Creation Myth
Day Six
Topics covered in this document:
Introduction
This parchment presents the events of the sixth day of creation.
On this day, God created animals, creeping things, land monsters, and
man. Many of the animals were created to teach humans a lesson or two.
God also made a few mistakes -- like unicorns, plant people, and
werewolves.
Every species of land creature (except the weasel) has a corresponding
species living in the water. However, the reverse is not true ... not every
species of sea creature has a corresponding land creature. In fact, there
are many more species of sea creatures than there are of land
creatures.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after
his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his
kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind,
and cattle after their kind, and every living thing that creepeth upon the
earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his
own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created
he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which
is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the
fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every
beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that
creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green
herb for meat; and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made,
and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the
sixth day.
-Gen. 1:24-31.
Animal Friends
In the beginning all animals were friendly toward each other. But
some of them angered God with their constant whining and so He made
them enemies. Such was the fate of the mouse and the cat ... and of
cats and dogs.
Behemoth -- Monster of the Land
You'll recall from the previous parchment that fish were formed from
water, birds from boggy earth, and mammals from solid earth.
Leviathan rules over the fish, Ziz over the birds, and Behemoth over
the land animals.
Behemoth Impotent
Like Leviathan, God couldn't allow Behemoth to reproduce ... so he
quickly deprived the male of all desire to propagate his kind.
I think God should consider doing likewise to a few of the human
males I know.
Behemoth Giant Hippo
Behemoth, called the "Ox of the Pit," looks like a giant hippo. He
grazes on the Thousand Mountains, eating all the grass every day ...
but, of course, it all grows back overnight.
Every day after feeding, Behemoth drinks all the water flowing out
of Paradise.
The Reem
God created several animals that I suspect you've never heard of.
One such animal is the Reem.
Mating of the Reem
God allows only one Reem couple to exist on earth at any given time.
One of the pair lives in the east and the other lives in the west. They
mate only once every 70 years and, immediately after mating, the female
attacks the male, killing him with a single, fatal bite. She then remains
pregnant for 12 years.
Reem Twins
Near the end of her pregnancy, the female grows so huge that she can
no longer move, other than to roll from side to side. When her labor pains
begin, she lays down ... whereupon her belly bursts and out plop twins ...
a male and a female.
As the mother dies, her twins once again separate to the east and west,
to meet again in another 70 years.
Unicorn
Now I realize that you might never have heard of a Reem before ...
but perhaps you've heard of the Reem by its other name -- the
unicorn.
Arabian Antelope
We now believe that the unicorn is actually one of the large, fleet
antelopes of Northern Arabia, which are now extinct. Perhaps the scarcity
of these antelope is where originated the idea that only one couple exists
at a time.
Unicorn Leather
Leather from its hide makes the finest sandals available ... and
dramatically shows the negative effect of over-hunting any species.
Plant People
One of the most remarkable creatures created on the sixth day was
one called the "plant man," or the "man of the mountain."
Fastened by Umbilical Cord
He looks like a man. but he is permanently fastened to the ground
by his umbilical cord, through which he receives his nourishment --
like a plant does from its roots.
No man or animal dares to come within the radius of his umbilical
cord. Anything that does is immediately eaten.
There is only one way to kill a Plant Man, and that is by using a
dart (spear) to sever his umbilical cord. But you'd better toss the
spear from a distance.
Plant People as Food
There's a story about a traveler who thought he had happened upon
a tribe of cannibals because they talked about a time when they ate
men. Later the traveler learned that the tribe was talking about eating
these plant people, known as the men of the mountain.
Scholars believe this creature represents some form of great ape.
Hmm ... dare I ask if it was sasquatch?
Women Who Grow on Trees
Some sources also talk about a species of women who grow on trees. (I
want to know where I can get one of those trees!)
Dolphins
According to myth, dolphins are half man and half fish. Hebrew
literature tells us they even have sexual intercourse with humans
from time to time.
Trainers at Sea World today will tell you the same thing, if you ask
the right person.
