In the Bible, the spider is mentioned in a few passages, often symbolizing fragility, cunning, and the transient nature of life. The spider's web, in particular, is used metaphorically to illustrate the delicate and often deceptive nature of human endeavors and the fleeting security found in worldly pursuits.

Biblical References:

1. Job 8:14-15 : "His confidence is fragile; his security is in a spider’s web. He leans on his web, but it gives way; he holds fast, but it does not endure." In this passage, Bildad the Shuhite speaks to Job, using the spider's web as a metaphor for the fragile and unreliable nature of the wicked's trust in their own strength and resources. The imagery suggests that just as a spider's web can easily be swept away, so too can the false securities of those who do not place their trust in God.

2. Isaiah 59:5-6 : "They hatch viper’s eggs and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched. Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their deeds are sinful deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands." Here, the prophet Isaiah uses the spider's web to describe the futile and destructive efforts of the wicked. The web, though intricate and seemingly well-crafted, is ultimately useless for protection or covering, symbolizing the ineffectiveness of sinful actions to provide true security or righteousness.

Symbolism and Interpretation:

In biblical literature, the spider and its web often symbolize the fragility and deceitfulness of human endeavors apart from God. The web, though appearing complex and strong, is easily destroyed, reflecting the transient nature of life and the futility of relying on anything other than divine providence.

The spider's web also serves as a reminder of the cunning and often deceptive nature of sin. Just as a web can ensnare unsuspecting prey, so too can sin entrap individuals, leading them away from the path of righteousness. The Bible warns against placing trust in anything other than God, as all else is as fragile as a spider's web.

Cultural and Historical Context:

In ancient Near Eastern cultures, spiders were often seen as symbols of patience and skill due to their ability to weave intricate webs. However, in the biblical context, the focus is more on the fragility and impermanence of the web, serving as a powerful metaphor for the transient nature of life and the futility of human efforts without God.

The spider's web, with its delicate and intricate design, serves as a vivid illustration in Scripture of the need for reliance on God rather than on one's own understanding or strength. The biblical references to spiders and their webs encourage believers to seek security and refuge in the Lord, who alone provides lasting protection and true righteousness.Spider

The Hebrew word accabish in (Job 8:24; Isaiah 59:5) is correctly rendered "spider." Put semamith is wrongly translated "spider" in (Proverbs 30:28) it refers probably to some kind of lizard. (But "there are many species of spider in Palestine: some which spin webs, like the common garden spider; some which dig subterranean cells and make doors in them, like the well-known trap-door spider of southern Europe; and some which have no web, but chase their prey upon the ground, like the hunting-and the wolf-spider." --Wood's Bible Animals.)

Spider

A well-known insect, remarkable for the thread which it spins, and with which it forms a web of curious texture, but so frail that it is exposed to be broken and destroyed by the slightest accident. To the slenderness of this filmy workmanship Job compares the hope of the wicked, Job 8:14. So also in Isaiah 59:5, it is shown that the works of sinners are utterly inadequate to cover or protect them. In Proverbs 30:28, it is said in our version that "the spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces;" but the Hebrew employs here a different word, which signifies, according to the best interpreters, a species of lizard frequent in Palestine.

The trust of the hypocrite is compared to the spider's web or house (Job 8:14). It is said of the wicked by Isaiah that they "weave the spider's web" (59:5), i.e., their works and designs are, like the spider's web, vain and useless. The Hebrew word here used is 'akkabish, "a swift weaver."

In Proverbs 30:28 a different Hebrew word (semamith) is used. It is rendered in the Vulgate by stellio, and in the Revised Version by "lizard." It may, however, represent the spider, of which there are, it is said, about seven hundred species in Palestine.

1. (n.) Any one of numerous species of arachnids comprising the order Araneina. Spiders have the mandibles converted into poison fangs, or falcers. The abdomen is large and not segmented, with two or three pairs of spinnerets near the end, by means of which they spin threads of silk to form cocoons, or nests, to protect their eggs and young. Many species spin also complex webs to entrap the insects upon which they prey. The eyes are usually eight in number (rarely six), and are situated on the back of the cephalothorax. See Araneina.

2. (n.) Any one of various other arachnids resembling the true spiders, especially certain mites, as the red spider (see under Red).

3. (n.) An iron pan with a long handle, used as a kitchen utensil in frying food. Originally, it had long legs, and was used over coals on the hearth.

4. (n.) A trevet to support pans or pots over a fire.

5. (n.) A skeleton, or frame, having radiating arms or members, often connected by crosspieces; as, a casting forming the hub and spokes to which the rim of a fly wheel or large gear is bolted; the body of a piston head; a frame for strengthening a core or mold for a casting, etc.

SPIDER

spi'-der

(1) `akkabhish; compare Arabic `ankabut, English Versions of the Bible "spider"; Septuagint arachne (Job 8:14 Isaiah 59:5);

(2) semamith, "lizard," the King James Version "spider"; Septuagint kalabotes (Proverbs 30:28)): Semamith of Proverbs 30:28 is probably the gecko, a kind of lizard, as Septuagint and the Revised Version (British and American) have it. See LIZARD.

