nortex97 said:
codker92 said:
94chem said:
It is interesting that some translations add that "it is hard for you to kick against the goads." This implies that Paul was a dumb animal that was refusing to be goaded in the right direction, like a stubborn ox. Had he just been thrown from a beast of burden, it would be symbolic that Paul, the great intellectual, was about to become the beast of burden to carry Jesus to the Gentiles. From riding the donkey to being the donkey...not that important, but it illustrates his dramatic change in his relationship to Christ. Much like his blindness, whereby he realized that he was not a true religious scholar at all, but just another blind guide in matters pertaining to eternity.
Interestingly, elsewhere in the Bible, Jesus is compared to an ox.
In Deuteronomy 33:17, Moses says that the one promised to Joseph is going to be like a second Joshua. And he will be sacrificed like a firstborn ox. That's a domestic ox, a firstborn ox, which is born to sacrifice, born condemned to die.
Not sure I agree about your reference to the firstborn ox/Joshua.
Quote:
The oxen are Joseph's sons, all of whom were strong, but the firstborn excelled the rest, and was endowed with majesty. It is Ephraim that is referred to, whom Jacob raised to the position of the firstborn (Genesis 48:8, etc.). His horns are like the horns of unicorns; literally, and horns of a ream are his horns. The ream is supposed to be the aurochs, an animal of the bovine species, allied to the buffalo, now extinct, but which the Assyrian bas-reliefs show to have been formerly hunted in that region (cf. Job 39:9, etc.; Psalms 22:22; Rawlinson 'Anc. Men.,' 1.284). By his strong power, Ephraim should thrust down nations, even the most distant. And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim; and these are, etc.; i.e. in such might will the myriads of Ephraim come forth. To Ephraim, as the chief, the myriads are assigned; to Manasseh only the thousands.
Well you reference the fact that Ephraim/Joseph was raised to the position of first born, so you would agree then, that first born is not a literal term, but in fact, a title. However, I believe you are missing a key verse from Genesis. In Genesis 49:22-24 it says as follows:
22 Joseph is the bough of a fruitful vine, a fruitful bough by a spring. His branches climb over the wall.
23 The archers (deber) attacked him. They shot arrows at him and were hostile to him.
24 But his bow remained in a steady position; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob.
From there is the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
That is Jacob's blessing on Joseph in Genesis. Now, when we read that together with Deut. 33:17 it makes more sense. In the Genesis account, the Rock of Israel belongs to Joseph, in the Duet account, the firstborn ox belongs to Joseph.
Firstborn is an important term that does not have anything to do with actual birth in time or order. It is political and positional preeminence.
An ox is used as symbolism for the Messiah in 1 Enoch 90, this is the famous Animal Apocalypse that Animal Farm is modelled after.
The whole Animal Apocalypse is [about the] major figures of the Old Testament storyline. The story gets retold, but the characters are now animals. That's why it's called the Animal Apocalypse. In the story Enoch gets a vision of the transformation of Joseph into a king.
In Enoch 90, an white ox is born that:
"I saw that a white ox was born, with large horns and all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air feared him and made petition to him all the time. 38 I saw till all their generations were transformed, and they all became white bulls; and the first among them became a lamb, and that lamb became a great animal and had great black horns on its head; and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced over it and over all the oxen. 39 I slept in their midst: and I awoke and saw everything."
Later in the story the white is transformed, glorified, and it becomes king.
Conclusion:
It appears that the ox, then, is a symbol of the messiah. Hence, why the figures in the God's throne room have a lion, an ox, an eagle, and a man...
