Central Abbotsford

We are now in August. In my mind, August is the month that I most associate with the phrase “the dog days of summer”. According to the fine people at The Old Farmer’s Almanac, in our part of the world, the dog days run from July 3 to August 11, so I’m pretty close at least.

Historically, the phrase dates to ancient Greece. Summertime was when Sirius, “the dog star”, made its appearance in the night sky. Given that Sirius is the brightest star in the sky (aside from the Sun), the Greeks drew the (not unreasonable, in the circumstances) conclusion that Sirius added its heat to that of the Sun, causing the temperature to rise uncomfortably in July and August, hence the name.

Reflecting on this phrase led me to think about the references to dogs in the Scriptures. The time constraints of a newsletter will limit me to a review of the New Testament, but even then, our canine friends don’t seem to get much respect. Let’s take a look!

In Philippians 3:2, Paul refers to those who relied on the outward physical signs of faith, rather than knowledge of Jesus as saviour, as “dogs”. One of the last verses of the Bible, Revelation 22:15, places dogs outside of the new heavens and the new earth, alongside the “sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

Jesus Himself seemed to be willing to use “dog” as a term of contempt! When the Canaanite woman cried out before Him in Matthew 15, his initial response to her was to say that He had been sent to Israel, because “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Of course, He did show love and compassion to her immediately after this seeming rebuff. However, his original response seemed to be derivative of His turn of phrase in the Sermon on the Mount (although the second animal metaphor is the one that has entered popular usage): “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”

Other members of the canine family are not spared derision in the Bible, either. When Herod is threatening Jesus’ life in Luke 13, Jesus humourously characterizes him as a “fox”. And, of course, the picture of the ravenous wolf set on devouring the sheep of the Great Shepherd is used by several authors. Even today, suggesting that a professing Christian or a teacher is a “wolf” is a grave insult and a serious accusation rolled into one.

So, what’s the deal? Is the Bible against dogs? Is our (generally held) cultural affinity towards man’s best friend misplaced, or, even worse, unbiblical?

Answering this question is one that can actually serve to help us learn how to read the Bible! I know that I wrote that I would stick to the New Testament, but I’ll dip into the Old Testament for a moment. Fairly early in the story of Scripture, we see dogs being derided – when Goliath is trash-talking David in 1 Samuel 17, he shouts out “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”, suggesting fairly strongly that at least the Philistines didn’t hold a particularly high view of them. And it’s not just the enemies of God’s people that seem to have this view – Psalms 22 and 59 use the picture of a dog as a stand-in for evildoers! Seems like the case is pretty much closed.

However, going through the Old Testament, you will find that there are multiple lists of animals considered unclean. Look through these lists, and you won’t find any mention of dogs in them. So, I ask again, what’s the deal? 

I think that the answer to this question offers us a reminder in how to read the Bible literally and literarily – literally, in the sense that there is a meaning that is being communicated to us by the Scriptures and literarily, in the sense that the Bible is written as literature, with wordplay and irony and analogy spread throughout. These literary devices are meant to enhance the literal meaning of a text, but if we lack the surrounding context, we can miss it! (If you don’t believe this, try getting a teenager to watch a random late night comedy monologue from the 80s or 90s and see how much of the references they understand!)

Even the Biblical witness makes it clear that dogs were kept as pets in the 1st century. Go back to the Matthew 15 passage – the Canaanite woman’s response is “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” – implying that the dog in discussion was a dependent creature awaiting a gift from its master. 

However, the reality of life in this time would have meant that many people’s interactions with dogs would be much less domestic in nature – more along the lines of running across strays (I’ve seen no evidence that dogcatcher was an elected position in Judea or Samaria). So the common picture of a dog that would have been familiar to many in everyday life was not necessarily the beloved family pet, but rather a pack of dirty scavengers. It’s not at all out of God’s character to refer to only one character of an animal in the Scriptures; after all, Jesus instructed His disciples to be as “wise as serpents”, and the serpent represents as negative a character as you can find in the Bible!

So, dog days or otherwise, I think it’s fair for those of you with canine companions to take heart that although the warp and woof of the Bible might suggest that although dogs might get some rough treatment, the bark is worse than the bite.

But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

– Ecclesiastes 9:4

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