In Job 8:14 the spider's web is an emblem of frailty: "Whose confidence shall break in sunder, and whose trust is a spider's web." Frailty or futility seems to be indicated also in Isaiah 59:5, 6: "They hatch adders' eggs, and weave the spider's web:.... Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works" "Spider's web" is in Job 8:14 both `akkabhish, "spider's house," while in Isaiah 59:5 it is qure `akkabhish, qur, according to BDB, being "thread" or "film."

Alfred Ely Day

5908. akkabish -- a spider
... 5907, 5908. akkabish. 5909 . a spider. Transliteration: akkabish Phonetic
Spelling: (ak-kaw-beesh') Short Definition: spider's. ...
/hebrew/5908.htm - 5k

8079. semamith -- (a kind of) lizard
... spider. Probably from shamem (in the sense of poisoning); a lizard (from the
superstition of its noxiousness) -- spider. see HEBREW shamem. 8078, 8079. ...
/hebrew/8079.htm - 6k

The Spider and Bee.
... IV. CREATION. Hymn 91 The spider and bee. John Newton 8,8,8,8. The spider and bee.
On the same flow'r we often see. The loathsome spider and the bee; ...
//christianbookshelf.org/newton/olney hymns/hymn 91 the spider and.htm

The Bee Saved from the Spider.
... IV. CREATION. Hymn 92 The bee saved from the spider. John Newton 8,6,8,6. The bee
saved from the spider. The subtle spider often weaves. His unsuspected snares, ...
//christianbookshelf.org/newton/olney hymns/hymn 92 the bee saved.htm

Strong Faith in a Faithful God
... not be true. It states that a spider spun its web over the door of that
part of the cave where David was concealed. The legend is ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 61 1915/strong faith in a faithful.htm

Bible Study.
... "Well, I will be like a locust; my King is away," I thought. The next
comparison was a spider. I didn't like this at all, but he ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/moody/moodys anecdotes and illustrations/bible study.htm

When one at the Back of the North Wind Wanted to Know How Things ...
... She jumped from his shoulder, but when Diamond looked for her upon the ground, he
could see nothing but a little spider with long legs that made its way over ...
/.../macdonald/at the back of the north wind/chapter 11 when one at.htm

Watch-Night Service
... The Vulgate translation has: "Our years pass away like those of a spider." It implies
that our life is as frail as the thread of a spider's web. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/watch-night service.htm

A visit from vigilantius
... He had barely time to hide himself in a cave on the mountain-side, and a spider
instantly spun its web over the entrance. The pursuers ...
/.../chapter xl a visit from.htm

Antipathies
... We cannot help it. You cannot expect us to like people who do not suit us:
any more than you can expect us to like a beetle or a spider. ...
/.../kingsley/town and country sermons/sermon xv antipathies.htm

Two Kinds of Hope
... THE BOOK OF JOB TWO KINDS OF HOPE. 'Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose
trust shall be a spider's web.'"Job 8:14. 'And hope ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/two kinds of hope.htm

Gregory Further Shows that the Only-Begotten Being Begotten not ...
... and Son; for He is incorruptible." Of such a kind as this, perhaps, is that of which
the prophet says, touching the ungodly, "They weave a spider's web [310 ...
/.../gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/section 7 gregory further shows.htm

Spider (3 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary The trust of the hypocrite is compared to the
spider's web or house (Job 8:14). It is said of the wicked ...
/s/spider.htm - 10k

Spider's (3 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Spider's (3 Occurrences). Job 8:14 Whose confidence
shall break apart, Whose trust is a spider's web. (WEB ...
/s/spider's.htm - 7k

Web (5 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) A whole piece of linen cloth as woven. 4. (n.) The texture of very fine
thread spun by a spider for catching insects at its prey; a cobweb. ...
/w/web.htm - 9k

Tale (7 Occurrences)
... thought." The LXX. and Vulgate render it "spider;" the Authorized Version
and Revised Version, "as a tale" that is told. In Job ...
/t/tale.htm - 12k

Egg (3 Occurrences)
... The reference in Isaiah 59:5 is to the egg of a serpent, and is figurative of the
schemes of evil men: "They hatch adders' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he ...
/e/egg.htm - 10k

Spin (4 Occurrences)
... from threads produced by the extrusion of a viscid, transparent liquid, which hardens
on coming into contact with the air; -- said of the spider, the silkworm ...
/s/spin.htm - 9k

Breaks (35 Occurrences)
... My skin closes up, and breaks out afresh. (WEB RSV). Job 8:14 Whose confidence
shall break apart, Whose trust is a spider's web. (See RSV). ...
/b/breaks.htm - 16k

Lizard (3 Occurrences)
... In Proverbs 30:28, we find (9) semamith, the King James Version "spider," the Revised
Version (British and American) "lizard." Since (1), (3), (4), (5), (6 ...
/l/lizard.htm - 16k

Poison (17 Occurrences)
... Besides, there are scorpions, centipedes and the large spider, which are as much
dreaded by the fellahin as are the serpents, not to speak of the minor but ...
/p/poison.htm - 17k

Thread (32 Occurrences)
... end without hope. (BBE). Job 8:14 Whose support is cut off, and whose hope
is no stronger than a spider's thread. (BBE). Job 27:18 ...
/t/thread.htm - 16k

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