Cover of Story of the Bible Animals A Description of the Habits and Uses of every living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, with Explanation of Passages in the Old and New — A Closer Reading

Story of the Bible Animals A Description of the Habits and Uses of every living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, with Explanation of Passages in the Old and New — A Closer Reading

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In Category - Comparative Religion

Authors: Wood, J. G. (John George), 1827-1889 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2014 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Animals in the Bible; Nature in the Bible Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 187,699

Reading time 817 min

Text sections 27

The source record for Story of the Bible Animals A Description of the Habits and Uses of every living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, with Explanation of Passages in the Old and New — A Closer Reading measures this digital text at 187,699 words, 13 hr 37 min estimated reading time, and 27 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 27.3 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Animals in the Bible,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #44685

J. G. Wood's 1888 work systematically examines every animal mentioned in the Bible, combining zoological description with scriptural exegesis. The book draws on Eastern customs, physical geography, and historical parallels to clarify biblical metaphors and symbols, aiming to prevent misinterpretation by modern readers.

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them--Value of the Camel in the East--Thirst-enduring capability--The hump, and its use to the animal--The Camel as a beast of draught and burden--How the Camel is laden--Camels for riding--Difficulty of sitting a Camel--A rough-paced steed--Method of guiding the Camel--The swift dromedary--Young Camels and their appearance--The deserted Camel.

Before treating of the Scriptural references to the Camel, it will be as well to clear the ground by noticing that two distinct species of Camel are known to zoologists; namely, the common Camel (_Camelus dromedarius_), which has one hump, and the Bactrian Camel (_Camelus Bactrianus_), which has two of these curious projections. There is a popular but erroneous idea that the dromedary and the Camel are two distinct animals, the latter being distinguished by its huge hump, whereas the fact is, that the dromedary is simply a lighter and more valuable breed of the one-humped Camel of Arabia, the two-humped Bactrian Camel being altogether a different animal, inhabiting Central Asia, Thibet, and China.

The Camel is still one of the most valued animals that inhabit Palestine, and in former times it played a part in Jewish history scarcely inferior to that of the ox or sheep. We shall, therefore, devote some space to it.

In some parts of the land it even exceeded in value the sheep, and was infinitely more useful than the goat. At the very beginning of Jewish history we read of this animal, and it is mentioned in the New Testament nearly two thousand years after we meet with it in the Book of Genesis. The earliest mention of the Camel occurs in Gen. xii. 16, where is related the journey of Abram: "He had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels."

Belonging, as he did, to the nomad race which lives almost wholly on the produce of their herds, Abram needed Camels, not only for their milk, and, for all we know, for their flesh, but for their extreme use as beasts of burden, without which he could never have travelled over that wild and pathless land. The whole of Abram's outer life was exactly that of a Bedouin sheikh of the present day, in whom we find reproduced the habits, the tone of thought, and the very verbiage of the ancient Scriptures.

Many years afterwards, when the son of his old age was desirous of marrying a wife of his own kindred, we find that he sent his trusted servants with ten of his Camels to Mesopotamia, and it was by the offering of water to these Camels, that Rebekah was selected as Isaac's wife (see Gen. xxiv. 10, 19). In after days, when Jacob was about to leave Laban, these animals are mentioned as an important part of his wealth: "And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maid-servants, and men-servants, and camels, and asses" (Gen. xxx. 43).

It is thought worthy of mention in the sacred narrative that Job had three thousand, and afterwards six thousand Camels (Job i. 3, and xlii. 12); that the Midianites and Amalekites possessed camels without number, as the sand by the seaside.

They were valuable enough to be sent as presents from one potentate to another. For example, when Jacob went to meet Esau, he gave as his present two hundred and twenty sheep, the same number of goats, fifty oxen, thirty asses, and sixty camels, i.e. thirty mothers, each with her calf. They were important enough to be guarded by men of position. In 1 Chron. xxvii. 30, we find that the charge of David's Camels was confided to one of his officers, Obil the Ishmaelite, who, from his origin, might be supposed to be skilful in the management of these animals. Bochart, however, conjectures that the word Obil ought to be read as Abal, _i.e._ the camel-keeper, and that the passage would therefore read as follows: "Over the camels was an Ishmaelitish camel-keeper."

