Topical Encyclopedia
In the Bible, the spider is mentioned in a few passages, often symbolizing fragility, cunning, and the transient nature of life. The spider's web, in particular, is used metaphorically to illustrate the delicate and often deceptive nature of human endeavors and the fleeting security found in worldly pursuits.
Biblical References:1.
Job 8:14-15 : "His confidence is fragile; his security is in a spider’s web. He leans on his web, but it gives way; he holds fast, but it does not endure." In this passage, Bildad the Shuhite speaks to Job, using the spider's web as a metaphor for the fragile and unreliable nature of the wicked's trust in their own strength and resources. The imagery suggests that just as a spider's web can easily be swept away, so too can the false securities of those who do not place their trust in God.
2.
Isaiah 59:5-6 : "They hatch viper’s eggs and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched. Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their deeds are sinful deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands." Here, the prophet Isaiah uses the spider's web to describe the futile and destructive efforts of the wicked. The web, though intricate and seemingly well-crafted, is ultimately useless for protection or covering, symbolizing the ineffectiveness of sinful actions to provide true security or righteousness.
Symbolism and Interpretation:In biblical literature, the spider and its web often symbolize the fragility and deceitfulness of human endeavors apart from God. The web, though appearing complex and strong, is easily destroyed, reflecting the transient nature of life and the futility of relying on anything other than divine providence.
The spider's web also serves as a reminder of the cunning and often deceptive nature of sin. Just as a web can ensnare unsuspecting prey, so too can sin entrap individuals, leading them away from the path of righteousness. The Bible warns against placing trust in anything other than God, as all else is as fragile as a spider's web.
Cultural and Historical Context:In ancient Near Eastern cultures, spiders were often seen as symbols of patience and skill due to their ability to weave intricate webs. However, in the biblical context, the focus is more on the fragility and impermanence of the web, serving as a powerful metaphor for the transient nature of life and the futility of human efforts without God.
The spider's web, with its delicate and intricate design, serves as a vivid illustration in Scripture of the need for reliance on God rather than on one's own understanding or strength. The biblical references to spiders and their webs encourage believers to seek security and refuge in the Lord, who alone provides lasting protection and true righteousness.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
SpiderThe Hebrew wordaccabish in (Job 8:24;Isaiah 59:5) is correctly rendered "spider." Putsemamith is wrongly translated "spider" in (Proverbs 30:28) it refers probably to some kind of lizard. (But "there are many species of spider in Palestine: some which spin webs, like the common garden spider; some which dig subterranean cells and make doors in them, like the well-known trap-door spider of southern Europe; and some which have no web, but chase their prey upon the ground, like the hunting-and the wolf-spider." --Wood's Bible Animals.)
ATS Bible Dictionary
SpiderA well-known insect, remarkable for the thread which it spins, and with which it forms a web of curious texture, but so frail that it is exposed to be broken and destroyed by the slightest accident. To the slenderness of this filmy workmanship Job compares the hope of the wicked,Job 8:14. So also inIsaiah 59:5, it is shown that the works of sinners are utterly inadequate to cover or protect them. InProverbs 30:28, it is said in our version that "the spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces;" but the Hebrew employs here a different word, which signifies, according to the best interpreters, a species of lizard frequent in Palestine.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The trust of the hypocrite is compared to the spider's web or house (
Job 8:14). It is said of the wicked by Isaiah that they "weave the spider's web" (
59:5), i.e., their works and designs are, like the spider's web, vain and useless. The Hebrew word here used is 'akkabish, "a swift weaver."
InProverbs 30:28 a different Hebrew word (semamith) is used. It is rendered in the Vulgate by stellio, and in the Revised Version by "lizard." It may, however, represent the spider, of which there are, it is said, about seven hundred species in Palestine.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) Any one of numerous species of arachnids comprising the order Araneina. Spiders have the mandibles converted into poison fangs, or falcers. The abdomen is large and not segmented, with two or three pairs of spinnerets near the end, by means of which they spin threads of silk to form cocoons, or nests, to protect their eggs and young. Many species spin also complex webs to entrap the insects upon which they prey. The eyes are usually eight in number (rarely six), and are situated on the back of the cephalothorax. See Araneina.
2. (n.) Any one of various other arachnids resembling the true spiders, especially certain mites, as the red spider (see under Red).
3. (n.) An iron pan with a long handle, used as a kitchen utensil in frying food. Originally, it had long legs, and was used over coals on the hearth.
4. (n.) A trevet to support pans or pots over a fire.
5. (n.) A skeleton, or frame, having radiating arms or members, often connected by crosspieces; as, a casting forming the hub and spokes to which the rim of a fly wheel or large gear is bolted; the body of a piston head; a frame for strengthening a core or mold for a casting, etc.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
SPIDERspi'-der
(1) `akkabhish; compare Arabic `ankabut, English Versions of the Bible "spider"; Septuagint arachne (Job 8:14Isaiah 59:5);
(2) semamith, "lizard," the King James Version "spider"; Septuagint kalabotes (Proverbs 30:28)): Semamith ofProverbs 30:28 is probably the gecko, a kind of lizard, as Septuagint and the Revised Version (British and American) have it. SeeLIZARD.
