GENERAL PREFACE
(To Sacred Earth Ministries Monograph Series)
The gospel of Sacred Earth Ministry was given to the author of this Monograph series sometime in 1993. It started one morning with a “new” meaning of God’s command to Moses in Ex. 3:5; “… take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” It was during a “routine”, up to that fateful morning “Quiet Time.” It happened as I read the day’s portion of the “Read-the-Bible-Through-During-the -Year” programme.
Later that year, I attended a Conference at Manchester, United Kingdom, on sustainable development. One project in particular caught my attention. It was a project presented by a group of Seattle (Oregun, U. S. A.) environmentalists on the sanctity of nature, or something close to that. Although I tried all possible means to link up with that group, I did not succeed. Nevertheless, the principle of the Seattle project was immediately linked up, I believe by the Holy Spirit, with the words of Gen. 3:5, and the Sacred Earth Ministry Project was born.
However, the real meaning and the components of the project evolved over some time and are still evolving, sometimes slowly, sometimes in leaps and bounds. Soon, I started to see the subject matter of my profession of Geography in general and specialization of physical geography in particular in a new light. Similarly, my understanding and practice of the Christian religion started to change as I started to view my speeches, lectures, writings, etc., both past and current, in the high of a holy God whose abode, the earth, and peoples are holy and sacred to Him.
Consequently, and ultimately, the Sacred Earth Ministry Project took on a form comprising talks, lectures, workshops and publications, particularly in religious media, among others. The publications are hereby being presented as Monographs.
Adetoye Faniran
Oct. 2001
PREFACE
The stand taken in this text rests on a number of very important Christian principles and beliefs, within which it can be justifiably judged. Among these are the following.
First, there is a God who has over time revealed and continues to reveal Himself to humankind, especially in the Holy Bible. Secondly, this God who exists as three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is the sole author of the Holy Bible, through which He spoke and continues to speak to humankind, particularly those who care to listen to and hear His voice. This is in accordance with the testimonies of both Apostles Paul (2 Tim. 3:16) and Peter (2 Pet. 1:21). Thirdly, the Holy Bible is written in a coded language, which can only be decoded by the Author Himself, through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit. A reader can therefore get from it, i.e. the Holy Bible, as much as the Holy Spirit enables him or her to do. In other words, the closer a person is to this God, or rather the greater the measure of favour bestowed on a person is, to this God, the more the likelihood of knowing the mind of the author of, and consequently the message contained in the Holy Bible.
Fourthly, although humankind is created in God’s image, his likeness (Gen. 1:26), the entire creation is owned and highly valued by God (Ps. 24:1). Every component of creation has a divinely established purpose, which is the Will of God for it to fulfil. This includes the living and the non-living, the animals and the inanimate. God loves His entire creation and intends to preserve it. It is as Boice (1981), put it, “… the purpose of God (in creation) will therefore unfold fully only when God’s purposes with nature (creation minus humankind) are also included in the picture (p. 159).
A careful prayerful and spirit-led reading of the Bible confirms all the above points, particularly the last one, which, unfortunately, has suffered neglect for a long time. Although theology textbooks (cf. Boice, 1981) include material on nature (pp. 159-166), few of them have gone deep enough to contribute to a more careful understanding of the ways nature occurs in the Bible to make God’s message therein much clearer.
The point is that the Bible does not make the type of distinction between human and non-human components of creation that we normally indulge in. Rather, God is present in both. The astrologers at the time of Jesus’ birth “saw” Him in the star and followed that star to the manger where He laid (Matt. 2:1-12) Jesus Christ is the rock, which gave water to the Israelites in the desert. The Holy Spirit’s fire, etc. In short, in addition to their common meanings, and, indeed, more than them, nature in the Bible carries lots and lots of valuable divine message, which add to faith and spiritual development.
The author acknowledges the contributions of various Bible authorities that were liberal with their library materials. Rev. Dr. Abegunde of the Bible Society of Nigeria was particularly helpful with his initial encouragement. Venerable (Professor) M. A. A. Osunade, a renowned environmentalist, formerly of Obafemi Awolowo University and currently Provost of St. James’ Cathedral, Oke – Bola, Ibadan apart from writing the Foreword to the book, also, read the entire text and offered valuable suggestions for improvement. Rev. (Professor) J. A. Ilori of the Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomosho also read the manuscript and offered useful editorial suggestions. Both these men of God have enriched the book with their invaluable knowledge of the Bible. I must also thank Bukola Ayanniyi, who worked on the manuscript, to get it to a state worthy of publication. She showed all the signs of a Christian that she is – patience, long - suffering perseverance, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, in addition to technical know-how.
