Dan
You are the one who brought up other animals that fly.
I merely asked which ones you were refering to.
you are also the one who brought this up
However, the Bible is supposedly written by the god who knows everything and is perfect. He would know that a bat is not a bird and, therefore, would not include the bat in a list of birds nor would he use the Hebrew word for "bird" (tzipor) when describing them. He could have done a number of things when communicating to the ancient Hebrews:
1 - He could have listed the bat in its own category apart from any mention of birds
2 - He could have taught the ancient Hebrews that bats are not birds and then included them in the proper category of unclean animals that are not to be eaten.
However, this was not done.
Reflecting on your point I came to realize that God actually gave the job of classifing and naming the animals to us (humans).
Genesis, Chapter 2, 019: And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
So no, I don't agree with you. I don't think God would have given them a lesson on how he thought they should be classified.
I think God would have used whatever classification they were using at the time.
If they classified bats as bird then he would have listed them among the birds.
y the way, Bats have more in common with birds than the ability to fly. Bats and birds both have 2 legs. You are in error there.
From the direction the discussion has taken at this point, you seem to have dropped grasshoppers and locusts.
Does that mean you are accepting that there may be a way to see them being classified as having 4 legs?
As to the beetle, I'm sorry I wasn't trying to give an absolute answer here. I was trying to express that there is more than one way to classify ... well anything. What the actual criteria they used to classify beetles as having 4 I have no way of knowing.
But it seems obvious to me that however they classified the number of legs, they were not confused by the description at all and if anyone should have found it a faith destroying error, they would have. Or else you think they were a pretty stupid people as a nation.
I maintain it is an error that is dependant on how you interpret it.
I definitely do see room for interpretation of what is a leg and what is not a leg.
Otherwise it would simply say
"that goeth upon [all] four"
and not add in the extra clarification
"that goeth upon [all] four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;"
which I believe could indicate direction or something else not thought of.
You seem to have quite a good grasp of Herew and I do not argue against what you are saying. I could not, even if I wanted to.
However I do not agree with your interpretation and you do not agree with mine.
I think we should leave the grasshopper, locust, beetle, bat enigma at that or else we will just go around in circles and not get anywhere.
