Reference: Dog
Easton
frequently mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments. Dogs were used by the Hebrews as a watch for their houses (Isa 56:10), and for guarding their flocks (Job 30:1). There were also then as now troops of semi-wild dogs that wandered about devouring dead bodies and the offal of the streets (1Ki 14:11; 16:4; 21:19,23; 22:38; Ps 59:6,14).
As the dog was an unclean animal, the terms "dog," "dog's head," "dead dog," were used as terms of reproach or of humiliation (1Sa 24:14; 2Sa 3:8; 9:8; 16:9). Paul calls false apostles "dogs" (Php 3:2). Those who are shut out of the kingdom of heaven are also so designated (Re 22:15). Persecutors are called "dogs" (Ps 22:16). Hazael's words, "Thy servant which is but a dog" (2Ki 8:13), are spoken in mock humility=impossible that one so contemptible as he should attain to such power.
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After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog? After a flea?
The one that dies of those of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs shall eat, and the one that dies in the field, the fowls of the air shall eat; for the LORD has spoken it.
He that dies of Baasha in the city, the dogs shall eat; and he that dies of his in the fields, the fowls of the air shall eat.
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, Hast thou murdered and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him again, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, In the same place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs also lick thy blood, even thine.
And of Jezebel, the LORD has also spoken, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
And they washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and they also washed his armour; ; and the dogs licked up his blood, according unto the word of the LORD which he had spoken.
And Hazael said, But what, is thy slave a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD has showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.
But now those that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
They will return at evening; they will bark like dogs and go round about outside the city.
And at evening let them return and let them bark like dogs and go round about outside the city.
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs; they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, they love to slumber.
Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
But outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and whosoever loves and makes a lie.
Fausets
The watch of the house, and of the flock (Isa 56:10-11; Job 30:1). Sometimes domesticated, as the Syrophoenician woman's comparison and argument imply, "the household (kunaria, 'little' or 'pet') dogs eat of the crumbs (Mt 15:26-27; Mr 7:27-28) which fall from their master's table." More commonly ownerless, and banded in troops which divide cities into so many quarters; each half-starved, ravenous troop keeps to its own quarter, and drives off any intruder; feeding on blood, dead bodies, and offal; therefore regarded as "unclean" (1Ki 14:11; 16:4; 21:19,23; 22:38; 2Ki 9:10,35-36). Their dismal howlings at night are alluded to in Ps 59:6,14-15; "they return at evening, they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city"; perhaps in allusion to Saul's agents thirsting for David's blood coming to Michal's house at evening, and to the retribution on Saul in kind, when he who had made David a wanderer himself wandered about seeking vainly for help against the Philistines, and went at last by night to the witch of Endor. As unclean (Isa 66:3), dog, dead dog, dog's head, are terms of scorn or else self-abasement (1Sa 24:14; 2Sa 3:8; 9:8; 16:9; 2Ki 8:13). A wanton, self-prostituting man is called a "dog" (De 23:18). One Egyptian god had a dog form. "Beware of the (Greek) dogs," those impure persons of whom I told you often" (Php 3:2,18-19); "the abominable" (Re 21:8; compare Re 22:15; Mt 7:6); pagan in spirit (Tit 1:15-16); dogs in filthiness, snarling, and ferocity against the Lord and His people (Ps 22:16,20); backsliding into former carnality, as the dog "is turned to his own vomit again" (2Pe 2:22). The Jews regarded the Gentiles as "dogs," but by unbelief they ceased to be the true Israel and themselves became dogs (Isa 56:10-11). "Deliver my darling from the power of the dog," i.e. my soul (literally, my unique one, unique in its preciousness) from the Jewish rabble; as "deliver My soul from the sword" is Messiah's cry for deliverance from the Roman soldiery and governor. The Assyrian hunting dog as vividly depicted on Assyrian sculptures resembled exactly our harrier or foxhound.
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Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow; for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog? After a flea?
The one that dies of those of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs shall eat, and the one that dies in the field, the fowls of the air shall eat; for the LORD has spoken it.
He that dies of Baasha in the city, the dogs shall eat; and he that dies of his in the fields, the fowls of the air shall eat.
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, Hast thou murdered and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him again, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, In the same place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs also lick thy blood, even thine.
And of Jezebel, the LORD has also spoken, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
And they washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and they also washed his armour; ; and the dogs licked up his blood, according unto the word of the LORD which he had spoken.
