Bibical Allusions - Old Testament Flashcards
Absalom
Alludes to paternal grief and to a lost and faithless son
Abraham and Isaac
- Symbolic of man’s willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice to demonstrate his faith and trust in God
- Symbolic of the idea that faith and trust in God shall be rewarded.
Burning bush
Represents physical proof of divinity
Cain and Abel
A theological reference to innocent blood and the archetypal brother-versus-brother conflict
Cast thy bread upon the waters
Share our wealth with those who need it and says that it shall be returned to us
Daniel
“Read the handwriting in the wall”
David and Bathsheba
Gave birth to Solomon
David and Goliath
Symbolic of just defeating the unjust
Eye for an Eye
Equal punishment for a transgression or injury
Heap coals of fire
“Be kind to your enemy”
Isaac
Promise or covenant with God
Jacob
Twelve tribes of Israel
Jacob and Esau
A literary reference to the pair may allude to discord between siblings, to the politics of the birthright, or to the idea of the fortunate or favored son
Jacob’s ladder
Symbolic of the path to God and to heaven
Jephthah’s daughter
She is the model for later Christian saints who died to protect their virginity
Jezebel
A seductive woman who leads the hero astray
Joseph and his brothers
Seven years of famine would follow seven years plenty
Jonah
Prefigured Christ’s death, three days in the tomb, and resurrection
Lion lies down with the lamb
Idyllic harmony and universal peace of the earthy paradise
Lot/Lot’s wife
Illustrative of the idea that God punishes those who are disobedient
Moses
He committed one arrogant sin - striking a rock to bring forth needed water - he himself was not permitted to enter the Promised Land
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream
Fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Noah and the flood
A terrific flood
Philistines
Connotes an ignorant, crude, and rude person lacking in culture
