Flora and Fauna of the Hebrew Bible
- LAST REVIEWED: 16 December 2022
- LAST MODIFIED: 31 July 2019
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0269
- LAST REVIEWED: 16 December 2022
- LAST MODIFIED: 31 July 2019
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0269
Introduction
The flora and fauna of the Hebrew Bible has long fascinated scholars and lay readers alike. From illustrated volumes aimed at children, to the detailed tables and charts of archaeozoology and archaeobotany, the plants and animals of the Bible fascinate because of their many ties to daily life. What did people in ancient Israel eat? How did they garden? What wildflowers and trees grew around their homes? Which animals did they encounter in the desert? Animals and plants also feature centrally in some of the most memorable stories of the Bible: Noah’s ark, Balaam’s ass, Isaiah’s vineyard, Jonah in the belly of the fish, the Song’s lush gardens, God’s menagerie in Job—the list goes on. Because flora and fauna touch on topics historical, archaeological, literary, and symbolic, the study of the Bible’s flora and fauna is by necessity many-pronged. It requires multiple methodologies, as well as attention to a host of topics, including but not limited to law and purity regulations, agriculture and husbandry, metaphor theory, fables and parables, history of domestication, and so on. The recent growth in interest in ecological readings of the Bible has added a new, normative dimension to the study of flora and fauna in the Bible. While many early (and contemporary) studies focus on identification and classification of mentioned species in the Bible, ecological readings instead look at the quality of relationships between humans and their plants and animals, God’s relationship to non-human creatures, as well as relationships among non-human creatures. Scholars in the ecological vein often attempt either to derive ecological guidelines for present-day practice from the text or to critique the text’s lack of attention to responsible human conduct toward the natural world.
General Overview
Among faunas, Schwartz 2000 is a recent and comprehensive overview of animals in the Bible; Cansdale 1970 is older, but includes more context for individual entries by grouping them into common-sense categories and providing introductory information for each category. Whitekettle 2001 explores the taxonomic thinking of Ancient Israel. Among floras, Zohary 1982 and Musselman 2007 and Musselman 2012 are organized much like contemporary field guides, with entries and pictures for each species. Hepper 1992 includes discussion of biblical texts in which specific plants are mentioned. Gilbert 1995 gives a short overview of the flora and fauna of the ancient Near East. Bodenheimer 1960 draws on archaeology to inform his overview of Middle Eastern fauna. Schochet 1984 reviews animals in Jewish tradition from biblical to modern sources.
Bodenheimer, F. S. Animal and Man in Bible Lands. Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1960.
Overview of fauna in Middle East and surrounding areas from prehistory through the Iron Age. Includes sections on animals in the Hebrew Bible (3.7–9).
Cansdale, George. All the Animals of the Bible Lands. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1970.
After three introductory chapters on geography, human uses of land, and domestication, the remaining chapters are organized by categories of animals (e.g., beasts of burden, beasts of the chase, cats, birds of prey, etc.).
Gilbert, Allan S. “The Flora and the Fauna of the Ancient Near East.” In Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. Edited by Jack M. Sasson, 153–174. Vol. 1. New York: Scribner’s, 1995.
A short overview of the flora and fauna of the ancient Near East.
Hepper, F. Nigel. Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Leicester, UK: InterVarsity, 1992.
Part 1 covers wild plants, Part 2 cultivated and gathered plants. Each chapter is thematic (for example “Thorns and Thistles, Fire and Fuel”) with specific species listed after an introductory discussions of issues related to each theme.
Musselman, Lytton John. Figs, Dates, Laurel, and Myrrh: Plants of the Bible and the Quran. Portland, OR: Timber, 2007.
Entries organized alphabetically by the English names of plants discuss the ecological and cultural factors that led to the inclusion of various plants in the Bible and the Qurʾan, and include descriptions of the plants themselves, including their form, smell, and use. Photographs accompany each entry.
Musselman, Lytton John. A Dictionary of Bible Plants. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
An alphabetical listing (by English name) of all plants mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Apocrypha. Each entry discusses uses of plants in materials, technology, and food production, and is accompanied by a photograph of the plant. Especially useful for updated identifications and discussions of difficult passages and identifications.
Schochet, Elijah Judah. Animal Life in Jewish Tradition: Attitudes and Relationships. New York: Ktav, 1984.