But now those that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Deliver my soul from the sword; my life from the power of the dog.
They will return at evening; they will bark like dogs and go round about outside the city.
And at evening let them return and let them bark like dogs and go round about outside the city. Let them wander up and down for food and murmur if they are not satisfied.
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs; they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, they love to slumber.
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs; they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, they love to slumber. And these anxious dogs are insatiable, and even the shepherds did not know enough to understand: they all look to their own ways, each one for his gain, from his quarter.
And these anxious dogs are insatiable, and even the shepherds did not know enough to understand: they all look to their own ways, each one for his gain, from his quarter.
He that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offers an oblation as if he offered swine's blood; he that burns incense as if he blessed iniquity. They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations.
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you.
But he answered and said, It is not good to take the children's bread and to cast it to the little dogs. And she said, Yes, Lord, yet the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled, for it is not good to take the children's bread and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
(For many walk, of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end shall be perdition, whose God is their belly and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things).
For unto the pure all things are pure, but unto those that are defiled and unfaithful, nothing is pure, but even their soul and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable and rebellious and reprobate unto every good work.
But it has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog returns unto his own vomit, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
But outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and whosoever loves and makes a lie.
Hastings
All the Bible references to dogs breathe the modern Oriental feeling with regard to them; they refer to the common pariah dogs. These creatures are in all their ways repulsive, and in the majority of cases they have not even outward attractiveness. They live in and around the streets, and act as scavengers. In the environs of Jerusalem, e.g. the Valley of Hinnom, where carcases are cast out, they may be seen prowling around and consuming horrible, putrid bodies, or lying stretched near the remains of their meal, satiated with their loathsome repast. Whole companies of dogs consume the offal of the slaughter-house. There is not the slightest doubt that they would consume human bodies to-day had they the opportunity; indeed, cases do occur from time to time (cf. 1Ki 14:11; 16:4; 21:19,23; 22:38; 2Ki 9:10,36; Jer 15:3; Ps 68:23). All night they parade the streets (Ps 59:6,14-15), each company jealously guarding that district which they have annexed, and fighting with noisy onslaught any canine stranger who ventures to invade their territory. Such a quarrel may start all the dogs in the city into a hideous chorus of furious barks. In many parts these creatures are a real danger, and the wise man leaves them alone (Pr 26:17). When they attach themselves, quite uninvited, to certain houses or encampments, they defend them from all intruders (Isa 56:10). To call a man a 'dog' is a dire insult, but by no means an uncommon one from an arrogant superior to one much below him, and to apply such an epithet to himself on the part of an inferior is an expression of humility (2Ki 8:13 etc.). A 'dead dog' is an even lower stage; it is an all too common object, an unclean animal in a condition of putridity left unconsumed even by his companions (1Sa 24:14 etc.). The feeling against casting bread to a dog is a strong one; bread is sacred, and to cast it to dogs is even to-day strongly condemned in Palestine (Mr 7:27).
The shepherd dog (Job 30:1) is, as a rule, a very superior animal; many of these are handsome beasts of a Kurdish breed, and have the intelligent ways and habits of our best shepherds' dogs at home.
Greyhounds are still bred by some Bedouin in S. Palestine, and are used for hunting the gazelle; they are treated very differently from the pariah dogs. Pr 30:31 is a very doubtful reference to the greyhound; Revised Version margin has 'war horse,' Septuagint 'cock.'
The 'price of a dog' (De 23:18) evidently has reference to degraded practices of the qed
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Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow; for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog? After a flea?
The one that dies of those of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs shall eat, and the one that dies in the field, the fowls of the air shall eat; for the LORD has spoken it.
He that dies of Baasha in the city, the dogs shall eat; and he that dies of his in the fields, the fowls of the air shall eat.
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, Hast thou murdered and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him again, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, In the same place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs also lick thy blood, even thine.
And of Jezebel, the LORD has also spoken, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
And they washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and they also washed his armour; ; and the dogs licked up his blood, according unto the word of the LORD which he had spoken.
And Hazael said, But what, is thy slave a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD has showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.
But now those that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
They will return at evening; they will bark like dogs and go round about outside the city.
And at evening let them return and let them bark like dogs and go round about outside the city. Let them wander up and down for food and murmur if they are not satisfied.
Thy foot shall be dipped in the blood of thine enemies and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.