However, the mistakes, inadequacies, including “fallacies”, contained in the text are the author’s who is very much aware of his limitations of the not being an academic theologian, or a clergy, but only a “bloody lay person.”
To God be the Glory and to Him this book is dedicated.
Adetoye Faniran
October 2001.
PREFACE
(To the Revised Edition)
Nature in the Bible, to the glory of God, has been received widely with enthusiasm. In addition, readers have offered suggestions for improvement, many of which have been effected in this edition. Apart from gender issues, which have been resolved in favour of neutrality, more so when efforts are being made to take the book to the international areas, especially in the area of spelling, Bible edition and technical, including grammatical, presentation. The idea is to make for more pleasurable and enjoyable reading.
Adetoye Faniran.
2004
It is very heart-warming reading through this text by my teacher and doctoral supervisor. He has produced several texts in geography but this time a departure to a spiritual text depicting his absolute conviction, and confidence/faith in the one who created him and has endowed him with wisdom. The material is a product of deep reflection of someone who found the Word and ate it. His presentation is unequivocally revelational and this is the strength of the text.
God Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, continues to unfold the mystery of His power in creation to humankind through both scientific and indigenous knowledge system to advance the understanding of the uses of the elements in particular Bible context. What we have in this volume amounts to an exegesis of nature in the Holy Scriptures emphasizing the interpretation and interrelationships of the various elements all of which are under the dominion of humans. The Bible contains the knowledge of the created elements of Israel in Bible times with particular reference to the light they throw on our understanding of what the Bible is saying generally as well as in specific cases.
This text “Nature in the Bible” gives a critical but spiritual analysis of the created elements. The Bible language employs virtually all created elements of the universe to teach some eternal truths. The uses of the elements in the scriptures are symbolic and this requires correct interpretation of their significance to derive optimum spiritual nourishment from the various Bible texts.
Since the Bible land is Israel, there are some elements mentioned in the Bible, which are not found commonly everywhere. But the message is universal, it is for all humankind. Thus, the interpretation of the elements will require the knowledge of the culture and practices of the people of Israel to aid the understanding of some Biblical passages. This means that to obtain the full knowledge/understanding of these events, a good understanding of the environment is essential. In fact, as stated by Nogah Haveureni (1989) “without an intimate familiarity with the nature of the land of Israel, students of the Bible face insurmountable obstacles in understanding the written word.”
The situation is much worse with foreign students who are not familiar with native Israel and for which local equivalents are not available in the translations. Until either one or both of these are achieved by students of the Bible, many parts will remain poorly understood or even worse still misunderstood. This text “Nature in the Bible” provides a comprehensive interpretation of these elements to bring out their spiritual implications.
Adam the first and greatest biologist that ever lived is defined in the text as “mankind.” We like him are called upon to pay attention to God’s creation, study it and comprehend all its ramifications to the minutest detail possible, in order to be in position to fulfil humankind’s obligations to the other creatures.
The text will fill the gap in knowledge existing in most theology books, which have accorded low importance to deep interpretation of nature’s elements. This text therefore is fulfilling a major purpose of contributing salient facts for clearer understanding of the Bible. It is truly a commentary and the index as a concordance (not the table of content) to this text will be a major guide to its effective use.
The text “Nature in the Bible” is placing both the culture and environment of Israel within your reach. I trust the Lord that the text will surely meet the needs of both Christians and Bible scholars for better understanding and presentation of the Word.
Adewole Osunade (Venerable, Professor)
Provost, Cathedral Church of St. James
Oke-Bola, Ibadan.
14 September, 2001.
GENERAL PREFACE
(To Sacred Earth Ministries Monograph Series)
The gospel of Sacred Earth Ministry was given to the author of this Monograph series sometime in 1993. It started one morning with a “new” meaning of God’s command to Moses in Ex. 3:5; “… take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” It was during a “routine”, up to that fateful morning “Quiet Time.” It happened as I read the day’s portion of the “Read-the-Bible-Through-During-the -Year” programme.
