![]() Whenever a sheep or lamb is mentioned, it is always referring to people (disciples, followers, etc) or Christ, who is also considered the shepherd. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” To list every verse that mentions lambs or sheep will be useless but I guess my point is that there are no ambiguities behind sheep/lamb symbolisms. In Chapter 25 of the Book of Matthew, Jesus talks about the Judgment, where “he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Peter answers “yes” and Jesus tells him to “feed my lambs.” This is repeated three times. First, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him the most. In the Gospel of John, Peter (who had previously denied Jesus three times) confirms his loyalty through a repetitive a dialogue with Jesus. Here are just a few verses (out of the many) that mention sheep. From the top of my mind, I can’t recall any instances where a sheep or lamb is referred to be a gender-specific pronoun. I want to contrast this dual depiction of snakes in the Scripture with that of sheep. The positive symbolism of snakes is reversed in II Kings, which reveals that the Israelites turned the bronze snake into and idol by “burning incense to it.” Can this duality of the snakes’ role in Christian symbolism, going back and forth between bearer of deceit and bearer of God’s will, help to explain medieval perception of snakes as an animal that is dangerous and not to be reconciled with? Both the venomous snakes and the bronze snake symbolized God’s power but the first was a curse to man and the second was man’s redemption. ![]() After Moses prayed on their behalf, God instructs Moses to make a snake to hang on a pole so that those bitten can behold the snake and be healed. In the Book of Numbers, Chapter 21, “the Lord sent venomous snakes, among them ” so that they would repent. The snake appears in the Old Testament as a symbol of God’s sovereign power over His people. Now, where else do we see snakes in the Scripture? Are they always used to symbolize Satan? As we discussed in class, the answer is no. The serpent in Genesis, unlike most animals in the Bible, is gendered to show that it was acting on behalf of Satan, a male figure- though ironically, the serpent in the Eden is often feminized in medieval art and sculptures. HE said to the woman….” (NIV Translation) Soon after, the serpent is cursed to crawl on the ground and eat dust. The author of Genesis writes, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. Francis?Īn average person’s knowledge or memory of snake symbolism in the bible will most likely be the serpent that caused Eve to commit the first sin in Genesis. Were various animals held to different standards by St. Francis merely chastised them and brought them under the influence of his sanctity. The wolves of Lugnano, Alessandria, Gubbio, and Greccio and the fox of Carignola all stole, ate, or injured livestock and humans but St. However, they aren’t the only animals in the stories that brought mischief against people. There is definitely a parallel between the stories of Brother Snake and “Cruel Sister Sow.” Both animals committed grave offenses against people, one by injuring actual human beings and the other by eating someone’s lamb. Francis’ interaction with the snake in the Fifty Animal Stories of St. Today in class, I don’t think we quite arrived at a particular conclusion concerning St.
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