another like horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked away. Behold, this horn had eyes like a man, and a mouth speaking presumptuous things. "I looked till the seats were prepared, and till the Ancient of Days sat him down. His clothing was white as snow, and the hairs of his head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as the burning fire. There drew forth a fiery stream, and went out from him. A thousand times a thousand served him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment was set, and the books opened. Then took I heed there unto, because of the voice of the proud words, which the horn spake. I beheld, till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given over to be burnt in the fire. As for the power of the other beasts also, it was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a time and season. I saw in a vision by night, and behold, there came one in the clouds of heaven like the Son of Man - which went unto the Ancient of Days, before whom they brought him. Then gave he him power and dignity regal, that all people, tribes and tongues should serve him. His power is an everlasting power, which shall never be put down: and his kingdom endureth uncorrupt. "My heart was vexed, and I, Daniel, had a troubled spirit within me, and the visions of my head made me afraid: till I gat me to one of them that stood by, to know the truth, concerning all these things. So he told me, and made me understand the interpretation of these things. 'These four great beasts, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth. But the high saints shall receive a kingdom, and possess a kingdom, forever: even for ever and ever.' After this, I required diligently to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was so far unlike the other beasts, and so horrible: whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass: which devoured and destroyed, and stamped the residue under his feet. I desired also to know the truth, as touching the ten horns that he had upon his head, and this other which came up afterward, before whose face there fell down three: which horn had eyes and a mouth that spake presumptuous things, and looked with a grimmer visage than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made battle against the saints - yea, and gat the victory of them - till the time that the Ancient of Days came, that the judgment was given to the chiefest saints; and till the time that the saints had the kingdom in possession. He gave me this answer, 'That fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth: it shall be more than all other kingdoms, it shall devour, tread down, and destroy all other lands.
And before the seat there was a sea of glass, like unto crystal, and in the midst of the seat, and round about the seat, were four beats full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. read more. And the four beasts had, each one of them, six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within. And they had no rest day neither night saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." And when those beasts gave glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the seat, which liveth forever and ever,
And I stood on the sea sand. And I saw a beast rise out of the sea, having seven heads, and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his head, the name of blasphemy.
and the devil that deceived them, was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were and shall be tormented day and night for ever more.