the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
Click here to learn more!
Bible Dictionaries
Beast
Morrish Bible Dictionary
or Besides the ordinary use of this word — such as distinguishing all animals from man, Exodus 9:10; Psalm 36:6; and as specifying quadrupeds from fowls and creeping things, Genesis 8:19 — the word is used symbolically for:
a. the ignorance of man, Psalm 73:22; and for his acting as an irrational creature, that is, without conscience before God. The word is beir, translated 'brutish' in Psalm 94:8; Jeremiah 10:8,14,21; Jeremiah 51:17 .
b. Great worldly powers, cheyva, θηρίον, having different characters according to the symbolic creature specified, but signifying in each case the absence of all moral connection with God: used by Daniel for the four great kingdoms, Daniel 7:3-23; and in Revelation 13:1 to Revelation 20:10 for the revived Roman empire and for the Antichrist.
c. God's executive powers in creation and providence, ζῶον, unhappily translated 'beasts' in the A.V. in Revelation 4:6-9 , etc., where it should be 'living creatures,' as in Ezekiel. See LIVING CREATURES.
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Morrish, George. Entry for 'Beast'. Morrish Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/mbd/b/beast.html. 1897.
