Scorpion

Scorpion is explained by the Oneirocritics^f1 of a wicked enemy, or mischievous contemptible person. For the scorpion is constantly shaking his tail to strike;^f2 and the torment caused by his sting is very grievous.^f3 Hence Eze 2:6, compares the wicked Israelites to scor­pions. And the author of the book of Ecclesiasticus, in 26:7, compares a man, that hath a shrew to his wife, to one that taketh hold of a scorpion. Terrestrial scorpions are of all the most hurtful^f4

In the Arabian authors, there is the following account, which explains the symbol of the stinging of a scorpion:­Adhed, last caliph of the Fathimites in Egypt,^f5 a little before his deposition, dreamed that a scorpion coming out of the mosque stung him. The interpreters said, that a man coming out of that mosque should either deprive him or kill him. The event was, that Saladin, designing to depose these caliphs, in favour of those at Bagdad, did assemble all the doctors of Cairo, as in a synod; and that the Sophi Nagmeddin, rector of the mosque, did therein declare the Fathimites unworthy of the caliphat; and so they were deposed. Such was the sting of that false doctor, who before, being examined by the caliph, was thought out of scorn unable to do any harm.

"The torment of a scorpion when he striketh (i.e. stingeth) a man," is a most expressive symbol, and denotes sufferings of the most agonizing kind; the sting of the scorpion being attended with the most excruciating pain, arising from the powerful poison which it injects into the wound.

Note. The Scorpions, as well as the Locusts, hurt only for five months.^f6

F1 See the Persian, c. 285. Artem. L. ii. c. 13.

F2 Plin. N. H. L. xi. c. 25.

F3 Boch. Hieroz. pp. 639, 640, 642.

F4 Bochart. Hieroz. p. 934.

F5 Herbelot, tit. Adhed & Fathemiah.

F6 Bochart. Hieroz. p. 639, 640, 642.

When we consider the wilderness - state through which the Lord brought the church after coming out of Egypt, and hear what the Lord saith to his people concerning his care over them there, it is very blessed to trace a subject so abundantly interesting. "Who led thee (saith the Lord) through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water." (Deut. 8. 15) There is somewhat so very gracious in this, especially when we consider what naturalists tell us of thevenomous quality of those reptiles. Though the scorpion is not a large animal, yet its bite, unless restrained by the Lord, was sure death. The creature had a bladder full of poison, which he conveyed with his bite into the wound. And as the scorpion had two eyes at each extremity, and one species of scorpions possessed wings like the locusts, what could be more formidable to the traveller through the hot, sultry, unwatered wilderness!

What a sweet thought is it to the church of Christ, that as this as a figure of the present life, it is Jesus that now speaks to his people in the same gracious language, while they are going home through their eventful pilgrimage! What scorpions, what fiery flying serpents, do they meet with in every part of their warfare! "Behold, (saith the Lord Jesus) I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke x. 19.) And they find the truth ofthis promise every step they take. "No weapon formed against them can prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against them in judgment the Lord will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord; and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." (Isa. 54: 17.)

עקרב , Deu 8:15; 1Ki 12:11; 1Ki 12:14; 2Ch 10:11; 2Ch 10:14; Eze 2:6, σκορπιος, Luk 10:19; Luk 11:12; Rev 9:3; Sir 26:7; Sir 39:30. Parkhurst derives the name from עק , to press, squeeze, and רב , much, greatly, or קרב , near, close. Calmet remarks, that “it fixes so violently on such persons as it seizes upon, that it cannot be plucked off without difficulty;” and Martinius declares: Habent scorpii forfices seu furcas tanquam brachia, quibus retinent quod apprehendunt, postquam caudae aculeo punxerunt: “Scorpions have pincers or nippers, with which they keep hold of what they seize after they have wounded it with their sting.”

