All Creatures Great and Small: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Function of Animals in Biblical Texts

Abstract

This dissertation identifies and analyzes all 3,805 references to animals in the Bible and categorizes them according to their function. Proof texts can be used to justify either an anthropocentric or ecocentric perspective on animals, which is why this dissertation seeks to bring quantifiable data of how animals function in the biblical texts, in order to bring nuance to the complex issue of a biblical perspective on animals. The first chapter presents prior scholarship and introduces the allegation that Christianity’s approach to animals is anthropocentric. Chapter 2 addresses human stewardship of animals, showing how animals are granted for human use and consumption, within the limits of responsible and compassionate stewardship. Chapter 3 discusses the adversarial nature of the human relationship with animals. Chapter 4 examines God’s relationship as Creator, owner, and provider of animals, including how he uses animals for judgment and preservation of humans. Chapter 5 explores how animals are employed by the biblical writers as sources of both positive and negative imagery. Chapter 6 considers fantastic animals, which were not encountered in the normal course of life but were familiar to the biblical writers. Chapter 7 probes the place of animals in the redemptive scheme, including their role as substitutionary sacrifices for the atonement of humans. The final chapter summarizes and draws conclusions from the findings.