Later that year, I attended a Conference at Manchester, United Kingdom, on sustainable development. One project in particular caught my attention. It was a project presented by a group of Seattle (Oregun, U. S. A.) environmentalists on the sanctity of nature, or something close to that. Although I tried all possible means to link up with that group, I did not succeed. Nevertheless, the principle of the Seattle project was immediately linked up, I believe by the Holy Spirit, with the words of Gen. 3:5, and the Sacred Earth Ministry Project was born.
However, the real meaning and the components of the project evolved over some time and are still evolving, sometimes slowly, sometimes in leaps and bounds. Soon, I started to see the subject matter of my profession of Geography in general and specialization of physical geography in particular in a new light. Similarly, my understanding and practice of the Christian religion started to change as I started to view my speeches, lectures, writings, etc., both past and current, in the high of a holy God whose abode, the earth, and peoples are holy and sacred to Him.
Consequently, and ultimately, the Sacred Earth Ministry Project took on a form comprising talks, lectures, workshops and publications, particularly in religious media, among others. The publications are hereby being presented as Monographs.
Adetoye Faniran
Oct. 2001
PREFACE
The stand taken in this text rests on a number of very important Christian principles and beliefs, within which it can be justifiably judged. Among these are the following.
First, there is a God who has over time revealed and continues to reveal Himself to humankind, especially in the Holy Bible. Secondly, this God who exists as three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is the sole author of the Holy Bible, through which He spoke and continues to speak to humankind, particularly those who care to listen to and hear His voice. This is in accordance with the testimonies of both Apostles Paul (2 Tim. 3:16) and Peter (2 Pet. 1:21). Thirdly, the Holy Bible is written in a coded language, which can only be decoded by the Author Himself, through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit. A reader can therefore get from it, i.e. the Holy Bible, as much as the Holy Spirit enables him or her to do. In other words, the closer a person is to this God, or rather the greater the measure of favour bestowed on a person is, to this God, the more the likelihood of knowing the mind of the author of, and consequently the message contained in the Holy Bible.
Fourthly, although humankind is created in God’s image, his likeness (Gen. 1:26), the entire creation is owned and highly valued by God (Ps. 24:1). Every component of creation has a divinely established purpose, which is the Will of God for it to fulfil. This includes the living and the non-living, the animals and the inanimate. God loves His entire creation and intends to preserve it. It is as Boice (1981), put it, “… the purpose of God (in creation) will therefore unfold fully only when God’s purposes with nature (creation minus humankind) are also included in the picture (p. 159).
A careful prayerful and spirit-led reading of the Bible confirms all the above points, particularly the last one, which, unfortunately, has suffered neglect for a long time. Although theology textbooks (cf. Boice, 1981) include material on nature (pp. 159-166), few of them have gone deep enough to contribute to a more careful understanding of the ways nature occurs in the Bible to make God’s message therein much clearer.
The point is that the Bible does not make the type of distinction between human and non-human components of creation that we normally indulge in. Rather, God is present in both. The astrologers at the time of Jesus’ birth “saw” Him in the star and followed that star to the manger where He laid (Matt. 2:1-12) Jesus Christ is the rock, which gave water to the Israelites in the desert. The Holy Spirit’s fire, etc. In short, in addition to their common meanings, and, indeed, more than them, nature in the Bible carries lots and lots of valuable divine message, which add to faith and spiritual development.
The author acknowledges the contributions of various Bible authorities that were liberal with their library materials. Rev. Dr. Abegunde of the Bible Society of Nigeria was particularly helpful with his initial encouragement. Venerable (Professor) M. A. A. Osunade, a renowned environmentalist, formerly of Obafemi Awolowo University and currently Provost of St. James’ Cathedral, Oke – Bola, Ibadan apart from writing the Foreword to the book, also read the entire text and offered valuable suggestions for improvement. Rev. (Professor) J. A. Ilori of the Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomosho also read the manuscript and offered useful editorial suggestions. Both these men of God have enriched the book with their invaluable knowledge of the Bible. I must also thank Bukola Ayanniyi, who worked on the manuscript, to get it to a state worthy of publication. She showed all the signs of a Christian that she is – patience, long - suffering perseverance, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, in addition to technical know-how.