The scorpion, el-akerb, is generally two inches in length, and resembles so much the lobster in form, that the latter is called by the Arabs akerb d’elbahar, the “sea scorpion.” It has several joints or divisions in its tail, which are supposed to be indicative of its age; thus, if it have five, it is considered to be five years old. The poison of this animal is in its tail, at the end of which is a small, curved, sharp-pointed sting, similar to the prickle of a buck-thorn tree; the curve being downward, it turns its tail upward when it strikes a blow. The scorpion delights in stony places and in old ruins. Some are of a yellow colour, others brown, and some black. The yellow possess the strongest poison, but the venom of each affects the part wounded, with frigidity, which takes place soon after the sting has been inflicted. Dioscorides thus describes the effect produced: “Where the scorpion has stung, the place becomes inflamed and hardened; it reddens by tension, and is painful by intervals, being now chilly, now burning. The pain soon rises high, and rages, sometimes more, sometimes less. A sweating succeeds, attended by a shivering and trembling; the extremities of the body become cold; the groin swells; the hair stands on end; the visage becomes pale; and the skin feels, throughout it, the sensation of perpetual prickling, as if by needles.” This description strikingly illustrates Rev 9:3-5; Rev 9:10, in its mention of “the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.”

Some writers consider the scorpion as a species of serpent, because the poison of it is equally powerful: so the sacred writers commonly join the scorpion and serpent together in their descriptions. Thus Moses, in his farewell address to Israel, Deu 8:15, reminds them, that God “led them through the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions.” We find them again united in the commission of our Lord to his disciples, Luk 10:19, “I give you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy;” and in his directions concerning the duty of prayer, Luk 11:11-12, “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?”

The scorpion is contrasted with an egg, on account of the oval shape of its body. The body of the scorpion, says Lamy, is very like an egg, as its head can scarcely be distinguished; especially if it be a scorpion of the white kind, which is the first species mentioned by AElian, Avicenna, and others. Bochart has produced testimonies to prove that the scorpions in Judea were about the bigness of an egg. So the similitude is preserved between the thing asked and given. The Greeks have a proverb, αντι περκης σκορπιον, instead of a perch, or fish, a scorpion.

Luk 10:19, one of the largest and most malignant of all the insect tribes. It somewhat resembles the lobster in its general appearance, but is much more hideous. Those found in Southern Europe seldom exceed two inches in length; but in tropical climates it is not uncommon thing to meet with them five or six times as long. They live upon other insects, but kill and devour their own species also. Maupertuis put about a hundred of them together in the same glass and in a few days there remained but fourteen, which had killed and devoured all the rest. He enclosed a female scorpion in a glass vessel, and she was seen to devour her young as fast as they were born. There was only one of the number that escaped the general destruction by taking refuge on the back of its parent; and this soon after revenged the cause of its brethren, by killing the old one in its turn. Such is the terrible nature of this insect; and it is even found that when placed in circumstances of danger, from which it perceives no way of escape, it will sting itself to death. The passage most descriptive of the scorpion is Jer 9:3-10, in which it is to be observed that the sting of these creatures was not to produce death, but pain so intense that the wretched sufferers should seek death, Jer 9:6, rather than submit to its endurance. Dr. Shaw states that the sting of scorpions is not always fatal, the malignity of their venom being in proportion to their size and complexion.\par The poison is injected by means of a sharp curved sting at the end of the six-jointed tail. It occasions great pain, inflammation, and hardness, with alternate chills and burning. These animals frequent dry and hot places, and lie under stones and in the crevices of old ruins. The Jews encountered them in the wilderness, Deu 8:15, and a range of cliffs across the hot valley south of the Dead Sea, called Acrabbim, or scorpions, appears to have been much infest be them. The scorpion of Judea, when curled up, greatly resembles an egg in size and shape; hence the comparison and the contrast in Luk 11:11,12 . The scorpions which the haughty Rehoboam threatened to use instead of whips, 1Ki 12:11, were probably scourges armed with knobs like the joints of a scorpion’s tail; and like the sting of that animal, occasioned extreme pain.\par

Scorpion. (Hebrew, ’akrab). A well known, venomous insect of hot climates, shaped much like a lobster. It is usually not more than two or three inches long, but in tropical climates is sometimes six inches in length. The wilderness of Sinai is especially alluded to as being inhabited by scorpions, at the time of the Exodus, and to this day, these animals are common in the same district, as well as in some parts of Palestine.

