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Biblical Group of Domestic Animals
Present at the Stable in Bethlehem
Scientists have establish
ed that domestication of
animals first began in the
Holy Land several thousand
years before the birth of
Christ.
The ox, ass, camel and
sheep are known as the bib
lical quartet of animals be
cause of their frequent
mention throughout the
Old and New Testaments.
All of these were probably
present in the stable when
Christ was born.
Oxen, when mentioned in
the Bible, may refer to bul
locks, bulls, cows, heifers or
calves, all of which belong
to the Bovidae family.
The bullock was the young
male ox; bulls were male
cattle; heifers were young
female cows; the ox was a
castrated male bovine.
The ox, whose name is
synonymous with physical
strength, probably origin
ated in Asia and appears to
have been the first domesti
cated animal owned by
families in the Holy Land.
He was used for heavy farm
work. Even the poorest fam
ily owned at least one ox.
The word “cattle” orig
inally meant “possessions”
in Hebrew and included
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and wish all our friends the merriest
holiday ever! Thank you for everything!
State Farm Insurance Co.
Otis Gorman Bill McClellan
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wish you an old-fashioned Christmas . . .
one that glows with the good things in life: a
happy family, good friends and lots of
good fellowship. We want to thank you, too,
for being such loyal customers.
flocks of sheep, goats and
other herded animals.
The Donkey,
A Family E'avorite
The donkey, or ass, was
the most valuable animal
to the biblical family, and
also the most economical,
since he ate only a quarter
as much barley as a horse.
The most menial of ani
mals, he was famous for his
stamina and sure-footed
ness. Humble as his status
was, he would bear the cam
eleer on his back, and lead
the long, stately strings of
camels across the desert.
Even poor families, like
Joseph’s of Nazareth,
could afford one donkey,
which they trimmed with
blue beads and red wool to
show their pride of owner
ship. This simple beast was
their mode of transport in
to. Bethlehem and later for
the Flight into Egypt.
The Bible Gives Sheep
Deep Significance
Authorities disagree as to
what kind of sheep existed
at the time of Christ. Three
spy
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Animal from Israeli Biblical Zoo, the Persian onager
is a rare breed of wild ass, which, it is believed, Jesus
rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Photo MICHA BAR-AM
varieties exist in Syria and
Palestine today, sprung
from the three wild sheep
groups still found in Asia.
(1) The Asiatic mouffler,
depicted on Sumerian vases
from early Babylonia, sup
posed to have been domesti
cated around 3,000 B.C.
(2) The Egyptian, long
tailed sheep are related to
an ancient breed grown in
the Ural mountains, long
considered the boundary
line which separates Asia
from Europe.
(3) The large, broad-tail
ed, curly-horned, creamy,
deep-wooled sheep, that ap
fiear in so many biblical il
ustrations, came from Kur
distan at the head of the
Tigris-Euphrates valley,
which was the cradle of
biblical civilization.
Wild grapes, wild wheat,
wild asses and wild sheep
grow in these Mesopotamian
highlands today. People can
still live here, near Mt. Ara
rat with almost no effort
and some theologians feel
that the site of The Garden
of Eden may well have been
located in this area.
In Bible times, every Pal
estinian family bought two
lambs at Passover time.
They killed one to eat at
the feast celebrating their
safe exodus from Egyptian
bondage. The other, they
kept as a pet for their chil
dren and as a future source
of wool for their looms and
food for their table. The
lamb slept with the chil
dren, ate juicy grasses from
their hands and drank from
their cup. When the animal
became full grown, they
killed it and put down its
meat for the winter, storing
it in the sweet fat from its
tail. The tail, which some
times weighed as much as
thirty pounds, was a real
burden to the animal.
The purity, meekness and
loyalty of the sheep for its
shepherd inspired writers
to refer to Jesus as “The
Lamb of God.”
The shepherds found com
pensation for their loneli
ness in this loyal love from
their sheep and in the peace
and beauty of the pastoral
surroundings, whose revolv
ing seasons they knew inti
mately, and in the music
of their homemade pipes,
to which they sometimes
trained their frisky goats to
dance.
Goats Also on the
Domestic Scene
Practically every family
in Bible times owned at
least one goat. A family
could get almost their whole
livelihood from the prod
ucts of a goat. From goat
hair, tent and garment
cloth, curtains and pillows
were made (i Samuel 19:13).
Water bags, a vital neces
sity in these desert areas.
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oping all the precious
things in Life will come 1, is W|
to you this Christmas!
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Allen Hardware
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BRYANT & SONS
LUMBER CO.
were made of goatskin. Food
products Included milk
cheese and meat. Even the
horns of the bearded goats
were used
The nimble, little goats of
Bible times belonged to the
Caprinae section of the
large Bovidae family, which
included oxen, antelopes,
sheep and goats. Goats and
sheen are closely related
but the male goat is beard
ed, while the ram is not. A
goat’s horns differ from a
ram’s, and his odor is
stronger.
Frisky goats were com
pared to wicked people, and
obedient sheep to gentle
folk. From this we get
Christ’s parable of the final
distinction between good
and evil: “He shall separate
them one from another, as
a shepherd divideth his
sheep from the goats.”
• Matthew 25:32)
People would choose a
goat from the flock by
drawing lots, then turn it
loose in the wilderness to
die, because they believed
they could impose their sins
and misdeeds on the goat
and its death would redeem
them. This goat was called
a “scapegoat.”
Camels Are Most
Picturesque of
Bible Animals
Camels and Christmas
seem to go together. The
Three Wise Men used cam
els in their stately journey
to Bethlehem to the scene
of the Nativity. They have
a rather regal bearing that
has become an integral part
of the Christmas picture.
The camel sees objects at
great distances and scents
water long before the driver
spots an oasis. A great asset
in desert travel is its “extra
stomach” and a storage bin
in the hump which enable
it to travel long distances
without food or water. The
camel is also known for its
snarly temper and foul
breath.
The camel’s gestation pe
riod lasts a year, and pro
duces only one offspring at
a time. The baby camel
stands 3 feet high at 8 days.
It suckles its mother’s milk
for a year.
Many valuable products
come from the camel. Its
hair is clipped in the sum
mer and woven into the fin
est warm garments. Its hide
is used for bags and shoes.
Its manure is used for fuel
cakes. For food, it supplies
■nllk.
Lavish Feast
At Christmas, in the year
1492, when Columbus was
spending his day in the
New World, King Henry VII
gave one of his most sump
tuous feasts. The King
(1485-1509), the Queen and
members of the court dined
on no less than 120 different
dishes . . . with peacock as
its climax! He observed hol
iday customs lavishly, to
say the least, serving among
the many delicacies a pop
ular dish called “frumenty,”
made by adding sugar and
spices to boiling hulled
wheat.
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: < HOLIDAY GREETINGS’^
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Payton Pharmacy
Christmas would not be Christmas if we
did not take the time to say “thank you”
and wish you every happiness.
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GARY McCONNELL’S
General Farm & Home Supply
The Summerville News, Thurs., Dec. 20,1979
^GREETiNGSAW
We chorus our \
pL thanks and wishes —A *
for a very 1 /
Merry Christmas^ v
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Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance
-BEN COLLINS—
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