Episode Information

The bible is one of the most famous texts on earth, a collection of stories dating back 3,000 years, providing guidance and instruction to many major religions. What’s more it doesn’t just concern people; it also mentions animals – and some of these are probably not what you’d expect. We’ve all heard of the ox and the ass, the donkey that carried Mary, but did you know gazelles are mentioned in the bible? Or that great whales, cunning leopards and even the energetic hyrax feature? Some are creatures of the holy lands that lived alongside the people of the time, but others have been selected for traits that make them interesting symbols, like the brave lion and abominable owl. In this way, the bible can reveal to us which animals were important or revered at the time it was written, and more fascinatingly, why this was the case.