Scorpions are generally found in dry and in dark places, under stones and in ruins. They are carnivorous in the habits, and move along in a threatening attitude, with the tail elevated. The sting, which is situated at the end of the tail, has, at its base, a gland that secretes a poisonous fluid, which is discharged into the wound by two minute orifices at its extremity. In hot climates, the sting often occasions much suffering, and sometimes alarming symptoms. The "scorpions" of 1Ki 12:1; 1Ki 12:14; 2Ch 10:11; 2Ch 10:14, have clearly no allusion whatever to the animal, but to some instrument of scourging -- unless, indeed, the expression is a mere figure.

’akrab. Of the class Arachnida and order Pulmonaria. Common in the Sinai wilderness, typifying Satan and his malicious agents against the Lord’s people (Deu 8:15; Eze 2:6; Luk 10:19). Rolling itself together it might be mistaken for an egg (Luk 11:12). Found in dry dark places amidst ruins, in hot climates. Carnivorous, breathing like spiders by lung-sacs, moving with uplifted tail.

The sting at the tail’s end has at its base a gland which discharges poison into the wound from two openings. In Rev 9:3; Rev 9:10, "the scorpions of the earth" stand in Contrast to the "locusts" from hell, not earth. The "five months" are thought to refer to the 150 prophetical days, i.e. years, from A.D. 612, when Mahomet opened his mission, to 762, when the caliphate was moved to Bagdad. In 1Ki 12:11 scorpions mean "scourges armed with iron points". The sting of the common scorpion is not very severe, except that of Buthus occitanus.

Scorpion. 1. A venomous creature allied to the spider, but resembling the lobster. Its usual length is one or two inches, but in tropical climates it is sometimes found six or eight inches in length, and its sting is attended with excruciating pain, Rev 9:3-6, terminating often in violent convulsions and death. Scorpions are abundant in Palestine, and are especially common about Mount Sinai. Deu 8:16. They remain dormant during the cold season, but through the rest of the year swarm under stones and in all the crannies and crevices of walls and houses. The sting is a curved claw at the end of the tail, and this latter the animal, in running, carries over its back in a threatening attitude. Luk 11:12 seems to mean merely the bestowal of a dangerous and unwelcome gift rather than a good one, and may refer to the Greek proverb: "A scorpion instead of a perch." 2. An instrument resembling a whip, with knots, bits of lead, or small stones at the end. 1Ki 12:11. See Scourge.

aqrab, σκορπίος. These words refer to the well-known animal armed with claws like a lobster, and having its sting in its tail. In the East it inhabits desolate places, hides under stones or logs of wood, and comes out at night. It is carnivorous. Various species are known, they belong to the class arachnida, which includes the spider. Deu 8:15; Luk 10:19; Luk 11:12. In Eze 2:6 the children of Israel are compared to scorpions, among whom Ezekiel had to labour.

In Rev 9 we read of locusts with stings in their tails, and which torment men as do the scorpions: they are employed as symbols of some form of cruel and pitiless agents. In 1Ki 12:11; 1Ki 12:14; 2Ch 10:11; 2Ch 10:14, a scourge with hard knots or metal points is supposed to be alluded to.

SCORPION (σκορπίος).—A real nuisance in hot countries, especially in Bible lands, scarce and comparatively innocuous in Southern Europe, the scorpion is unknown save from hearsay in Central and Northern Europe. It has, however, left its mark in the familiar expression in cauda venenum, as well as in astronomical science, where it counts amongst the constellations of the Zodiac.

1. Zoological description.—The scorpion is an arthropod, of the class of Arachnoidae, of the subclass of Arthrogastra, of the order of Scorpionidae. It has four pairs of legs, and in front one pair of extremely strong claws (palpi). Its abdomen consists of 7 anterior segments, broad and intimately connected with the cephalo-thorax, and of 6 posterior segments, which are narrower, and constitute the tail (or post-abdomen). The last of these 6 posterior segments is incurved underneath, and terminates in a pointed hook surrounded by two powerful venomous glands. The scorpion catches its prey with its strong claws, curves its tail towards it above its own back, and inflicts the death sting. The scorpion’s sting is very painful even for man; it may prove fatal when the insect belongs to one of the big tropical species; and even with minor species life may be imperilled when the throat is concerned; cf. Tristram (Nat. Hist. of Bible^{8 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred]} , p. 303), who has ‘known one instance [in Palestine] of a man dying from the effect of the scorpion’s sting.’