We will now proceed to the uses of the Camel, and first take it in the light of food.

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J. G. Wood opens his preface with a direct claim: the Bible cannot be rightly understood without studying the customs, manners, and natural history of the Eastern peoples who produced it. He argues that scriptural writings abound with metaphors drawn from common life—trees, birds, beasts, and creeping things—and that without understanding these references, readers will misinterpret not only the Old and New Testaments but the words of Christ himself. Wood’s project is therefore both zoological and hermeneutic: to take every creature named in Scripture and supply enough of its history to illuminate the passages in which it appears. The work is explicitly limited to zoology, though it draws on physical geography and race-character as supporting evidence.

The Elephant as a Test Case for Wood’s Method

Wood’s treatment of the elephant reveals his characteristic approach. He begins with the animal’s military use in ancient warfare, describing how slingers targeted the mahout on the elephant’s neck and how soldiers would close around the beast to concentrate javelins and arrows until it sank. He notes that the elephant was eventually abandoned as an uncertain engine of war. Wood then distinguishes the Indian species from the African, pointing to ear size, head shape, and tusk-bearing as diagnostic traits. Only the Indian male bears tusks; in the African species both sexes do, with the male’s ivory prized for its creamy colour and graining. The passage moves from historical anecdote to anatomical comparison, then to the elephant’s social habits—herds in deep forests, dependence on water, and the curious ability to store water internally and spray it over the back. Wood’s method is to embed natural history within a framework of scriptural relevance, though the elephant excerpt does not explicitly cite a Bible verse.

The Trunk as a Functional Marvel

Wood devotes particular attention to the elephant’s proboscis, describing it as a wonderful appendage furnished with a finger-like projection that can pluck a single blade of grass or pick up a small object. He argues that without the trunk the animal would starve, because its short thick neck and projecting tusks prevent it from reaching vegetation. The trunk functions as a long flexible arm, carrying food to the mouth. Wood also details the mechanics of drinking: the elephant inserts the tip into a stream, fills it, then turns it into the throat. The passage exemplifies Wood’s tendency to combine vivid functional description with a sense of wonder, but he avoids anthropomorphism, instead grounding his observations in the animal’s physical constraints. This section is typical of the work’s balance between scientific accuracy and accessible prose.

Capture and Domestication of the Indian Elephant

Wood describes the capture of wild Indian elephants using trained females. Hunters proceed into the forest with these decoys, which advance quietly and occupy the attention of a male while the hunters tie his legs and fasten him to a tree. The treacherous companions then leave him to struggle until hunger and fatigue subdue him, after which he is driven home between two tame elephants. Wood notes that the Indian species is considered more docile and easy to train, and that elephants are almost invariably taken wild rather than bred in captivity. This account reflects Wood’s interest in the relationship between humans and animals, and his reliance on contemporary natural history sources. The passage is matter-of-fact, presenting the capture as a practical process rather than a moral commentary.

Wood’s work is best approached as a reference companion rather than a continuous narrative. Readers may wish to consult individual entries alongside the biblical passages they illuminate, noting how Wood’s emphasis on Eastern customs and physical setting shapes his interpretations. The book’s value lies less in its zoological currency—some details are dated—than in its demonstration of a 19th-century attempt to reconcile natural history with scriptural authority.

There’s something tender about holding a book that takes its time with every creature, every word, as if patience itself were a kind of reverence. That lingering feeling—of being quietly understood across centuries—stayed with me long after. I found a similar warmth in History of Dogma, Volume 1 — Edition Insights, where careful thought feels less like argument and more like a hand resting on a familiar shoulder.