Dog

Dogs in the ancient biblical world were predominantly semi-wild scavengers rather than household pets. They roamed in packs at city gates and rubbish heaps, fed on refuse and carrion, and were associated with uncleanness and social dishonor. To call oneself a "dead dog" was a common expression of self-abasement before a superior (1 Sam. 24:14; 2 Sam. 9:8). Dead bodies devoured by dogs represented the most ignominious fate, invoked as divine judgment against Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kgs. 21:19, 23–24) and fulfilled in the death of Jezebel (2 Kgs. 9:35–36). Psalm 22:16 uses attacking dogs as a metaphor for the enemies surrounding the suffering psalmist.

In the New Testament, Jesus's exchange with the Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15:26–27) uses the diminutive kynarion ("little dogs," household pets) and her quick-witted reply about crumbs became the turning point in the conversation. Philippians 3:2 uses "dogs" as Paul's derogatory label for those demanding circumcision of Gentile Christians. Revelation 22:15 places "dogs" outside the holy city among the impure and immoral.