The term "snail" appears in the Bible in the context of the natural world and is mentioned specifically in the Old Testament. In the Berean Standard Bible, the reference to a snail is found in Psalm 58:8: "Like a slug that dissolves in its slime, like a woman's miscarried child, may they never see the sun." This verse uses the imagery of a snail to convey a message of transience and futility, drawing on the natural behavior of snails and slugs, which leave a trail of slime as they move.

Biblical Context and Symbolism

In the biblical context, the snail is used metaphorically to illustrate the idea of something that is fleeting and ultimately perishes without achieving its purpose. The imagery of a snail dissolving in its slime serves as a powerful symbol of the wicked and their inevitable downfall. The psalmist's use of this imagery reflects a broader biblical theme where the natural world is employed to communicate spiritual truths and moral lessons.

Cultural and Historical Background

In ancient Israel, snails were part of the everyday natural environment. While not a significant animal in terms of economic or cultural value, their presence was noted and used in literature and teachings. The slow movement and the trail of slime left by snails made them an apt metaphor for sluggishness and decay, concepts that were easily understood by the people of the time.

Theological Implications

The use of the snail in Psalm 58:8 highlights the biblical theme of divine justice. The psalmist calls upon God to bring about the downfall of the wicked, using the snail as a symbol of their ultimate fate. This reflects the belief in a moral order upheld by God, where evil is temporary and will be overcome by righteousness. The imagery serves as a reminder of the transient nature of life and the futility of wickedness in the face of divine judgment.

Related Biblical Themes

The mention of the snail in the Bible can be connected to other themes such as the brevity of life, the certainty of divine justice, and the natural order as a reflection of spiritual truths. Similar imagery is found throughout the Psalms and the wisdom literature, where the natural world is frequently used to illustrate moral and theological points.

Conclusion

While the snail is not a prominent figure in biblical narratives, its symbolic use in Psalm 58:8 provides insight into the biblical worldview, where the natural world is a canvas for illustrating spiritual realities. The snail's imagery serves as a poignant reminder of the transient nature of evil and the ultimate triumph of God's justice.Snail

1. The Hebrew word shablul occurs only in (Psalms 58:8) The rendering of the Authorized Version is probably correct. The term would denote either a limax or a helix , which are particularly noticeable for the slimy track they leave behind them, by which they seem to waste themselves away. To this, or to the fact that many of them are shrivelled up among the rocks in the long heat of the summer, the psalmist refers.
2. The Hebrew word chomet occurs only as the name of some unclean animal in (Leviticus 11:30) Perhaps some kind of lizard may be intended.

Snail

In Le 11:30, is probably a sort of lizard; and in Psalm 58:8, the common slug or snail without a shell, which "melteth" away by depositing its slime wherever it passes.

(1.) Hebrews homit, among the unclean creeping things (Leviticus 11:30). This was probably the sand-lizard, of which there are many species in the wilderness of Judea and the Sinai peninsula.

(2.) Hebrews shablul (Psalm 58:8), the snail or slug proper. Tristram explains the allusions of this passage by a reference to the heat and drought by which the moisture of the snail is evaporated. "We find," he says, "in all parts of the Holy Land myriads of snail-shells in fissures still adhering by the calcareous exudation round their orifice to the surface of the rock, but the animal of which is utterly shrivelled and wasted, 'melted away.'"

1. (n.) Any one of numerous species of terrestrial air-breathing gastropods belonging to the genus Helix and many allied genera of the family Helicidae. They are abundant in nearly all parts of the world except the arctic regions, and feed almost entirely on vegetation; a land snail.

2. (n.) Any gastropod having a general resemblance to the true snails, including fresh-water and marine species. See Sea snail.

3. (n.) Hence, a drone; a slow-moving person or thing.

4. (n.) A spiral cam, or a flat piece of metal of spirally curved outline, used for giving motion to, or changing the position of, another part, as the hammer tail of a striking clock.

5. (n.) A tortoise; in ancient warfare, a movable roof or shed to protect besiegers; a testudo.

6. (n.) The pod of the sanil clover.

SNAIL

snal

((1) chomeT, the Revised Version (British and American) "sand-lizard," Septuagint saura, "lizard" (Leviticus 11:30);

(2) shabbelul, Septuagint keros, "wax" (Psalm 58:8)):

(1) ChomeT is 7th in the list of unclean "creeping things" in Leviticus 11:30, and occurs nowhere else. "Snail" is not warranted by Septuagint or Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) the Revised Version (British and American) has "sand-lizard." It may be the skink or a species of Lacerta. See LIZARD.

(2) Shabbelul is translated "snail" in Psalm 58:8: "Let them be as a snail which melteth and passeth away." Mandelkern gives limax, "slug."

Gesenius derives shabbelul from balal, "to pour"; compare Arabic balla, "to wet," instancing leimax, "snail," or "slug," from leibo, "to pour." While Septuagint has keros, "wax," Talmud (Mo`edh QaTan 6b) supports "snail." The ordinary explanation of the passage, which is not very satisfying, is that the snail leaves a trail of mucus (i.e. it melts) as it moves along. This does not in any way cause the snail to waste away, because its glands are continually manufacturing fresh mucous. Two large species of snail, Helix aspersa and Helix pomatia, are collected and eaten, boiled, by the Christians of Syria and Palestine, especially in Lent. The Jews and Moslems declare them to be unclean and do not eat them.