Traces uses and attitudes toward animals through biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern Jewish traditions.
Schwartz, Donald Ray. Noah’s Ark: An Annotated Encyclopedia of Every Animal Species in the Hebrew Bible. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 2000.
Entries are organized according to the order in which they are mentioned in the Bible. Each entry describes the animal species, their significance in biblical times, and select mentions in rabbinic and other commentaries. Entries include lists of mentions in the Hebrew Bible.
Whitekettle, Richard. “Where the Wild Things Are: Primary Level Taxa in Israelite Zoological Thought.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 93 (2001): 17–37.
DOI: 10.1177/030908920102509303
An exploration of ancient Israel’s zoological classification system.
Zohary, Michael. Plants of the Bible: A Complete Handbook. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
After an opening chapter on topography, climate zones, agriculture, trade, etc., the individual entries in the book, each of which describes a specific plant, are organized by plant categories (e.g., Fruit Trees, Field Crops & Garden Plants, Wild Herbs, etc.) Each entry discusses the uses and symbolism of the plant, and its physical appearance and its habitat. The entries are accompanied by biblical verses in which the plant is mentioned and photographs.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Nabataea and the Nabat...
- Aaron
- Acts of Peter
- Acts of the Apostles
- Adam and Eve
- Aelia Capitolina
- Afterlife and Immortality
- Agriculture
- Alexander the Great
- Alexandria
- Altered States of Consciousness in the Bible
- Ancient Christianity, Churches in
- Ancient Israel, Schools in
- Ancient Medicine
- Ancient Mesopotamia, Schools in
- Ancient Near Eastern Law
- Angels
- Anti-Semitism and the New Testament
- Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
- Apocryphal Acts
- Apostolic Fathers
- Aram
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Ammon and the Ammonite...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Aram and the Arameans
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Judah and the Judeans ...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Moab and the Moabites
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Phoenicia and the Phoe...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of the Kingdom of Israel ...
- Archaeology, Greco-Roman
- Art, Early Christian
- Asceticism
- Astrology and Astronomy
- Athaliah
- Atonement
- Augustus
- Babylon
- Baptism
- Barnabas, Epistle of
- Benefaction/Patronage
- Bible and Visual Art
- Biblical Criticism
- Biblical Studies, Cognitive Science Approaches in
- Caesarea Maritima
- Canaanites
- Canon, Biblical
- Ceramics
- Cherubim
- Child Metaphors in the New Testament
- Children in the Hebrew Bible
- Children in the New Testament World
- Christian Apocrypha
- Christology
- Chronicles, First and Second
- Cities of Refuge
- Clement, First
- Clement of Alexandria
- Clement, Second
- Clothing
- Colossians
- Conversation Analysis
- Conversion
- Corinthians, Second
- Cosmology, Near East
- Covenant
- Covenant, Ark of the
- Crucifixion
- Cyrus
- Daniel
- Daniel, Additions to
- David
- Death and Burial
- Deborah
- Demons
- Deuteronomistic History
- Deuteronomy
- Diaspora in the New Testament
- Didache
- Digital Humanities and the Bible
- Divination and Omens
- Domestic Architecture, Ancient Israel
- Early Christianity
- Ecclesiastes/Qohelet
- Economics and Biblical Studies
- Edom
- Education, Greco-Roman
- Education in the Hebrew Bible
- Election in the Bible
- Elijah
- Elisha
- Enoch
- Ephesians
- Epistles, Catholic
- Epistolography (Ancient Letters)
- Esther and Additions to Esther
- Ethics
- Evil Eye
- Exodus, Book of
- Exorcism
- Ezekiel
- Ezra-Nehemiah
- Faith in the New Testament
- Feminist Scholarship on the Old Testament
- Flora and Fauna of the Hebrew Bible
- Food and Food Production
- Friendship, Kinship and Enmity