However, the mistakes, inadequacies, including “fallacies”, contained in the text are the author’s who is very much aware of his limitations of the not being an academic theologian, or a clergy, but only a “bloody lay person.”
To God be the Glory and to Him this book is dedicated.
Adetoye Faniran
October 2001.
PREFACE
(To the Revised Edition)
Nature in the Bible, to the glory of God, has been received widely with enthusiasm. In addition, readers have offered suggestions for improvement, many of which have been effected in this edition. Apart from gender issues, which have been resolved in favour of neutrality, more so when efforts are being made to take the book to the international areas, especially in the area of spelling, Bible edition and technical, including grammatical, presentation. The idea is to make for more pleasurable and enjoyable reading.
Adetoye Faniran.
2004
Foreword
General Preface
Preface
General Introduction ……………………...… 1
The Land of Israel ……………………...………………………………...…………...……...……...…….....12
Hills and Mountains of Israel ……………………...………………………………...…………...……...…….20
Rivers and River Valleys of Israel/ Bible Land ……………………...………………………………....…….....34
Water and Water Bodies ……..………..………………………...………………………………...……….....43
Earth Materials …………….…………..………………………...………………………………...……...…..55
Trees and Shrubs ………………..………..……………………...………………………………...……...…..92
Animals of the Land and Seas of Israel/ Bible Land ……………………...………………………………...…...131
Birds of the Air ……………………… ….. ……………………...………………………………...…………158
Elements and Bodies of the Heavens or the Extra-Terrestrial ……………………………………...… 163
Conclusion………………………………… ……………………...………………………………...……….192
References ………………………………. ……………………...………………………………...………...193
Appendix 1: Textual Inventory …………. ……………………...………………………………...………….194
Appendix 2: Textual Abbreviations ……... ……………………...………………………………...…………203
Index……………...………………….…… ……………………...………………………………...……… 204
SEM CONSTITUTION & BYE – LAWS: NOMINATION FOR TRUSTEES AND ADVISORS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Rt. Reverend Professor Mathew Adewole Osunade Bishop of Ogbomosho, Bishop Court, Ilorin Road, Ogbomosho… Member (Tel No. 08055936164, Email: maaosunade@yahoo.com)
Reverend Professor Joseph Abiodun. Ilori, c/ International Council for Higher Education (West Africa), Nigeria Baptist Theological Seminary, PMB 4008, Ogbomosho……..Chairman (Tel No. 08033572353, Email: prof.ilori@gmail.com)
Reverend Dr. Ezekiel Adejuwon, Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, PMB 4008, Ogbomosho. …..Member (Tel No. 08064679825, Email: ezekjuwon@yahoo.com)
Reverend Dr. Mrs Rachel Lateju, Women Missionary Union Hdqts. Queen Elizabeth II Rd., Ibadan…..Member (Tel No. 08034755698, Email: info@wmunigeria.org)
Reverend Dr. Emiola Nihinlola, c/ International Council for Higher Education (West Africa), Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, PMB 4008, Ogbomosho…Member (Tel No. 08033834226, Email: thegreatcompany2@yahoo.com)
Professor George Adediran, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo……..Member (Tel No. 08035025847, Email: adedirango@yahoo.com)
Dr. Mathias Olusola Ogundeji, Primary Health Care & Health Management Agency (PriHemac), N4/636a, Yemetu, P.O.Box 36134, Agodi, Ibadan…..Member (Tel No. 08033256644, Email: prihemac@yahoo.com)
Mrs Adetola Oladeji……………………………………Member (Email: adetolaoladeji@yahoo.com)
Emeritus Professor Adetoye Faniran, Plot 25 No19, Ilaro Street, Old Bodija, Ibadan….Executive Secretary (Tel No. 08069015566, Email: toyefaniran@yahoo.com)
COURT OF ADVISORS/PATRONS
Dr. Ken Gnanakan, President’s Office, International Council for Higher Education, P.O. Box 9522, Bangalore, India………….Chairman
Reverend Professor Isaac Deji Ayegboyin, c/o Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, PMB 4008, Ogbomosho…Member
Reverend Dr. Simon Kolawole…………..Member
Alase Dr. Jacob Olufemi Fasanya…….Secretary
Representatives of Heads of Theological Institutions
Representatives of Denominational Heads
Other Prominent Christian Leaders, including Christian Traditional Rulers
Prominent Christian Environmentalists
(To Sacred Earth Ministries Monograph Series)
The gospel of Sacred Earth Ministry was given to the author of this Monograph series sometime in 1993. It started one morning with a “new” meaning of God’s command to Moses in Ex. 3:5; “… take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” It was during a “routine”, up to that fateful morning “Quiet Time.” It happened as I read the day’s portion of the “Read-the-Bible-Through-During-the -Year” programme.
