Insects, as a category of creatures, are mentioned in various contexts throughout the Bible. They are often associated with both positive and negative imagery, serving as symbols of God's creation, instruments of His judgment, and examples of industriousness and wisdom.

Creation and Diversity

Insects are part of the broader category of "creeping things" created by God. In Genesis 1:24-25 , it is written: "And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.' And it was so. God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good." This passage underscores the diversity and intentionality of God's creation, including insects.

Instruments of Judgment

Insects are frequently depicted as instruments of divine judgment. The most notable example is the plague of locusts in Egypt, as described in Exodus 10:12-15 : "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land and devour every plant in the fields—everything that the hail has left.' So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD sent an east wind across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; they invaded all the land of Egypt and settled in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. They covered all the ground until it was black, and they devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt."

Similarly, in the prophetic literature, locusts are used as symbols of destruction and judgment. Joel 1:4 states: "What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten."

Examples of Wisdom and Industry

Insects are also used as examples of wisdom and industriousness. Proverbs 6:6-8 advises: "Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food at harvest." The ant is highlighted for its diligence and foresight, serving as a model for human behavior.

Dietary Laws

In the Mosaic Law, certain insects are deemed clean and permissible to eat, while others are not. Leviticus 11:20-23 provides guidance: "All flying insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. However, you may eat the following kinds of flying insects that walk on all fours: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper. But all other flying insects that have four legs are detestable to you."

Symbolism and Imagery

Insects are often used symbolically in biblical literature. For instance, in Revelation 9:3-10 , locusts are described in apocalyptic imagery: "And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not given power to kill them, but only to torment them for five months. And their torment was like the stinging of a scorpion. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them. The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold on their heads, and faces like the faces of men. They had hair like that of women, and teeth like those of lions. They also had thoraxes like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months."

Insects in the Bible serve as multifaceted symbols, reflecting the complexity and richness of God's creation and His sovereign purposes.INSECTS

in'-sekts: In English Versions of the Bible, including the marginal notes, we find at least 23 names of insects or words referring to them: ant, bald locust, bee, beetle, cankerworm, caterpillar, creeping thing, cricket, crimson, flea, fly, gnat, grasshopper, honey, hornet, locust, louse, (lice), moth, palmer-worm, sandfly, scarlet-worm, silk-worm. These can be referred to about 12 insects, which, arranged systematically, are: Hymenoptera, ant, bee, hornet; Lepidoptera, clothes-moth, silk-worm; Siphonaptera, flea; Diptera, fly; Rhynchota, louse, scarletworm; Orthoptera, several kinds of grasshoppers and locusts.

The word "worm" refers not only to the scarletworm, but to various larvae of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera. "Creeping things" refers indefinitely to insects, reptiles, and beasts. In the list of 23 names given above honey and bee refer to one insect, as do crimson and scarlet. Sandfly has no place if "lice" be retained in Exodus 8:16. Bald locust, beetle, canker-worm, cricket, and palmerworm probably all denote various kinds of grasshoppers and locusts. When the translators of English Versions of the Bible had to do with two or more Hebrew words for which there was only one well-recognized English equivalent, they seem to have been content with that alone, if the two Hebrew words occurred in different passages; e.g. zebhubh, "fly" (Ecclesiastes 10:1 Isaiah 7:18), and `arobh, "fly" (Exodus 8:21). On the other hand, they were put to it to find equivalents for the insect names in Leviticus 11:22 Joel 1:4, and elsewhere. For cale'am (Leviticus 11:22) they evidently coined "bald locust," following a statement of the Talmud that it had a smooth head. For gazam and yeleq they imported "palmer-worm" and "canker-worm," two old English names of caterpillars, using "caterpillar" for chasil. The King James Version "beetle" for chargol is absolutely inappropriate, and the Revised Version (British and American) "cricket," while less objectionable, is probably also incorrect. The English language seems to lack appropriate names for different kinds of grasshoppers and locusts, and it is difficult to suggest any names to take the places of those against which these criticisms are directed. See under the names of the respective insects. See also SCORPION and SPIDER, which are not included here because they are not strictly insects.

