List of Animals in The Bible

Gazelle (Hebr., çebî, i. e. beauty) has been known at all times as one of the most graceful of all animals. Several species still exist in Israel. Its different characteristics, its beauty of form, its swiftness, its timidity, the splendour and meekness of its eye, are in the present time, as well as during the age of the Old Testament writers, the subjects of many comparisons. However, the name of the gazelle is scarcely, if at all, to be found in the Bible; in its stead we read roe, hart, or deer. Like a few other names of graceful and timid animals, the word gazelle has always been in the East a term of endearment in love. It was also a woman's favourite name (1 Chronicles 8:9; 2 Kings 12:1; 2 Chronicles 24:1; Acts 9:36).

Gecko. — Probable translation of the 'anãqah of the Hebrews, generally rendered in our versions by shrew-mouse, for which it seems it should be substituted. The gecko, ptyodactylus gecko of the naturalists, is common in Israel.

Gier-Eagle. — So does A.V. render the Hebrew, rãhãm (Leviticus 11:18) or rãhãmah (Deuteronomy 14:17). By the gier-eagle, the Egyptian vulture (neophron percnopterus), or Pharao's hen, is generally believed to be signified. However, whether this bird should be really recognized in the Hebrew, rãhãm, is not easy to decide; for while, on the one hand, the resemblance of the Arabic name for the Egyptian vulture with the Hebrew word rãhãm seems fairly to support the identification, the mention of the rãhãm in a list of wading birds, on the other hand, casts a serious doubt on its correctness.

Gnat. — The same insect called sciniph in Ex., viii, 16, 17 and Ps. civ (Hebr., cv), 31, and known under the familiar name of mosquito, Culex pipiens, is taken in the New Testament as an example of a trifle.

Goat. — Though the sacred writers spoke of the ewe more frequently than of the goat, yet with the latter they were very well acquainted. It was indeed, especially in the hilly regions east of the Jordan, an important item in the wealth of the Israelites. The goat of Israel, particularly the capra membrica, affords numerous illustrations and allusions, Its remarkably long ears are referred to by Amos, iii, 12; its glossy dark hair furnishes a graphic comparison to the author of Cant., iv, 1; vi, 4; this hair was woven into a strong cloth; the skin tanned with the hair on served to make bottles for milk, wine, oil, water, etc. The kid was an almost essential part of a feast. The goat is mentioned in Dan., viii, 5, as the symbol of the Macedonian empire. The grand Gospel scene of the separation of the just and the wicked on the last day is borrowed from the customs of the shepherds in the East.

Goat, Wild, Job, xxxix, 1; I K., xxiv, 3, where it is an equivalent for yã' él, translated in Ps., ciii (Hebr., Civ), 18, as hart and in Prov., v, 19, as fawn, is most probably the ibex syriacus, a denizen of the rocky summits . It was regarded as a model of grace (Proverbs 5:19), and its name, Jahel, Jahala, was frequently given to persons (Judges 5:6; Ezra 2:56, etc.).

Grasshopper, is probably the best rendering for the Hebrew, hãgãb, as in the A.V., if the Hebrew word be interpreted "hopper" as Credner suggests; the D.V. uses the word locust. The grasshopper is one of the smaller species of the locust tribe.

Griffon. — So D.V., Lev., xi, 13 (whereas Deuteronomy 14:12, we read "grype") translates the Hebrew, pérés, the "breaker" whereby the lammergeyer or bearded vulture, gypœtus barbatus, the largest and most magnificent of the birds of prey is probably intended. The opinion that the Bible here speaks of the fabulous griffon, i.e. a monster begotten from a lion and an eagle, and characterized by the beak, neck, and wings of an eagle and the legs and rump of a lion, is based only on a misinterpretation of the word.

Griffon Vulture, a probable translation in several cases of the Hebrew, néshér, regularly rendered by eagle. This most majestic bird (gyps fulvus), the type, as it seems, of the eagle-headed figures of Assyrian sculpture, is most likely referred to in Mich., i, 16, on account of its bare neck and head.

List of Animals in The Bible - G