Later that year, I attended a Conference at Manchester, United Kingdom, on sustainable development. One project in particular caught my attention. It was a project presented by a group of Seattle (Oregun, U. S. A.) environmentalists on the sanctity of nature, or something close to that. Although I tried all possible means to link up with that group, I did not succeed. Nevertheless, the principle of the Seattle project was immediately linked up, I believe by the Holy Spirit, with the words of Gen. 3:5, and the Sacred Earth Ministry Project was born.
However, the real meaning and the components of the project evolved over some time and are still evolving, sometimes slowly, sometimes in leaps and bounds. Soon, I started to see the subject matter of my profession of Geography in general and specialization of physical geography in particular in a new light. Similarly, my understanding and practice of the Christian religion started to change as I started to view my speeches, lectures, writings, etc., both past and current, in the high of a holy God whose abode, the earth, and peoples are holy and sacred to Him.
Consequently, and ultimately, the Sacred Earth Ministry Project took on a form comprising talks, lectures, workshops and publications, particularly in religious media, among others. The publications are hereby being presented as Monographs.
Adetoye Faniran
Oct. 2001
PREFACE
The stand taken in this text rests on a number of very important Christian principles and beliefs, within which it can be justifiably judged. Among these are the following.
First, there is a God who has over time revealed and continues to reveal Himself to humankind, especially in the Holy Bible. Secondly, this God who exists as three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is the sole author of the Holy Bible, through which He spoke and continues to speak to humankind, particularly those who care to listen to and hear His voice. This is in accordance with the testimonies of both Apostles Paul (2 Tim. 3:16) and Peter (2 Pet. 1:21). Thirdly, the Holy Bible is written in a coded language, which can only be decoded by the Author Himself, through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit. A reader can therefore get from it, i.e. the Holy Bible, as much as the Holy Spirit enables him or her to do. In other words, the closer a person is to this God, or rather the greater the measure of favour bestowed on a person is, to this God, the more the likelihood of knowing the mind of the author of, and consequently the message contained in the Holy Bible.
Fourthly, although humankind is created in God’s image, his likeness (Gen. 1:26), the entire creation is owned and highly valued by God (Ps. 24:1). Every component of creation has a divinely established purpose, which is the Will of God for it to fulfil. This includes the living and the non-living, the animals and the inanimate. God loves His entire creation and intends to preserve it. It is as Boice (1981), put it, “… the purpose of God (in creation) will therefore unfold fully only when God’s purposes with nature (creation minus humankind) are also included in the picture (p. 159).
A careful prayerful and spirit-led reading of the Bible confirms all the above points, particularly the last one, which, unfortunately, has suffered neglect for a long time. Although theology textbooks (cf. Boice, 1981) include material on nature (pp. 159-166), few of them have gone deep enough to contribute to a more careful understanding of the ways nature occurs in the Bible to make God’s message therein much clearer.
The point is that the Bible does not make the type of distinction between human and non-human components of creation that we normally indulge in. Rather, God is present in both. The astrologers at the time of Jesus’ birth “saw” Him in the star and followed that star to the manger where He laid (Matt. 2:1-12) Jesus Christ is the rock, which gave water to the Israelites in the desert. The Holy Spirit’s fire, etc. In short, in addition to their common meanings, and, indeed, more than them, nature in the Bible carries lots and lots of valuable divine message, which add to faith and spiritual development.
The author acknowledges the contributions of various Bible authorities that were liberal with their library materials. Rev. Dr. Abegunde of the Bible Society of Nigeria was particularly helpful with his initial encouragement. Venerable (Professor) M. A. A. Osunade, a renowned environmentalist, formerly of Obafemi Awolowo University and currently Provost of St. James’ Cathedral, Oke – Bola, Ibadan apart from writing the Foreword to the book, also, read the entire text and offered valuable suggestions for improvement. Rev. (Professor) J. A. Ilori of the Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomosho also read the manuscript and offered useful editorial suggestions. Both these men of God have enriched the book with their invaluable knowledge of the Bible. I must also thank Bukola Ayanniyi, who worked on the manuscript, to get it to a state worthy of publication. She showed all the signs of a Christian that she is – patience, long - suffering perseverance, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, in addition to technical know-how.