Alfred Ely Day

7642. shabluwl -- a snail
... 7641, 7642. shabluwl. 7642a . a snail. Transliteration: shabluwl Phonetic
Spelling: (shab-lool') Short Definition: snail. snail ...
/hebrew/7642.htm - 5k

7642a. shablul -- a snail
... shablul. 7642b . a snail. Transliteration: shablul Short Definition: snail. Word
Origin from balal Definition a snail NASB Word Usage snail (1). 7642, 7642a ...
/hebrew/7642a.htm - 5k

2546. chomet -- (a kind of) lizard
... snail. From an unused root probably meaning, to lie low; a lizard (as creeping) --
snail. 2545, 2546. chomet. 2547 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/2546.htm - 5k

False Inferences May be Drawn from Valid Reasonings, and vice ...
... Let us suppose some man to have admitted: If a snail is an animal, it has
a voice. This being admitted, then, when it has been proved ...
/.../on christian doctrine in four books /chapter 33 false inferences may be.htm

In this Passage, However, Where the Argument is About the ...
... Let us suppose some man to have admitted: If a snail is an animal, it has
a voice. This being admitted, then, when it has been proved ...
/.../augustine/on christian doctrine in four books/chapter 51 in this passage.htm

Bunyan -- the Heavenly Footman
... every wanton and foolish professor, that will be stopt by anything, kept back by
anything, that scarce runneth so fast heavenward as a snail creepeth on the ...
/.../various/the worlds great sermons vol 2/bunyan the heavenly footman.htm

But this New Cloudy Political Cowardice Has Rendered Useless the ...
... The old tyrants invoked the past; the new tyrants will invoke the future evolution
has produced the snail and the owl; evolution can produce a workman who ...
/.../chesterton/whats wrong with the world/chapter 3 but this new.htm

On the Study of Zoology.
... The investigation of a polype, of a snail, of a fish, of a horse, or of a man, would
have led us, though by a less easy path, perhaps, to exactly the same point ...
/.../huxley/lay sermons addresses and reviews/vi on the study of.htm

The Scaffolding Left in the Body
... A snail wandering over the earth with a sea-shell on its back is one of the most
anomalous sights in nature"as preposterous as the spectacle of a Red Indian ...
/.../the lowell lectures on the ascent of man/chapter ii the scaffolding left.htm

Obedience
... The snail under the law was unclean, because a dull, slothful creature.
Obedience without fervency, is like a sacrifice without fire. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/the ten commandments/1 1 obedience.htm

Ill-Temper
... children of seraphic beauty; but in the corner of the canvas, or just at their feet,
some uncouth and loathsome form"a toad, a lizard, a slimy snail"to lend ...
//christianbookshelf.org/drummond/the ideal life/ill-temper.htm

Of Precious Stones and Pearls.
... fishes up from the British or the Indian sea, it is a kind of conch not more pleasing
in savour than"I do not say the oyster and the sea-snail, but"even ...
/.../tertullian/on the apparel of women/chapter vi of precious stones and.htm

The Inch-Worm and the Mountain
... The animals laughed her to scorn. What could she do, with her snail-pace,
when they all, who were so fleet of foot, had to give it up! ...
/.../fifty-two story talks to boys and girls/the inch-worm and the mountain.htm

Snail (2 Occurrences)
... (2.) Hebrews shablul (Psalm 58:8), the snail or slug proper. Tristram explains
the allusions of this passage by a reference to the ...
/s/snail.htm - 10k

Ferret (1 Occurrence)
... Version (British and American) "land crocodile"; (6) leTa'ah, English Versions of
the Bible "lizard"; (7) chomeT, the King James Version "snail," the Revised ...
/f/ferret.htm - 11k

Lizard (3 Occurrences)
... 6) leTa'ah, English Versions of the Bible "lizard"; compare Arabic laTa', "to cling
to the ground"; (7) chormeT, the King James Version "snail," the Revised ...
/l/lizard.htm - 16k

Snake (43 Occurrences)

/s/snake.htm - 19k

Zoology
... Lizard, Great Lizard, Gecko, Chameleon, Land Crocodile, Sand Lizard (sv LIZARD)
Amphibians: Frog Fishes: Fish (in general) Mollusks: Snail, Murex (Purple ...
/z/zoology.htm - 18k

Untimely (5 Occurrences)
... Psalms 58:8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like
the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. ...
/u/untimely.htm - 8k

Worm (22 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (n.) A creeping or a crawling animal of any
kind or size, as a serpent, caterpillar, snail, or the like. ...
/w/worm.htm - 21k

Impotent (5 Occurrences)
... The impotent folk referred to in the Epistle of Jeremy (Baruch 6:28) were those
weak and feeble from age and want; compare "impotent and snail-paced beggary ...
/i/impotent.htm - 9k

Dissolves (1 Occurrence)
... Dissolves (1 Occurrence). Psalms 58:8 Let them be like a snail which melts and passes
away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun. (See RSV). ...
/d/dissolves.htm - 6k

Melteth (12 Occurrences)
... (YLT). Psalms 58:8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like
the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. ...
/m/melteth.htm - 9k

Is it true that the bodies of some saints are incorruptible? | GotQuestions.org

Snail: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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