Mammals
At first, you might assume that the ancient Hebrews would say that
dolphins had been created on the fifth day, along with fish. But the
ancients were more intelligent than we give them credit for, it seems.
The Talmud correctly identifies dolphins as mammals, not fish.
Seafaring Sirens
They are the sirens of many seafaring cultures ... hypnotically
calling sailors to join them in the sea.
By the way, we're told that their singing also captivated the angels.
It was the beautiful songs sung by the dolphins that caused the fall of
the angels.
I happen to like dolphins ... and would like to see them more
actively protected in international waters. I'm getting off my
soapbox now.
Animal Oddities
There are a few sixth-day animals that were definitely odd.
Werewolves
During the Middle Ages, the Jews thought the beasts of the field,
mentioned in Job 5:23, were a form of werewolf.
Salamander Blood
It is said that salamanders are created and come to life when myrtle
wood is burned, and which has been kept burning for seven years by
magical means.
Hezekiah Impervious to Fire
Anyone who smears salamander blood on themself becomes invincible ...
and is protected against fire. King Ahaz delivered his son, King Hezekiah,
to the fires of Moloch ... but Hezekiah's mother had previously smeared
his body with salamander blood so that he wasn't consumed in the fire.
Moloch
Moloch, incidently, was a hollow metal idol inside which a fire was
built ... then parents tossed their children into the idol's scalding
arms. For good reason, the Jews considered this practice an
abomination.
The Shamir
The shamir is a worm, about as large as a barley corn, with remarkable
properties. It can cut through even the hardest of diamonds.
But remember, it's an animal, not a stone or metal itself.
Etched Names of Twelve Tribes
The names of the twelve tribes were traced in ink on the breastplate
stones worn by the high priest, then the shamir was used to permanently
etch the names into the stones.
Shaped Temple Stones
The shamir was also used to hew the Temple stones into shape ... since
iron tools could not be used.
When the Temple was destroyed, the shamir disappeared.
Shamir Better Than Aliens
Perhaps if we had one today, we could explain how the ancients so
precisely chisled stones in various archaeological buildings ... like
those at Teotihuacan just north of Mexico City ... without having to
resort to assistance from aliens from another world.
Properties of Animals
All of God's creations, no matter how small or seemingly useless,
have a purpose. Many are useful for their healing properties; some
are used to kill.
Healing Properties
Some of the creatures used by the ancients for their various healing
properties:
- Slime left behind by a snail is useful for treating boils
- Crushed house flies can stop the pain of hornet stings
- Lizards act as an antidote for scorpion stings
- Gnats are useful as a remedy against snake or viper venom
Fatal Properties
Gnats can also kill if they get inside the body.
Reportedly, the death of Titus (the Roman) was caused by a gnat that
crawled up his nose and into his brain.
Moral Quality of Animals
Many animals were given certain moral qualities to teach mankind
lessons in wisdom.
Animal Teachings
Here are a few of the things animals can teach us:
- By covering its excrement, cats teach man decency
- Ants, who never encroach on another's food supply, teach man
respect for the property of others
- The grasshopper teaches devotion to duty
- The stork teaches devotion to family
- The frog, who will offer himself to a predator who is hungry,
teaches us compassion
- The dove teaches us to be monogamous
Vultures and Messiah
Vultures have been assigned a special lesson to teach us, as well
as several minor lessons. For one thing, they teach us to continuously
sing praises to God.
But pay careful attention when the vulture begins to sing his praises
to God from the ground instead of from the air or the trees ... for the
vulture has been appointed to announce the advent of the Messiah.
When he sings his praises while sitting on the ground, it's too late
to repent!
Hmm. I'll probably miss the Big Event then, because there
aren't too many vultures living in the city where I live.
However, I wonder if there is an animal that can predict earthquakes.
I could make a lot of money here in California on that one.
What Next?
Return
Return to a higher level:
Read Next Document in Series
The following documents are in this series:
Have a pleasant day!
|