There occurs in Southern Europe, sometimes even in Switzerland and Southern Germany, a species of scorpion relatively innocuous—the scorpius Europaeus. In the Mediterranean peninsulae as well as in the South of France, another more dangerous species is to be found, the Buthus occitanus. In the Eastern lands of the Bible there are six, eight, perhaps even twelve different species of scorpions belonging to the genera Buthus and Androctonus. They reach a length of 5 to 6 inches (in tropical countries 12 inches; cf. Morris, Bible Natural History, Calcutta, 1896, p. 101). Palgrave (Central and Eastern Arabia, 1883, p. 28) was stung in Arabia by one of the numerous ‘desert scorpions,’ which he describes as ‘curious little creatures, about a fourth of an inch in length, and apparently all claws and tail, of a deep reddish-brown colour, and very active.’ The Talmud of Jerusalem (Ber. 9a) says that the scorpion’s sting is even more dangerous than that of the snake, because it repeats it. Conder (Tent Work^{6 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred]} , 1895, p. 113) tells that he was stung by one scorpion ‘in six places along the leg.’

Scorpions are exclusively carnivorous, feeding upon insects and worms. They are useful in destroying mosquitoes. Not infrequently they devour each other. The female scorpion eats up the male after fecundation.

Ancient authors (Aristotle, Pliny) report that scorpions devour their own parents. This assertion is connected with a false etymology of the Heb. word עַקְרָב (true etymology unknown), as if it were derived from עָקַר ‘to exterminate,’ and אָב ‘father.’ Thomson (LB [Note: The Land and the Book.] ii. 480) ‘tried the experiment of surrounding a scorpion with a ring of fire, and when it despaired of escape, it repeatedly struck its own head, and soon died either from the poison or its Satanic rage—I could not be certain which—perhaps from both combined.’

There are differently coloured scorpions: some are black, others brown, reddish, yellowish, grey or white, some are striped. They are frequently found in Palestine under stones, among ruins, in crevices of walls, in dung-heaps, and empty cisterns. Travellers camping in tents or lodging in the houses of natives, as well as archaeologists conducting excavations, have to be careful to guard themselves and their men from scorpions; for even when the sting is not fatal, it is a cause of acute pain, and prevents walking and working.

According to a popular superstition, a man who has eaten a scorpion is immune against the sting of any of these animals, and able to relieve a victim by sucking the wound (Conder, l.c.). It is also believed that by applying to the wound a squashed scorpion, or by reading some magic formulae over the patient, a cure is effected.

2. OT references.—In geography, scorpions gave their name to a place mentioned in the OT—the ‘Ascent of Scorpions,’ ma’ăleh ‘Akrabbîm (Num 34:4, Jos 15:3, Jdg 1:36), at the limit of the territory of Judah, towards Idumaea, south-west from the Dead Sea; it is probably the pass now called Nakb es-Safû, leading to Wady-Fikreh, or another pass near the same wady.

This place afterwards gave its name to a toparchy (1Ma 5:3, Josephus Ant. xii. viii. 1), the Idumaean Akrabattene which is not to be confused with another toparchy also called Akrabattene (Josephus BJ ii. xii. 4, xx. 4, xxii. 2, iii. iii. 5, iv. ix. 3, 9), from its chief city, Akrabatta—in the Onomasticon Ἀκραββείν (cf. Pliny, HN v. 14), in the Chronicon Samaritanum Akrabith, in modern times Akrabeh—9 Roman miles (8 English miles) east from Nâblus, on the way to Jericho (Robinson, BRP [Note: RP Biblical Researches in Palestine.] ii. 280, iii. 290 f.; Guérin, Samarie, ii. 3–5; SWP [Note: WP Memoirs of the Survey of W. Palestine.] ii. 386, 389; PEFSt [Note: EFSt Quarterly Statement of the same.] , 1876, p. 196). There is also near Damascus a village Akraba, which has given its name to the Akrabani, a canal of the Barada (Robinson, BRP [Note: RP Biblical Researches in Palestine.] iii. 447, 459).