He that passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him is like one that takes a dog by the ears.
the greyhound who is girded up of loins; a he goat also, and the king, against whom no one rises up.
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs; they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, they love to slumber.
And I will visit over them four kinds of evil, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.
But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled, for it is not good to take the children's bread and to cast it unto the dogs.
Morish
Constantly referred to in scripture as an unclean and debased animal: hence the unclean Gentiles or heathen are compared to dogs. Ps 22:16; 59:6,14. The price of a dog was forbidden to be put into the Lord's treasury, it was an abomination. De 23:18. Hazael, a heathen, said, "Is thy servant a dog?" and the most offensive epithet was to call a man a dead dog. They were, and are, the scavengers of Eastern cities. All refuse is thrown into the streets and the dogs eat it. It was the dogs who ate the body of Jezebel, and licked up the blood of Naboth and of Ahab. In the N.T. it is the same: 'without are dogs,' ' beware of dogs' used symbolically of those cut off and of the unclean: they return to their vomit again. The only apparent exception to the above is when the Lord compared the Syrophenician woman to a dog, and she said, "Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." In these passages the diminutive of the word is used, implying 'little dogs or puppies,' and these are often kept in houses until they grow up. But this does not remove the contempt implied in the term. Mt 15:27. Wyclif translated 'houndis' and 'litil whelpis' in Mr 7:27-28.
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Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow; for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
They will return at evening; they will bark like dogs and go round about outside the city.
And at evening let them return and let them bark like dogs and go round about outside the city.
And she said, Yes, Lord, yet the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled, for it is not good to take the children's bread and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
Smith
Dog,
an animal frequently mentioned in Scripture. It was used by the hebrews as a watch for their houses,
and for guarding their flocks.
Then also, as now troops of hungry and semi-wild dogs used to wander about the fields and the streets of the cities, devouring dead bodies and other offal,
1Ki 14:11; 21:19,23; 22:38; Ps 59:6
and thus became so savage and fierce and such objects of dislike that fierce and cruel enemies are poetically styled dogs in
moreover the dog being an unclean animal,
the epithets dog, dead dog, dog's head, were used as terms of reproach or of humility in speaking of one's self.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog? After a flea?
The one that dies of those of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs shall eat, and the one that dies in the field, the fowls of the air shall eat; for the LORD has spoken it.
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, Hast thou murdered and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him again, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, In the same place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs also lick thy blood, even thine.
And of Jezebel, the LORD has also spoken, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
And they washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and they also washed his armour; ; and the dogs licked up his blood, according unto the word of the LORD which he had spoken.
But now those that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Deliver my soul from the sword; my life from the power of the dog.
They will return at evening; they will bark like dogs and go round about outside the city.
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs; they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, they love to slumber.
He that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offers an oblation as if he offered swine's blood; he that burns incense as if he blessed iniquity. They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations.
Watsons
DOG, ???, an animal well known. By the law of Moses, the dog was declared unclean, and was held in great contempt among the Jews, 1Sa 17:43; 24:14; 2Sa 9:8; 2Ki 8:13. Yet they had them in considerable numbers in their cities. They were not, however, shut up in their houses or courts, but forced to seek their food where they could find it. The Psalmist compares violent men to dogs, who go about the city in the night, prowl about for their food, and growl, and become clamorous if they be not satisfied, Ps 59:6,14-15. Mr. Harmer has illustrated this by quotations from travellers into the east. The Turks also reckon the dog a filthy creature, and therefore drive him from their houses; so that with them dogs guard rather the streets and districts, than particular houses, and live on the offals that are thrown abroad. In 1Sa 25:3, Nabal is said to have been "churlish and evil in his manners; and he was of the house of Caleb;" but Caleb here is not a proper name. Literally, it is, "He was the son of a dog;" and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic render it,
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And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog? After a flea?
Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance, but the man was hard and evil in his doings, and he was of the lineage of Caleb.
And of Jezebel, the LORD has also spoken, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
And they washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and they also washed his armour; ; and the dogs licked up his blood, according unto the word of the LORD which he had spoken.
They will return at evening; they will bark like dogs and go round about outside the city.
And at evening let them return and let them bark like dogs and go round about outside the city. Let them wander up and down for food and murmur if they are not satisfied.
He that passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him is like one that takes a dog by the ears.
And I will visit over them four kinds of evil, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you.