“Sha’ul had had a concubine named Ritzpah, the daughter of Ayah; and [Ish-Boshet] challenged Avner: ‘Why did you go and sleep with my father’s concubine?’ These words of Ish-Boshet’s enraged Avner. ‘What am I,’ he shouted, [that you treat me with such contempt]? A dog’s head in Y’hudah? Till this moment I have shown only kindness to the house of Sha’ul your father, and to his brothers and to his friends; and I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet you choose today to pick a fight with me over this woman!”-2 Samuel 3:7-8
Avner let everyone know who held real power in the northern kingdom by sleeping with Saul’s concubine.
This power was further demonstrated in Avner’s response when Ishbosheth called him out publically for what he did.
When Ishboshesh asked Avner, “Why did you go and sleep with my concubine?”, Avner’s response was as arrogant as it was enraged.
He shouted back:
“What am I?!
A dog’s head in Judah?!”
The Hebrew for “dog’s head” is ROSH KELEV.
But here’s the thing.
The entire phrase isn’t in the original text.
Specifically, the part about Judah.
That part ain’t in the original Hebrew.
So why was it rendered that way?
Well, some early translators thought it was a mistake since the phrase ROSH KELEV was so unusual.
They believed it should have said ROSH KALEV, which means “head of Caleb.”
Since Caleb was a family of influence in the tribe of Judah, the translators changed it to “head of a dog of Judah.”
So that’s the kind of weird roundabout way that ROSH KELEV morphed into “a dog’s head in Judah.”
Pretty interesting, isn’t it?
Now, Scripturally speaking, the term “dog” in the Bible has a very derogatory meaning.
It would be the equivalent of “pig” or “scumbag” in our modern culture.
To grasp the Scriptural view of a “dog,” understand it as the opposite of a “lion.”
A lion was considered majestic, powerful, and to be feared.
On the other hand, a dog was an unclean animal and viewed as worthless and weak.
It was viewed as a creature that roamed the streets and ate trash just to survive.
Even Yeshua referred to Israel’s gentile enemies as dogs.
On top of that, the word “dog” was often used to describe a homosexual man, which was considered an abomination among the Hebrews and other Middle Eastern cultures.
So today’s takeaway is a reminder that Judah is symbolized by a lion, the opposite of a dog.
And you know who else is called the lion of Judah?
Check out the first New Testament reference below.
Talk soon!
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Then one of the elders said to me,
‘Do not weep!
See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David, has triumphed.
He is able to open the scroll
and its seven seals.”
-Revelation 5:5
“The woman came and knelt before him.
‘Lord, help me!’ she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the
children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
‘Yes it is, Lord,’ she said.
‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from their master’s table.’”
-Matthew 15:25-27
“Beware of false prophets,
who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
-Matthew 7:15
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