Topical Bible: Beasts: Found in Deserts

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In the biblical context, deserts are often depicted as barren, desolate places, yet they are also home to various creatures that symbolize desolation, judgment, and sometimes divine presence. The Bible references several beasts that inhabit these arid regions, each carrying symbolic significance within the scriptural narrative.

1. Wild Donkeys: Wild donkeys are frequently mentioned as inhabitants of the desert. In Job 24:5, they are described as creatures that "go out to their task of foraging for food, searching the wasteland for sustenance for their young." The wild donkey symbolizes freedom and untamed nature, often used metaphorically to describe the stubbornness or independence of people (see Hosea 8:9).

2. Jackals: Jackals are another creature associated with desolate places. Isaiah 34:13 speaks of a land that will become a haunt for jackals, indicating a place of ruin and abandonment: "Thorns will overgrow her citadels, nettles and brambles her fortresses. She will become a haunt for jackals, a dwelling for ostriches." Jackals are often used to symbolize desolation and the aftermath of divine judgment.

3. Ostriches: The ostrich is mentioned alongside jackals in Isaiah 34:13, as well as in other passages like Job 39:13-18, where its behavior is described in detail. The ostrich, known for its speed and seemingly neglectful nature towards its young, is used to illustrate themes of folly and neglect.

4. Lions: While lions are not exclusively desert dwellers, they are sometimes depicted in desert settings. In Isaiah 30:6, the prophet speaks of a land of trouble and anguish, "from which come the lioness and the lion, the viper and the flying serpent." Lions in the Bible often symbolize strength, danger, and sometimes divine judgment.

5. Serpents and Scorpions: The desert is also home to serpents and scorpions, creatures that evoke fear and danger. Deuteronomy 8:15 refers to the wilderness as "that great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water." These creatures are emblematic of the trials and perils faced by the Israelites during their desert wanderings.

6. Satyrs and Lilith: In some translations, creatures like satyrs and Lilith are mentioned in desert contexts. Isaiah 34:14 in the BSB states, "The desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another; there the night creature will settle and find her place of repose." These references are often interpreted as symbolic or mythological, representing chaos and desolation.

The presence of these beasts in the desert serves as a powerful metaphor within the biblical narrative. They illustrate the harshness and desolation of the wilderness, often used as a backdrop for divine judgment or as a place of testing and purification for God's people. The imagery of desert beasts underscores the themes of isolation, danger, and the need for reliance on divine provision and protection.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 13:21
But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Man Would be More Unfavourably Situated than the Beasts if There ...
... Be More Unfavourably Situated Than the Beasts If There ... the distinction is anywhere
to be found between those ... a judgment according to men's deserts, nor after ...
/.../the treatise on the resurrection of the dead/chapter xix man would be more.htm

The Glorious Habitation
... By night the wild beasts prowled around them ... they might all have fallen a prey to
the wild monsters that roamed the deserts. Worse foes they found in human kind ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 1 1855/the glorious habitation.htm

Other Passages from the Song of Songs are Considered with Relation ...
... with mud from the wallowing places of spiritual wild beasts should be ... [3206] I found
Him Whom my ... or old age, but the reputation for good deserts, subject to no ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter ix other passages from.htm

How Joseph was Thus Sold by his Brethren into Egypt, by Reason of ...
... overlook what was done, either in deserts or in ... also conjectured that Joseph was
destroyed by wild beasts. ... in heavy affliction, insomuch that he found no ease ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 3 how joseph was.htm

The Adventures of Saint Andrew of Scotland.
... territories of Russia, and entered the wilder deserts of Siberia ... way out from among
them, he found himself in ... of chains, the roaring of wild beasts, the hissing ...
/.../kingston/the seven champions of christendom/chapter eight the adventures of.htm

Persecution in the First Centuries
... the followers of Christ were hunted like beasts of prey ... was not worthy:) they wandered
in deserts, and in ... also, when suspected and proscribed, they found a home ...
/.../white/the great controversy/chapter 2 persecution in the.htm

Persecution in the First Centuries.
... the followers of Christ were hunted like beasts of prey ... was not worthy:) they wandered
in deserts, and in ... also, when suspected and proscribed, they found a home ...
/.../the great controversy between christ and satan /2 persecution in the first.htm

Scenes Favourable to Meditation
... And the last is as sweet as the first. Here I and the beasts of the deserts
agree,. ... Though little is found in this dreary abode. ...
/.../scenes favourable to meditation.htm

The Angels of the Advent.
... with a fire of brushwood to keep the beasts away, perhaps ... There they found Mary and
Joseph with the Holy Child ... young he went to live in the deserts where he ...
/.../lathbury/childs story of the bible/chapter i the angels of.htm

First Greek Form.
... and that had their dwelling in deserts, and ate their own flesh, living like beasts
and creeping ... having first scourged him, and having found against him no ...
/.../the report of pilate concerning our lord jesus christ/first greek form.htm