However, the mistakes, inadequacies, including “fallacies”, contained in the text are the author’s who is very much aware of his limitations of the not being an academic theologian, or a clergy, but only a “bloody lay person.”
To God be the Glory and to Him this book is dedicated.
Adetoye Faniran
October 2001.
PREFACE
(To the Revised Edition)
Nature in the Bible, to the glory of God, has been received widely with enthusiasm. In addition, readers have offered suggestions for improvement, many of which have been effected in this edition. Apart from gender issues, which have been resolved in favour of neutrality, more so when efforts are being made to take the book to the international areas, especially in the area of spelling, Bible edition and technical, including grammatical, presentation. The idea is to make for more pleasurable and enjoyable reading.
Adetoye Faniran.
2004
It is very heart-warming reading through this text by my teacher and doctoral supervisor. He has produced several texts in geography but this time a departure to a spiritual text depicting his absolute conviction, and confidence/faith in the one who created him and has endowed him with wisdom. The material is a product of deep reflection of someone who found the Word and ate it. His presentation is unequivocally revelational and this is the strength of the text.
God Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, continues to unfold the mystery of His power in creation to humankind through both scientific and indigenous knowledge system to advance the understanding of the uses of the elements in particular Bible context. What we have in this volume amounts to an exegesis of nature in the Holy Scriptures emphasizing the interpretation and interrelationships of the various elements all of which are under the dominion of humans. The Bible contains the knowledge of the created elements of Israel in Bible times with particular reference to the light they throw on our understanding of what the Bible is saying generally as well as in specific cases.
This text “Nature in the Bible” gives a critical but spiritual analysis of the created elements. The Bible language employs virtually all created elements of the universe to teach some eternal truths. The uses of the elements in the scriptures are symbolic and this requires correct interpretation of their significance to derive optimum spiritual nourishment from the various Bible texts.
Since the Bible land is Israel, there are some elements mentioned in the Bible, which are not found commonly everywhere. But the message is universal, it is for all humankind. Thus, the interpretation of the elements will require the knowledge of the culture and practices of the people of Israel to aid the understanding of some Biblical passages. This means that to obtain the full knowledge/understanding of these events, a good understanding of the environment is essential. In fact, as stated by Nogah Haveureni (1989) “without an intimate familiarity with the nature of the land of Israel, students of the Bible face insurmountable obstacles in understanding the written word.”
The situation is much worse with foreign students who are not familiar with native Israel and for which local equivalents are not available in the translations. Until either one or both of these are achieved by students of the Bible, many parts will remain poorly understood or even worse still misunderstood. This text “Nature in the Bible” provides a comprehensive interpretation of these elements to bring out their spiritual implications.
Adam the first and greatest biologist that ever lived is defined in the text as “mankind.” We like him are called upon to pay attention to God’s creation, study it and comprehend all its ramifications to the minutest detail possible, in order to be in position to fulfil humankind’s obligations to the other creatures.
The text will fill the gap in knowledge existing in most theology books, which have accorded low importance to deep interpretation of nature’s elements. This text therefore is fulfilling a major purpose of contributing salient facts for clearer understanding of the Bible. It is truly a commentary and the index as a concordance (not the table of content) to this text will be a major guide to its effective use.
The text “Nature in the Bible” is placing both the culture and environment of Israel within your reach. I trust the Lord that the text will surely meet the needs of both Christians and Bible scholars for better understanding and presentation of the Word.
Adewole Osunade (Venerable, Professor)
Provost, Cathedral Church of St. James
Oke-Bola, Ibadan.
14 September, 2001.
GENERAL PREFACE
(To Sacred Earth Ministries Monograph Series)
The gospel of Sacred Earth Ministry was given to the author of this Monograph series sometime in 1993. It started one morning with a “new” meaning of God’s command to Moses in Ex. 3:5; “… take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” It was during a “routine”, up to that fateful morning “Quiet Time.” It happened as I read the day’s portion of the “Read-the-Bible-Through-During-the -Year” programme.