Once only in the OT is there mention of scorpions in the proper sense, Deu 8:15, where they are named as one of the plagues of the desert of the wanderings.

In 1Ki 12:11; 1Ki 12:14 (and v. 24 in LXX Septuagint , a verse missing in Massoretic Text ) and 2Ch 10:11; 2Ch 10:14 the word ‘scorpion’ occurs in the threats of King Rehoboam to his subjects. In this case scorpion may be simply a metaphor; but it is also possible that under this name the Israelites were acquainted with some instrument of torture, either a whip consisting of several thongs loaded with knobs and books of metal, or a knotty stick armed with prominent nail heads. The Romans had such an instrument; cf. Isidorus of Sevilla (Origines, 27): ‘Virga nodosa et aculeata.’

In Eze 2:6 scorpions symbolize (with briars and thorns) the vexations inflicted on the prophet by his companions. In Sir 26:7 the wicked woman is compared with the scorpion; in 39:30 scorpions are numbered among the plagues God uses for chastising the ungodly. In 4Ma 11:10 a man fastened in the torture-wheel is compared with a scorpion curving its body. Finally, in 1Ma 6:51 a kind of machine of war for throwing projectiles is mentioned under the (diminutive) name of σκορπίδια (cf. Caesar, BG vii. 25).

3. NT references.—The Gospels mention scorpions twice. (1) In Luk 11:11-12 we have three questions concerning a father giving to his son a stone instead of a loaf, a serpent instead of a fish, a scorpion instead of an egg. In the parallel passage (Mat 7:9-10) the third question is omitted (and in certain Manuscripts and Versions of Luke the first question); hence it has been asserted that the saying of Jesus in its primitive form contained only two questions or perhaps one. But Jesus may have given more than one or two illustrations of His meaning, and we have to remember that bread, fish, and eggs were (and are still) the usual food of the inhabitants of Galilee. It has been frequently asked whether a scorpion bears such a likeness to an egg that a confusion between the two would be natural. But there is no question of likeness or confusion in this third case any more than in the case of the loaf and the stone, the fish and the serpent. It is not at all satisfactory to say with Thomson (LB [Note: The Land and the Book.] ii. 479), that ‘old writers speak of a white scorpion; and such a one, with its tail folded up … would not look unlike a small egg.’

The Greeks had a proverb resembling the text of the Gospels we are discussing—ἀντὶ πίρκης σκορπίον, and they used to interpret it by saying: ἐπὶ τῶν τὰ χείρω αἱρουμένων ἀντὶ τῶν βελτιόνων. The existence of that proverb does not prove that Jesus necessarily associated in one single sentence the fish and the scorpion, and that ᾠόν has to be corrected into δψον.

(2) Jesus says (Luk 10:19) that He has given His disciples τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων. There seems to be in these words an allusion to Psa 91:13, where the LXX Septuagint has (Psa 90:13) ἐπʼ ἀσπίδα καὶ βασιλίσκον ἐπιβήσῃ, whereas the Massoretic Text has ‘lion’ and ‘adder.’ The Hebrew and Greek disagreeing, it is not impossible that in another transmission the scorpion has been substituted for one of the terms signifying serpent. It is certainly more natural to combine Luk 10:19 with Psa 91:13, than with Deu 8:15 or with Eze 2:6: both these texts are more similar ad verbum, not ad sensum.

