3 Biblical Passages
This chapter gathers passages from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament in which animals appear as part of God’s creation, as objects of God’s care, or as beings toward whom people have obligations. It is a selection, not a complete survey: the many laws on sacrifice and on clean and unclean animals, for example, belong to the same scriptures but are not treated here.
All quotations follow the King James Version (KJV) of 1611, in the standard modern form of its text (The King James Version of the Bible, n.d.). Its English is four centuries old, so short notes explain words whose meaning has changed. Small superscript numbers mark verses. “LORD” in capitals is the KJV’s convention for the Hebrew divine name.
3.1 Creation and covenant
Genesis 1:24–25, 29–31
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. …
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.
Context. The first creation account closes its sixth day by declaring the land animals “good” before humans are made, and then calling the whole of creation “very good.” In this account, humans and animals alike are given plants to eat.
Notes. In the English of 1611, “meat” means food in general, not animal flesh.
Genesis 9:8–10, 15–16
8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. …
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
Context. After the flood, God’s covenant is made not only with Noah’s family but, in repeated words, with “every living creature.”
3.2 The law: rest and relief
Exodus 23:12 and Deuteronomy 5:14
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
— Exodus 23:12
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
— Deuteronomy 5:14
Context. The weekly day of rest is extended explicitly to working animals. In Exodus 23:12, their rest is named first among the reasons for the sabbath.
Exodus 23:4–5
4 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. 5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
Context. The duty to help an animal in distress holds even when it belongs to an enemy. Deuteronomy 22:4 gives the same rule for a neighbour’s fallen ox or donkey.
Notes. The second verse is obscure in the KJV. Its sense is: even if you would rather leave him alone, you must help him raise the animal.
Deuteronomy 22:6–7
6 If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: 7 But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.
Context. The law permits taking the eggs or young but requires that the mother bird be let go. Its promised reward, “that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days,” echoes the promise attached to the commandment to honour one’s parents (Deuteronomy 5:16).
Notes. “Dam” means the mother bird.
Deuteronomy 25:4
Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
Context. An ox treading grain on the threshing floor is to be left free to eat as it works.
Notes. “Corn” means grain in general.
3.3 Wisdom and psalms
Proverbs 12:10
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
Context. The proverb treats care for one’s animals as a mark of righteousness, and contrasts it with the “mercies” of the wicked, which are cruel.
Notes. “Regardeth” translates a Hebrew verb that means “knows”; “life” translates nephesh, a word that can also mean “soul,” “living being,” or “desire.” The righteous person knows what their animal needs.
Psalm 104:10–14, 24–25, 27–28
10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. 11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst. 12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. 13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. 14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man …
24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. 25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. …
27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. 28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
Context. Psalm 104 is a hymn to God as creator and sustainer. Wild animals, birds, and sea creatures are described for their own sake, provided for directly by God, and not only in relation to human use.
Psalms 36:6 and 145:9, 15–16
Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.
— Psalm 36:6
The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. … The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
— Psalm 145:9, 15–16
Context. These psalms extend God’s preserving care and “tender mercies” beyond humanity to “all his works” and “every living thing.” Psalm 145:15–16 has long been used as a grace before meals.
Job 38:39–41 and 12:7–10
39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions, 40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? 41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
— Job 38:39–41
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: 8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. 9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? 10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
— Job 12:7–10
Context. When God finally answers Job (chapters 38–41), much of the reply is a tour of wild creatures that live beyond human control and use, yet within God’s care. In the earlier passage, Job himself says that animals can teach people about God.
3.4 Stories and prophets
Numbers 22:28, 32–33
28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? …
32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: 33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
Context. The prophet Balaam beats his donkey three times because she will not go on, without seeing the angel blocking the road. The angel rebukes Balaam for the beating, and the donkey, who saw what he could not, is the one who saved his life.
Jonah 4:10–11
10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Context. These are the last words of the book of Jonah. Explaining why he spared Nineveh, God names its animals alongside its people.
Notes. “Sixscore thousand” is 120,000.
Hosea 2:18 and Isaiah 11:6–9
And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
— Hosea 2:18
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
— Isaiah 11:6–9
Context. Both prophets describe a future peace that includes the animal world. In Isaiah 11 it follows the promise of a just king from the line of David; Isaiah 65:25 repeats the image.
Notes. A “cockatrice” is a venomous snake.
3.5 Gospels and letters
Matthew 6:26
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Context. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus points to birds fed by God to teach his listeners not to be anxious. The argument depends on God’s care for the birds being real.
Matthew 10:29–31 and Luke 12:6–7
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. … 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
— Matthew 10:29, 31
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
— Luke 12:6–7
Context. The point of the saying is reassurance for Jesus’ followers, who are worth “more than many sparrows.” It rests on the claim that not even the cheapest bird in the market is forgotten by God.
Notes. A “farthing” was the smallest English coin; it stands here for a small Roman coin of very low value.
Luke 14:5 and 13:15
Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
— Luke 14:5
Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
— Luke 13:15
Context. Defending healings on the sabbath, Jesus appeals to what his listeners already do for their animals on that day. Matthew 12:11 gives a similar saying about a sheep fallen into a pit.
Notes. The Greek text behind the KJV reads “an ass or an ox” in Luke 14:5; most modern critical editions read “a son or an ox.”
Mark 1:13
And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
Context. Only Mark mentions that Jesus was “with the wild beasts” during his forty days in the wilderness. The phrase is brief, and interpreters differ on whether it suggests danger, peaceful company, or both.
Romans 8:19–22
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Context. Paul describes the whole created world as sharing in suffering and in the hope of being set free.
Notes. “The creature” and “the creation” translate the same Greek word, ktisis. Many modern interpreters understand it here to mean the non-human creation, though its exact scope is debated.