Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

1351.0. "The Raven" by CSC32::J_CHRISTIE (Spigot of pithiness) Sat Apr 26 1997 16:51

What is the significance or symbolic meaning of the raven in the Bible,
if any?

Isaiah 34:11  But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the
owl also and the �raven� shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch
out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.

Song of Songs 5:11  His head [is as] the most fine gold, his locks
[are] bushy, [and] black as a �raven.�
5:12  His eyes [are] as [the eyes] of doves by the rivers of
waters, washed with milk, [and] fitly set.

Proverbs 30:17  The eye [that] mocketh at [his] father, and despiseth
to obey [his] mother, the �ravens� of the valley shall pick it
out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

Psalm 147:9  He giveth to the beast his food, [and] to the young
�ravens� which cry.

Job 38:41  Who provideth for the �raven� his food? when his young
ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

I Kings 17:4  And it shall be, [that] thou shalt drink of the brook;
and I have commanded the �ravens� to feed thee (Elijah) there.
17:5  So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD:
for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that [is] before
Jordan.
17:6  And the �ravens� brought him bread and flesh in the
morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of
the brook.

Deuteronomy 14:13  And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his
kind,
14:14  And every �raven� after his kind,
14:15  And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and
the hawk after his kind,

Leviticus 11:14  And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
11:15  Every �raven� after his kind;
11:16  And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and
the hawk after his kind,

Genesis 8:6  And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah
opened the window of the ark which he had made:
8:7  And he sent forth a �raven,� which went forth to and fro,
until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

Luke 12:23  (Jesus speaking) The life is more than meat, and the
body [is more] than raiment.
12:24  Consider the �ravens:� for they neither sow nor reap;
which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them:
how much more are ye better than the fowls?

    I dunno Richard.  It's pretty clear that it's not looked upon very
    highly.  In Leviticus, it's called "detestable" outright.  Yet, in
    Psalm, Job and Luke, God feeds them as he does all other animals.  In 
    I Kings, the ravens feed Elijah while in exile and in Genesis they
    look for land for Noah.   They are the "good guys" at times.
    
    They may have a role in the Bible as being agents which eat, or purge, 
    the world of foul things.  They live in the wasteland (ref Isaiah) and
    are scavangers.  For that, they are not to be eaten and are called
    detestable.  Yet God provides for them and they provide a service to
    the world and God.  
    
    I wonder how/why they became a symbol of bad luck or thought to be 
    servants of the devil.
    
    -dave
    
    

    .1  Yes, scavengers.  I think you're onto something.
    
    Richard
    

Does that mean lobsters are out, too?

    Last time I checked Lobsters were not kosher.  
    
    But, where would the world be without scavengers?  My oldest told me
    there is a sortof party in at Carlsbad and Guadalupe national parks
    when the buzzards come back in the spring.  An entire winter's worth of
    dead animals goes away in short order, making things far more pleasant
    on some of the back country trails and on the BLM land they help to
    maintain.  Guess dead cows from November to February get pretty ripe.
    
    meg

    >.1  Yes, scavengers.  I think you're onto something.
    
    You sound like a professor I knew, holding back on the answers,
    encouraging us as we'd work through reasoning things out :-)
    
    -dave

.5

>    You sound like a professor I knew, holding back on the answers,
>    encouraging us as we'd work through reasoning things out :-)

I confess, I sometimes do that.  Not in this instance, however.

Richard