Another question is whether ‘serpents and scorpions’ means here animals in the proper sense of the word (Mar 16:18 and Act 28:3-6 might be quoted in support of this interpretation), or if it is a metaphor indicating the powers of evil. This alternative, however, does not correspond to the notions of the ancients, who did not, as we do, make a rigorous distinction between terrestrial and supra-terrestrial beings. Joh. Weiss (Sehriften des NT, ad loc.) says rightly that an excellent illustration of this passage of the Gospel is given in the famous verse of Luther’s hymn: ‘Und wenn die Welt voll Teufel wär …’ Moreover, we have to observe that Rev 9:3; Rev 9:5; Rev 9:10 describe supernatural destructive beings similar, at least partially, to scorpions. This has to be brought into conjunction with an antique Babylonian conception. In the epic of Gilgamesh (Table ix. cols. ii.–iv.) we find the mention of two scorpion-men, one male and the other female, terrible giants, keepers of a door (cf. P. Jensen, ‘Assyr. [Note: Assyrian.] -Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] Mythen und Epen’ in KIB [Note: IB Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek.] vi. p. 205 ff., and the same writer’s Das Gilgamesch-Epos in der Weltliteratur, i. pp. 24–27, 79, 93). A. Jeremias (Izdubar-Nimrod, 1891, p. 66 f.) and F. X. Kugler (‘Die Sternenfahrt des Gilgamesch,’ in Stimmen aus Maria Laach, lxvi., 1904, p. 441 ff.) have shown that those two celestial scorpions—reproduced in Babylonian sculptures—were the two zodiacal constellations Scorpio and Sagittarius. We might also see, but less probably, in the second scorpion, the constellation of the Balance, which was called by the ancient Greeks Chelae, i.e. the ‘Claws’ of the Scorpion (cf. Ideler, Sternnamen, pp. 174–178).

In Christian art the scorpion has received a symbolical character, as an emblem of the anti-Christian power. Thus a scorpion is to be seen on the shield of a Roman soldier in B. Luini’s celebrated fresco, ‘The Crucifixion,’ in Santa Maria degli Angeli, Lugano.

Literature.—Bochart, Hierozoicon, ii. pp. 632–645; Petermann, Reisen im Orient 2, 1865, ii. pp. 272, 465; Wood, Bible Animals, 1869, pp. 640–643; PEFSt [Note: EFSt Quarterly Statement of the same.] , 1869, p. 148; Van-Lennep, Bible Lands, 1875, pp. 309–311; Tristram, Nat. Hist. of the Bible^{8 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred]} , 1889, pp. 301–303; Doughty, Arabia Deserta, 1888, i. pp. 328, 438; R. Hertwig, Lehrbuch der Zoologie 4, 1897, p. 441 ff.; J. H. Fabre, Souvenirs entomologiques, ix. pp. 229–343 (extremely patient, accurate, and interesting observations).

Lucien Gautier.

(Hebrew, "’aḳrab"):

By: Joseph Jacobs, I. M. Casanowicz

An arachnid resembling a miniature flat lobster, and having a poisonous sting in its tail. It is common in the Sinaitic Peninsula and the desert of El-Tih. In Palestine, where it is represented by eight species, it swarms in every part of the country, and is found in houses, in chinks of walls, among ruins, and under stones. In Ezek. ii. 6 "scorpion" is employed as a metaphor of bitter, stinging words; and in I Kings xii. 11, 14 it is applied to a scourge which was probably provided with metal points. A place-name derived from the scorpion may perhaps be seen in Maaleh Akrabbim ("ascent of the scorpions"), occurring in Num. xxxiv. 4, Josh. xv. 3, and Judges i. 36.

In the Talmud the scorpion is said to live in empty cisterns, in dung-heaps, in holes, among stones, and in crevices of walls (Ḥag. 3a and parallels). It attacks without provocation or warning; and its bite is even more dangerous than that of the snake, because it repeats it (Yer. Ber. 9a). The scorpions of Adiabene (Ḥadyab) were considered especially (dangerous (Shab. 121b). The urine of a forty-day-old infant and the gall of the stork were used as curatives (ib. 109b; Ket. 50a). The scorpion itself was employed as a medicament in curing cataract (Giṭ. 60a). Among the permanent miracles of Jerusalem was numbered the fact that no one was ever bitten there by a scorpion or a serpent (Ab. v. 5). The anger of the wise is likened to the sting of the scorpion (ib. ii. 10). Metaphorically, "’aḳrab" is used of the iron bit of the horse (Kelim xi. 5, xii. 3).

Bibliography:

Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 301;

Lewysohn, Z. T. p. 298.

