Dogs in the Bible - Messengers of God

Dogs are messengers of God. There are 40 references in The Bible or citations in Scripture to dogs. God's word is not accidental or happenstance. The writers God chose to communicate His message were inspired divinely to write what they wrote, as they wrote it. It is no accident there are 40 references in The Bible to dogs.

Dogs are messengers of God in that "dog" specifically and purposefully was selected through divine inspiration to communicate the full measure of God through the context of the 40 Scriptural references or citations in The Bible. Whether Hebrew (kelev), Greek (kuōn), or Aramaic (kalbā), whether literal, metaphorical, or allegorical in syntax, in the context of communicating God's word, dogs are messengers of God. From Biblegateway, below are the 40 citations of dogs in The Bible.

For the verse in textual context and the whole chapter of the respective book of The Bible, go to Biblegateway, enter "dog" in Keyword Search, and follow the links to the specific verse, the verse in textual context, and the verse in terms of the whole, respective book of The Bible.

1. Exodus 11:7
But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.' Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

2. Exodus 22:31
"You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.

3. Judges 7:5
So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink."

4. 1 Samuel 17:43
He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

5. 1 Samuel 24:14
"Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea?

6. 2 Samuel 3:8
Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said and he answered, "Am I a dog's head-on Judah's side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven't handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman!

7. 2 Samuel 9:8
Mephibosheth bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"

8. 2 Samuel 16:9
Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head."

9. 1 Kings 14:11
Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country. The LORD has spoken!'

10. 1 Kings 16:4
Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country."

11. 1 Kings 21:19
Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood-yes, yours!' "

12. 1 Kings 21:23
"And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: 'Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.'

13. 1 Kings 21:24
"Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country."

14. 1 Kings 22:38
They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed), and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the LORD had declared.

15. 2 Kings 8:13
Hazael said, "How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?" "The LORD has shown me that you will become king of Aram," answered Elisha.

16. 2 Kings 9:10
As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.' " Then he opened the door and ran.

17. 2 Kings 9:36
They went back and told Jehu, who said, "This is the word of the LORD that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh.

18. Job 18:11
Terrors startle him on every side and dog his every step.

19. Job 30:1
"But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.

20. Psalm 22:16
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.

21. Psalm 22:20
Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.

22. Psalm 59:6
They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.

23. Psalm 59:14
They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.

24. Psalm 68:23
that you may plunge your feet in the blood of your foes, while the tongues of your dogs have their share."

25. Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

26. Proverbs 26:17
Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

27. Ecclesiastes 9:4
Anyone who is among the living has hope -even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

28. Isaiah 56:10
Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.

29. Isaiah 56:11
They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain.

30. Isaiah 66:3
But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man, and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig's blood, and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations;

31. Jeremiah 15:3
"I will send four kinds of destroyers against them," declares the LORD, "the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.

32. Matthew 7:6
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

33. Matthew 15:26
He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

34. Matthew 15:27
"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

35. Mark 7:27
"First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

36. Mark 7:28
"Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

37. Luke 16:21
and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

38. Philippians 3:2
Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.

39. 2 Peter 2:22
Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

40. Revelation 22:15
Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Etymologically differentiated from the wolf (there are five references to "wolf" in The Bible), the domesticated dog is a messenger of God.