Later that year, I attended a Conference at Manchester, United Kingdom, on sustainable development. One project in particular caught my attention. It was a project presented by a group of Seattle (Oregun, U. S. A.) environmentalists on the sanctity of nature, or something close to that. Although I tried all possible means to link up with that group, I did not succeed. Nevertheless, the principle of the Seattle project was immediately linked up, I believe by the Holy Spirit, with the words of Gen. 3:5, and the Sacred Earth Ministry Project was born.
However, the real meaning and the components of the project evolved over some time and are still evolving, sometimes slowly, sometimes in leaps and bounds. Soon, I started to see the subject matter of my profession of Geography in general and specialization of physical geography in particular in a new light. Similarly, my understanding and practice of the Christian religion started to change as I started to view my speeches, lectures, writings, etc., both past and current, in the high of a holy God whose abode, the earth, and peoples are holy and sacred to Him.
Consequently, and ultimately, the Sacred Earth Ministry Project took on a form comprising talks, lectures, workshops and publications, particularly in religious media, among others. The publications are hereby being presented as Monographs.
Adetoye Faniran
Oct. 2001
PREFACE
The stand taken in this text rests on a number of very important Christian principles and beliefs, within which it can be justifiably judged. Among these are the following.
First, there is a God who has over time revealed and continues to reveal Himself to humankind, especially in the Holy Bible. Secondly, this God who exists as three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is the sole author of the Holy Bible, through which He spoke and continues to speak to humankind, particularly those who care to listen to and hear His voice. This is in accordance with the testimonies of both Apostles Paul (2 Tim. 3:16) and Peter (2 Pet. 1:21). Thirdly, the Holy Bible is written in a coded language, which can only be decoded by the Author Himself, through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit. A reader can therefore get from it, i.e. the Holy Bible, as much as the Holy Spirit enables him or her to do. In other words, the closer a person is to this God, or rather the greater the measure of favour bestowed on a person is, to this God, the more the likelihood of knowing the mind of the author of, and consequently the message contained in the Holy Bible.
Fourthly, although humankind is created in God’s image, his likeness (Gen. 1:26), the entire creation is owned and highly valued by God (Ps. 24:1). Every component of creation has a divinely established purpose, which is the Will of God for it to fulfil. This includes the living and the non-living, the animals and the inanimate. God loves His entire creation and intends to preserve it. It is as Boice (1981), put it, “… the purpose of God (in creation) will therefore unfold fully only when God’s purposes with nature (creation minus humankind) are also included in the picture (p. 159).
A careful prayerful and spirit-led reading of the Bible confirms all the above points, particularly the last one, which, unfortunately, has suffered neglect for a long time. Although theology textbooks (cf. Boice, 1981) include material on nature (pp. 159-166), few of them have gone deep enough to contribute to a more careful understanding of the ways nature occurs in the Bible to make God’s message therein much clearer.
The point is that the Bible does not make the type of distinction between human and non-human components of creation that we normally indulge in. Rather, God is present in both. The astrologers at the time of Jesus’ birth “saw” Him in the star and followed that star to the manger where He laid (Matt. 2:1-12) Jesus Christ is the rock, which gave water to the Israelites in the desert. The Holy Spirit’s fire, etc. In short, in addition to their common meanings, and, indeed, more than them, nature in the Bible carries lots and lots of valuable divine message, which add to faith and spiritual development.
The author acknowledges the contributions of various Bible authorities that were liberal with their library materials. Rev. Dr. Abegunde of the Bible Society of Nigeria was particularly helpful with his initial encouragement. Venerable (Professor) M. A. A. Osunade, a renowned environmentalist, formerly of Obafemi Awolowo University and currently Provost of St. James’ Cathedral, Oke – Bola, Ibadan apart from writing the Foreword to the book, also read the entire text and offered valuable suggestions for improvement. Rev. (Professor) J. A. Ilori of the Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomosho also read the manuscript and offered useful editorial suggestions. Both these men of God have enriched the book with their invaluable knowledge of the Bible. I must also thank Bukola Ayanniyi, who worked on the manuscript, to get it to a state worthy of publication. She showed all the signs of a Christian that she is – patience, long - suffering perseverance, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, in addition to technical know-how.