SCORPION (‘aqrâb [Arab. [Note: Arabic.] same name], Deu 8:15, Eze 2:6; skorpios, Luk 10:19; Luk 11:12, Rev 9:3; Rev 9:10).—The scorpion belongs to the Arachnidœ or spider family. It occurs plentifully in Palestine, ten species being known; it is nocturnal in its habits, and kills small insects, spiders, etc., for food by means of the poisonous sting at the end of its tail. The effect of the poison on human beings is severe pain, and sometimes collapse and even death, thelatter in young children only. The ‘scorpions’ of 1Ki 12:11; 1Ki 12:14, 2Ch 10:11; 2Ch 10:14 are clearly used only figuratively. It is possible, but hardly likely (see Hastings’ DCG [Note: CG Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels.] , art. ‘Scorpion’), that the language of our Lord in Luk 11:12 is suggested by the egg-like form of the ‘scorpion’ when at rest. More probably He has in mind some such form of proverb as was current among the Greeks: ‘Instead of a perch, a scorpion.’

E. W. G. Masterman.

skôr´pi-un (עקרב, ‛aḳrābh; compare Arabic ‛aḳrab, “scorpion”; עקרבּים מעלה, ma‛ălēh ‛aḳrabbı̄m, “the ascent of Akrabbim”; σκορπίος, skorpı́os. Note that the Greek and Hebrew may be akin; compare, omitting the vowels, ‛krb and skrp): In Deu 8:15, we have, “who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents (nāḥāsh sārāph) and scorpions (‛aḳrābh).” Rehoboam (1Ki 12:11, 1Ki 12:14; 2Ch 10:11, 2Ch 10:14) says, “My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the children of Israel (Eze 2:6), and “Be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions.” “The ascent of Akrabbim,” the north end of Wâdi-ul-‛Arabah, South of the Dead Sea, is mentioned as a boundary 3 times (Num 34:4; Jos 15:3; Jdg 1:36). Jesus says to the Seventy (Luk 10:19), “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions,” and again in Luk 11:12 He says, “Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion?”

Note that we have here three doublets, the loaf and the stone, the fish and the serpent, and the egg and the scorpion, whereas in the passage in Matthew (Mat 7:9 f) we have only the loaf and stone and the fish and serpent. Encyclopedia Biblica (s.v. “Scorpion”) ingeniously seeks to bring Lk into nearer agreement with Matthew by omitting from Luke the second doublet, i.e. the fish and the serpent, instancing several texts as authority for the omission, and reading ὄψον, ópson, “fish,” for ᾠόν, ōṓn, “egg.”

In Rev 9:2-10 there come out of the smoke of the abyss winged creatures (“locusts,” ἀρίδες, akrı́des) like war-horses with crowns of gold, with the faces of men, hair of women, teeth of lions, breastplates of iron, and with stinging tails like scorpions. In Ecclesiasticus 26:7 it is said of an evil wife, “He that taketh hold of her is as one that graspeth a scorpion.” In 1 Macc 6:51 we find mention of “pieces σκορπίδια, skorpı́dia, diminutive of skorpios to cast darts.” In Plutarch skorpios is used in the same sense (Liddell and Scott, under the word σκορπίος, skorpı́os.

In the passage cited from Deuteronomy, and probably also in the name “ascent of Akrabbim,” we find references to the abundance of scorpions, especially in the warmer parts of the country. Though there is a Greek proverb, “Look for a scorpion under every stone,” few would agree with the categorical statement of Tristram (NHB) that “every third stone is sure to conceal one.” Nevertheless, campers and people sleeping on the ground need to exercise care in order to avoid their stings, which, though often exceedingly painful for several hours, are seldom fatal.

Scorpions are not properly insects, but belong with spiders, mites and ticks to the Arachnidae. The scorpions of Palestine are usually 2 or 3 inches long. The short cephalothorax bears a powerful pair of jaws, two long limbs terminating with pincers, which make the creature look like a small crayfish or lobster, and four pairs of legs. The rest of the body consists of the abdomen, a broad part continuous with the cephalothorax, and a slender part forming the long tail which terminates with the sting. The tail is usually carried curved over the back and is used for stinging; the prey into insensibility. Scorpions feed mostly on insects for which they lie in wait. The scorpion family is remarkable for having existed with very little change from the Silurian age to the present time.

It does not seem necessary to consider that the words of Rehoboam (1Ki 12:11, etc.) refer to a whip that was called a scorpion, but rather that as the sting of a scorpion is worse than the lash of a whip, so his treatment would be harsher than his father’s.

