Beware of Dogs and Fake Men
Keywords
Philippians, biblical symbolism, Hebrew names, faithful companionship
Abstract
I laughed out loud reading Paul’s writings to the Philippians. My wife and I were perfectly contented on a bench at a nearby park with the trees bleeding red and splashed with the fading autumn sunlight of a retreating October day.
We laughed at Paul’s counsel, “Beware of dogs.” (Philippians 3:2.) And we laughed again when moments later we ignored Paul’s counsel as a dog came sniffing to see what we were up to.
What would Paul do with Moses’s trusted companion Caleb, whose name means “dog” in Hebrew? Caleb was one of only two stalwart Israelites who both saw the hand of God save the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and lived to enter the Promised Land. The ancient Israelites saw dogs as faithful companions. Those who were faithful followers and servants were given the name Caleb to highlight their faithful nature.
Original Publication Citation
Beware of Dogs and Fake Men, October 13, 2019.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Halverson, Taylor, "Beware of Dogs and Fake Men" (2019). Faculty Publications. 9963.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/9963
Document Type
Other
Publication Date
2019
Language
English
College
Marriott School of Business
Department
Marketing
Copyright Use Information
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