However, the mistakes, inadequacies, including “fallacies”, contained in the text are the author’s who is very much aware of his limitations of the not being an academic theologian, or a clergy, but only a “bloody lay person.”
To God be the Glory and to Him this book is dedicated.
Adetoye Faniran
October 2001.
PREFACE
(To the Revised Edition)
Nature in the Bible, to the glory of God, has been received widely with enthusiasm. In addition, readers have offered suggestions for improvement, many of which have been effected in this edition. Apart from gender issues, which have been resolved in favour of neutrality, more so when efforts are being made to take the book to the international areas, especially in the area of spelling, Bible edition and technical, including grammatical, presentation. The idea is to make for more pleasurable and enjoyable reading.
Adetoye Faniran.
2004
Foreword
General Preface
Preface
General Introduction ……………………...… 1
The Land of Israel ……………………...………………………………...…………...……...……...…….....12
Hills and Mountains of Israel ……………………...………………………………...…………...……...…….20
Rivers and River Valleys of Israel/ Bible Land ……………………...………………………………....…….....34
Water and Water Bodies ……..………..………………………...………………………………...……….....43
Earth Materials …………….…………..………………………...………………………………...……...…..55
Trees and Shrubs ………………..………..……………………...………………………………...……...…..92
Animals of the Land and Seas of Israel/ Bible Land ……………………...………………………………...…...131
Birds of the Air ……………………… ….. ……………………...………………………………...…………158
Elements and Bodies of the Heavens or the Extra-Terrestrial ……………………………………...… 163
Conclusion………………………………… ……………………...………………………………...……….192
References ………………………………. ……………………...………………………………...………...193
Appendix 1: Textual Inventory …………. ……………………...………………………………...………….194
Appendix 2: Textual Abbreviations ……... ……………………...………………………………...…………203
Index……………...………………….…… ……………………...………………………………...……… 204
SEM CONSTITUTION & BYE – LAWS: NOMINATION FOR TRUSTEES AND ADVISORS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Rt. Reverend Professor Mathew Adewole Osunade Bishop of Ogbomosho, Bishop Court, Ilorin Road, Ogbomosho… Member (Tel No. 08055936164, Email: maaosunade@yahoo.com)
Reverend Professor Joseph Abiodun. Ilori, c/ International Council for Higher Education (West Africa), Nigeria Baptist Theological Seminary, PMB 4008, Ogbomosho……..Chairman (Tel No. 08033572353, Email: prof.ilori@gmail.com)
Reverend Dr. Ezekiel Adejuwon, Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, PMB 4008, Ogbomosho. …..Member (Tel No. 08064679825, Email: ezekjuwon@yahoo.com)
Reverend Dr. Mrs Rachel Lateju, Women Missionary Union Hdqts. Queen Elizabeth II Rd., Ibadan…..Member (Tel No. 08034755698, Email: info@wmunigeria.org)
Reverend Dr. Emiola Nihinlola, c/ International Council for Higher Education (West Africa), Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, PMB 4008, Ogbomosho…Member (Tel No. 08033834226, Email: thegreatcompany2@yahoo.com)
Professor George Adediran, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo……..Member (Tel No. 08035025847, Email: adedirango@yahoo.com)
Dr. Mathias Olusola Ogundeji, Primary Health Care & Health Management Agency (PriHemac), N4/636a, Yemetu, P.O.Box 36134, Agodi, Ibadan…..Member (Tel No. 08033256644, Email: prihemac@yahoo.com)
Mrs Adetola Oladeji……………………………………Member (Email: adetolaoladeji@yahoo.com)
Emeritus Professor Adetoye Faniran, Plot 25 No19, Ilaro Street, Old Bodija, Ibadan….Executive Secretary (Tel No. 08069015566, Email: toyefaniran@yahoo.com)
COURT OF ADVISORS/PATRONS
Dr. Ken Gnanakan, President’s Office, International Council for Higher Education, P.O. Box 9522, Bangalore, India………….Chairman
Reverend Professor Isaac Deji Ayegboyin, c/o Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, PMB 4008, Ogbomosho…Member
Reverend Dr. Simon Kolawole…………..Member
Alase Dr. Jacob Olufemi Fasanya…….Secretary
Representatives of Heads of Theological Institutions
Representatives of Denominational Heads
Other Prominent Christian Leaders, including Christian Traditional Rulers
Prominent Christian Environmentalists