Meaning
Dog an animal frequently mentioned in Scripture. It was used by the hebrews as a watch for their houses, (Isaiah 56:10) and for guarding their flocks. (Job 30:1) Then also, as now troops of hungry and semi-wild dogs used to wander about the fields and the streets of the cities, devouring dead bodies and other offal, (1Kings 14:11; 1Kgs 21:19; 1Kgs 21:23; 22:38; Psalms 59:6) and thus became so savage and fierce and such objects of dislike that fierce and cruel enemies are poetically styled dogs in (Ps 22:16; Ps 22:20) moreover the dog being an unclean animal, (Isaiah 66:3) the epithets dog, dead dog, dog’s head, were used as terms of reproach or of humility in speaking of one’s self. (1Samuel 24:14; 2Samuel 3:8; 9:8; 16:9; 2Kings 8:13)