InJob 8:14 the spider's web is an emblem of frailty: "Whose confidence shall break in sunder, and whose trust is a spider's web." Frailty or futility seems to be indicated also inIsaiah 59:5, 6: "They hatch adders' eggs, and weave the spider's web:.... Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works" "Spider's web" is inJob 8:14 both `akkabhish, "spider's house," while inIsaiah 59:5 it is qure `akkabhish, qur, according to BDB, being "thread" or "film."
Alfred Ely Day
Strong's Hebrew
5908. akkabish -- aspider... 5907, 5908. akkabish. 5909 . a
spider. Transliteration: akkabish Phonetic
Spelling: (ak-kaw-beesh') Short Definition:
spider's.
...8079. semamith -- (a kind of) lizard
...spider. Probably from shamem (in the sense of poisoning); a lizard (from the
superstition of its noxiousness) --spider. see HEBREW shamem. 8078, 8079....
Library
TheSpider and Bee.
... IV. CREATION. Hymn 91 Thespider and bee. John Newton 8,8,8,8. Thespider and bee.
On the same flow'r we often see. The loathsomespider and the bee;...
The Bee Saved from theSpider.
... IV. CREATION. Hymn 92 The bee saved from thespider. John Newton 8,6,8,6. The bee
saved from thespider. The subtlespider often weaves. His unsuspected snares,...
Strong Faith in a Faithful God
... not be true. It states that aspider spun its web over the door of that
part of the cave where David was concealed. The legend is...
Bible Study.
... "Well, I will be like a locust; my King is away," I thought. The next
comparison was aspider. I didn't like this at all, but he...
When one at the Back of the North Wind Wanted to Know How Things...
... She jumped from his shoulder, but when Diamond looked for her upon the ground, he
could see nothing but a littlespider with long legs that made its way over...
Watch-Night Service
... The Vulgate translation has: "Our years pass away like those of aspider." It implies
that our life is as frail as the thread of aspider's web....
A visit from vigilantius
... He had barely time to hide himself in a cave on the mountain-side, and aspider
instantly spun its web over the entrance. The pursuers...
Antipathies
... We cannot help it. You cannot expect us to like people who do not suit us:
any more than you can expect us to like a beetle or aspider....
Two Kinds of Hope
... THE BOOK OF JOB TWO KINDS OF HOPE. 'Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose
trust shall be aspider's web.'"Job 8:14. 'And hope...
Gregory Further Shows that the Only-Begotten Being Begotten not...
... and Son; for He is incorruptible." Of such a kind as this, perhaps, is that of which
the prophet says, touching the ungodly, "They weave aspider's web [310...
Thesaurus
Spider (3 Occurrences)... Easton's Bible Dictionary The trust of the hypocrite is compared to the
spider's web or house (Job 8:14). It is said of the wicked
...Spider's (3 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version ConcordanceSpider's (3 Occurrences). Job 8:14 Whose confidence
shall break apart, Whose trust is aspider's web. (WEB...
Web (5 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) A whole piece of linen cloth as woven. 4. (n.) The texture of very fine
thread spun by aspider for catching insects at its prey; a cobweb....
Tale (7 Occurrences)
... thought." The LXX. and Vulgate render it "spider;" the Authorized Version
and Revised Version, "as a tale" that is told. In Job...
Egg (3 Occurrences)
... The reference in Isaiah 59:5 is to the egg of a serpent, and is figurative of the
schemes of evil men: "They hatch adders' eggs, and weave thespider's web: he...
Spin (4 Occurrences)
... from threads produced by the extrusion of a viscid, transparent liquid, which hardens
on coming into contact with the air; -- said of thespider, the silkworm...
Breaks (35 Occurrences)
... My skin closes up, and breaks out afresh. (WEB RSV). Job 8:14 Whose confidence
shall break apart, Whose trust is aspider's web. (See RSV)....
Lizard (3 Occurrences)
... In Proverbs 30:28, we find (9) semamith, the King James Version "spider," the Revised
Version (British and American) "lizard." Since (1), (3), (4), (5), (6...
Poison (17 Occurrences)
... Besides, there are scorpions, centipedes and the largespider, which are as much
dreaded by the fellahin as are the serpents, not to speak of the minor but...
Thread (32 Occurrences)
... end without hope. (BBE). Job 8:14 Whose support is cut off, and whose hope
is no stronger than aspider's thread. (BBE). Job 27:18...
Resources
What is the Spider-Man fallacy? | GotQuestions.orgIs it wrong to kill spiders or step on bugs? | GotQuestions.orgWas Goliath one of the Nephilim? | GotQuestions.orgSpider: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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