- Funerary Rites and Practices, Greco-Roman
- Galatians
- Galilee
- Genesis, Book of
- Gentiles
- Gnosticism
- God, Ancient Israel
- God, Greco-Roman
- God, Son of
- Gospels
- Gospels, Apocryphal
- Great, Herod the
- Greco-Roman World, Associations in the
- Greek Language
- Hagar
- Heaven
- Hebrew Bible, Biblical Law in the
- Hebrew Language
- Hebrews
- Hell
- Hellenistic and Roman Egypt
- Hermas, Shepherd of
- Historiography, Greco-Roman
- History of Ancient Israelite Religion
- Hittites
- Holy Spirit
- Honor and Shame
- Hosea, Book of
- Idol/Idolatry (HB/OT)
- Idol/Idolatry (New Testament)
- Imperial Cult and Early Christianity
- Infancy Gospel of Thomas
- Interpretation and Hermeneutics
- Isaiah
- Israel, History of
- James
- Jeremiah
- Jerusalem
- Jesus of Nazareth
- Jewish Christianity
- Jewish Festivals
- Jezebel
- Job
- Joel, Book of
- John, Gospel of
- John the Baptist
- Joshua
- Jubilees, Book of
- Judaism, Hellenistic
- Judaism, Rabbinic
- Judaism, Second Temple
- Judas, Gospel of
- Jude, Epistle of
- Judges, Book of
- Judith, Book of
- Kings, First and Second
- Kingship
- Lamentations
- Letters, Johannine
- Letters, Pauline
- Levi/Levittes
- Levirate Obligation in the Hebrew Bible
- Levitical Cities
- Leviticus
- LGBTIQ Hermeneutics
- Literacy, New Testament
- Literature, Apocalyptic
- Lord’s Prayer
- Luke, Gospel of
- Maccabean Revolt
- Maccabees, First–Fourth
- Man, Son of
- Manasseh, King of Judah
- Manasseh, Tribe/Territory
- Mark, Gospel of
- Martyrdom
- Mary
- Matthew, Gospel of
- Medieval Biblical Interpretation (Jewish)
- Messianism
- Midian
- Midrash and Aggadah
- Minoritized Criticism of the New Testament
- Miracle Stories
- Modern Bible Translations
- Moses
- Music
- Mysticism in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
- Myth in the Hebrew Bible
- Nahum, Book of
- Names of God in the Hebrew Bible
- New Testament and Early Christianity, Women, Gender, and S...
- New Testament, Feminist Scholarship on the
- New Testament, Men and Masculinity in the
- New Testament, Rhetoric of the
- New Testament, Social Sciences and the
- New Testament Studies, Emerging Approaches in
- New Testament, Textual Criticism of the
- New Testament Views of Torah
- Numbers, Book of
- Nuzi (Nuzi Tablets)
- Old Testament, Biblical Theology in the
- Old Testament, Social Sciences and the
- Orality and Literacy
- Parables
- Paraenesis
- Passion Narratives
- Pastorals
- Paul
- Pauline Chronology
- Paul's Opponents
- Pentateuch
- Performance Criticism
- Period, The "Persian"
- Peter
- Philemon
- Philippians
- Philistines
- Philo of Alexandria
- Piety/Godliness in Early Christianity and the Roman World
- Poetry, Hebrew
- Pontius Pilate
- Priestly/Holiness Codes
- Priest/Priesthood
- Prophets
- Proverbs
- Psalms
- Pseudepigraphy, Early Christian
- Pseudo-Clementines
- Q
- Qumran/Dead Sea Scrolls
- Race, Ethnicity and the Gospels
- Revelation (Apocalypse)
- Romans
- Ruth
- Sacrifice
- Samaria/Samaritans
- Samuel, First and Second
- Satan
- Scriptures
- Second Baruch
- Sects, Jewish
- Septuagint
- Sermon on the Mount
- Sexual Violence and the Hebrew Bible
- Sin (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament)
- Sirach
- Slavery
- Sojourner
- Solomon
- Solomon, Wisdom of
- Song of Songs
- Succession Narrative
- Synagogue
- Synoptic Problem
- Tales, Court
- Talmud
- Targum
- Temples and Sanctuaries
- Temples, Near Eastern
- Ten Commandments
- The Bible and the American Civil War
- The Bible in China
- the Dead, Egyptian Book of
- the Hebrew Bible, Ancient Egypt and
- The New Testament and Creation Care
- Thessalonians
- Thomas, Gospel of
- Tobit
- Trauma and the Bible, Hermeneutics of
- Twelve Prophets, Book of the
- Ugarit
- Virtues and Vices: New Testament Ethical Exhortation in I...
- War, New Testament
- Wisdom
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testa...
- Worship in the New Testament and Earliest Christianity
- Worship, Old Testament
- Zadok
- Zechariah
- Zoology (Animals in the New Testament)