(óêïñðßïò)

The only books in the NT in which reference is made to the scorpion are the Gospel according to St. Luke and the Apocalypse. Scorpions are mentioned three times in the apocalyptic vision of the Fifth Trumpet or the First Wce (Rev_9:3; Rev_9:5; Rev_9:10), and on each occasion they form part of the description of the locusts themselves or of their mission. These locusts have the power of scorpions while their tails also resemble that of a scorpion and are similarly armed with stings. The sting of the scorpion was proverbial (cf. 1Ki_12:11; 1Ki_12:14, 2Ch_10:11; 2Ch_10:14, Eze_2:6, Luk_10:19), but is seldom fatal. The mission of the locusts is thus not to slay, but to inflict pain worse than death itself.

Scorpions belong to the Arachnidae or spider family. They are common in all warm climates, and are especially ubiquitous in the wilderness of Sinai (cf. Deu_8:15). During the cold weather they lie dormant, but when it becomes hot they emerge from their hiding-places and make their way even into houses. More than eight species have been noted in Palestine. They vary in size and colour; the largest and most dangerous species is black, and measures about 6 ins. in length. Others are yellow, white, black, or reddish, while others again are striped. The females carry their young on their backs until they are old enough to provide for themselves. They swarm in every part of the country and have a particular partiality for ruins (cf. Eze_2:6), where they secrete themselves in the chinks of the walls, as well as under the loose stones. The scorpion resembles a lobster in shape, only it has a jointed tail, which, when running, it holds over its back in a threatening attitude. The tail has a venomous sting, and the reptile always attacks with its tail in this position, with the result that it sometimes strikes it own head and commits suicide thereby. It is carnivorous and feeds chiefly on beetles and locusts, and this fact adds to the hideousness and the formidability of the apocalyptic locusts, whose very tails are compared to the scorpions which normally feed on them. See, further, Locust.

Literature.-H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible10, London, 1911, pp. 301-303; W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book, new ed., do., 1910, pp. 224-225, do., ed. 1881-86, vol. ii., ‘Central Palestine and Phcenicia,’ pp. 478-480; C. Geikie, The Holy Land and the Bible, do., 1903, pp. 356-357; Hastings’ Single-vol. Dictionary of the Bible , p. 832; Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) iv. 419; Encyclopaedia Biblica iv. 4317-4319; H. B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John 2, London, 1907, pp. 115, 116, 119.

P. S. P. Handcock.

1Ki 12:11 (a) Here is a figure to describe the terrible oppression which Rehoboam intended to bring upon the people over whom he ruled. His father’s oppression is compared to a whip. His was to be so much worse that he compared it to the sting of a scorpion. (See also 1Ki 12:14 and 2Ch 10:11-14).

Eze 2:6 (a) The word is used to describe the terrible wickedness and the evil scourge of Israel at this time.

Luk 11:12 (a) The little child, seeing a scorpion rolled up ready to strike, is deceived by its appearance and thinks he is looking at an egg. The Lord is teaching us that often we see something which looks as if it would be good for us to have, but our Lord sees that it would be injurious. Therefore, He does not grant our request for it in prayer.

Scorpion. The scorpion is a small crawling animal that looks like a flat lobster. A member of the spider family, it has eight legs, two sets of pincers, and a tail with a poisonous stinger. A scorpion feeds on spiders and insects, which it rips apart with its claws. It uses its poisonous sting only when threatened or when it attacks large prey. This sting is seldom fatal, but it can be very painful (Rev 9:5).

During the day, scorpions escape the desert heat by hiding under rocks. They come out at night to hunt and eat. Inhabitants of Bible lands feared scorpions. These animals were an ever-present danger when Moses led the children of Israel through the hot, rocky wilderness (Deu 8:15).

Jesus’ words in (Luk 11:12) about giving a person a scorpion instead of an egg may refer to a light-colored scorpion, which could be mistaken for an egg when in a coiled position. The prophet Ezekiel was told by God not to be afraid of his enemies, who were referred to symbolically as scorpions (Eze 2:6). King Rehoboam’s threat did not mean he would use scorpions as whips (1Ki 12:14). In those days a barbed whip or scourge was called a "scorpion."