Alfred Ely Day

8318. sherets -- swarmers, swarming things
... Word Origin from sharats Definition swarmers, swarming things NASB Word Usage insects
(3), swarming thing (3), swarming things (5), swarms (1), teeming life (2 ...
/hebrew/8318.htm - 6k

A Cultivated Conservative Friend of Mine once Exhibited Great ...
... They used the ant for industry as the lark for punctuality; they looked up at the
flapping birds and down at the crawling insects for a homely lesson. ...
/.../chesterton/whats wrong with the world/chapter 42 a cultivated conservative.htm

The Doxology
... He had been looking round, too, on this wonderful earth, with its countless beasts,
and birds, and insects, trees, herbs, and flowers, each growing, and ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/sermons for the times/sermon x the doxology.htm

Leviticus
... Laws concerning the animals which may or may not be eaten"quadrupeds, fish, birds,
flying insects, creeping insects, reptiles"and pollution through contact ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/mcfadyen/introduction to the old testament/leviticus.htm

Of the Three Woe Trumpets.
... field through all the land of Egypt." But our locusts afflicted the very men, and
from hence it is apparent that they were not of the genus of insects, that is ...
/.../mede/a key to the apocalypse/of the three woe trumpets.htm

How Holy Love Returning into the Soul, Brings Back to Life all the ...
... I never saw, read, or heard, that wasps, gadflies, flies, and such little noxious
insects when once dead could come to life and rise again, but that the dear ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter xii how holy love.htm

Death.
... animals goes on. The hawk feeds on the small birds, the small birds on the
insects, the insects, many of them, on each other. Even our ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/westminster sermons/sermon xviii death.htm

The Treasure Cave
... When they were all within he closed the entrance and unrolled the reeds. There was
a helter-skelter of mice past them and a rustle of retiring insects. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/miller/the yoke/chapter xx the treasure cave.htm

Ephesians i. 15-20
... this is said of Him that was raised from the dead which is worthy of our admiration;
for of God the Word, it cannot possibly be, because what insects are in ...
/.../homily iii ephesians i 15-20.htm

Historical Criticism of Medi??val Amplifications.
... of the new-born babe that cleared him from calumny"the crowned phantom on the walls
of Nisibis that scared the besiegers"the plague of insects that drove ...
/.../v historical criticism of mediaeval amplifications.htm

The Immutability of God
... He may be a naturalist, boasting of his ability to dissect a beetle, anatomize a
fly, or arrange insects and animals in classes with well nigh unutterable names ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 1 1855/the immutability of god.htm

Insects (17 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia INSECTS. in'-sekts ... Diptera. "Creeping things"
refers indefinitely to insects, reptiles, and beasts. In ...
/i/insects.htm - 14k

Locust (25 Occurrences)
... "The legs and thighs of these insects are so powerful that they can leap
to a height of two hundred times the length of their bodies. ...
/l/locust.htm - 34k

Moth (10 Occurrences)
... 4. (n.) Any one of various other insects that destroy woolen and fur goods, etc.,
esp. ... See INSECTS. Alfred Ely Day. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/m/moth.htm - 13k

Fly (33 Occurrences)
... Hebrews `arob, the name given to the insects sent as a plague on the land
of Egypt (Exodus 8:21-31; Psalm 78:45; 105:31). The LXX. ...
/f/fly.htm - 26k

Insect (6 Occurrences)
... invertebrates. 4. (n.) Fig.: Any small, trivial, or contemptible person or
thing. 5. (a.) of or pertaining to an insect or insects. 6 ...
/i/insect.htm - 8k

Flies (16 Occurrences)
... swarms of flies"; in Psalm 78:45, "He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured
them." There has been much speculation as to what the insects were, but ...
/f/flies.htm - 15k

Zoology
... Gecko, Chameleon, Land Crocodile, Sand Lizard (sv LIZARD) Amphibians: Frog Fishes:
Fish (in general) Mollusks: Snail, Murex (Purple) Insects: HYMENOPTERA: Ant ...
/z/zoology.htm - 18k

Lice (4 Occurrences)
... "The entomologists Kirby and Spence place these minute but disgusting insects
in the very front rank of those which inflict injury upon man. ...
/l/lice.htm - 10k

Wonder-workers (16 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Exodus 8:18 And the wonder-workers with their secret arts, attempting to
make insects, were unable to do so: and there were insects on man and on beast. ...
/w/wonder-workers.htm - 12k

Fig-tree (33 Occurrences)
... The immature flowers harbor small insects which convey pollen to the female flowers
and by their irritating presence stimulate the growth of the fruit. ...
/f/fig-tree.htm - 26k

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