The Bulls of Bashan and related variants are very intriguing phrases found in the Tanakh (Old Testament), which appear to be metaphors of importance and should pique the interest of the Bible student.
This study article investigates this enigmatic phrase to see if we can come to any conclusions and/or suppositions on what The Bulls of Bashan is attempting to communicate to the reader of Scripture.
All underlined Scripture and definitions are my own emphasis.
Amos 4: ‘Kine of Bashan’
We get a glimpse of our phrase The Bulls of Bashan – chiefly, the character traits provided by this metaphorical term – from God through the prophet Amos when He references the “kine of Bashan.”
“Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
“The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord.
“Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.” – Amos 4:1-5
The context from our passage can be found at the end of the previous chapter as God is prophesying the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel because of their sins and rebellion.
“Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts, That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
“And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord.” – Amos 3:13-15
In Amos 4:1-5, the leaders of ancient Israel “that are in the mountain of Samaria,” the northern kingdom, are referred to as “kine of Bashan” with characteristics of those who are “transgressors” who “oppress the poor… crush the needy” and are essentially drunkards. There are no godly attributes in them at all.
Notice that God is rejecting their sacrifices that are offered with “leaven” that symbolizes sin. What needs to be remembered is that the northern nation of Israel was not offering their sacrifices to the Lord in Jerusalem as they were commanded, but notably in “Bethel” and “Gilgal,” in rebellion to God’s Word.
Of more importance, and essential to our study theme, is that Israel was worshiping the golden calves of Jeroboam I – one in “Bethel” (Amos 3:14) and the other in the tribe of Dan (1 Kings 12:25-33). “Gilgal” was another center of idolatry in Israel: “All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters” (Hosea 9:15).
Hence, the intertwined phrase representing Israel’s idolatry of the golden calves in “Bethel” and Dan, their sacrifices and idolatry in “Gilgal,” and the rebellious leaders of Israel centered in Samaria are collectively the “kine (or “cows”) of Bashan”!
God, through Moses, warned Israel when they prepared to enter into the Promised Land, with Aaron’s and the people’s golden calf incident clearly fresh in their minds, and their earlier idolatry in Egypt:
“And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.” – Leviticus 17:7
Before the death of Moses, God gave Moses a song for Israel to hear, learn, and remember, and prophetically proclaimed:
“They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.” – Deuteronomy 32:16-17
Therefore, Satan and his demonic hordes were ultimately behind and intimately involved with all idolatry, in general, and the sacrifices and idolatry of the golden calves and throughout the northern kingdom of Israel, in specific, and the ensuing wickedness of Israel’s leaders.
The general thematic resonance behind this unique phrase, “kine of Bashan,” and, later, Bulls of Bashan, is that of the characteristics of rebels who are in rebellion to the authority of God and His Word.
With this foundation laid, we will now investigate the other two passages that reference The Bulls of Bashan.
Psalm 22: A Prophetic Messianic Psalm of Messiah Yeshua at His First Advent and ‘The Bulls of Bashan’
The first time in Scripture that the unique phrase “bulls of Bashan” shows up is in the prophetic Messianic Psalm 22 that speaks of our suffering Savior on the cross.
“Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
“For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.” – Psalm 22:12-16
“Strong” or “mighty” is the Hebrew word 47 אַבִּירֵ֖י “’ab·bî·rê” or “abbir” and can mean, dependent upon context, angel, bull, chiefest, mighty one, stouthearted, strong one, valiant.
“Bulls” is the Hebrew פָּרִ֣ים “pā·rîm,” plural of the Hebrew word 6499 פַר “pār” and means young bullock, calf, ox. Or par {pawr}; from parar; a bullock (apparently as breaking forth in wild strength, or perhaps as dividing the hoof) — (+ young) bull(-ock), calf, ox.
“Bashan” is the Hebrew word 1316 בָשָׁ֣ן “ḇā·šān,” a proper name of Bashan. Of uncertain derivation; Bashan (often with the article), a region East of the Jordan — Bashan. Bashan, first mentioned as kingdom of Og, east of Jordan, stretching from stream Jabbok (thus including northern Gilead) northward to Hermon, between Gennesaret (west) and mountains of Hauran (east).
Brown-Driver-Briggs does recognize the significance of Psalm 22:12-13 as being a metaphor for enemies in the plural in their section under the Hebrew word for “strong” or “mighty,” but does not seem to have much more to add, if at all, on the other Hebrew words, specifically the phrase “bulls of Bashan.”
One must ask: What does “strong bulls of Bashan” have to do with Christ’s crucifixion outside of Jerusalem, as Bashan is in northern Israel, east of the Jordan?
As mentioned above, this is an entirely metaphorical analogy for Christ’s enemies, both physical and spiritual. When it comes to the spiritual aspect of Psalm 22, specifically in verse 16, here is what we said in QFTBOC: What’s Satan’s Problem?
Even Psalm 22 seems to describe Satan and his minions celebrating the crucifixion:
“For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.” – Psalm 22:16
Remember, Christ prayed for those who crucified Him, asking the Father to “forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). “The assembly of the wicked” most certainly were “… principalities, … powers, … the rulers of the darkness of this world, … [and] spiritual wickedness in high places.” – Ephesians 6:12b
These were the true instigators of the crucifixion, and they knew exactly what they were doing; all in fulfillment of God’s Word and God’s will, of course.
Even though Satan thought that he was the power behind the scenes killing the Son of God, he should have known that this was all God’s will and was clearly laid out in the Scriptures.
I would add that this would include Psalm 22:12-13, “Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.”
Therefore, the metaphor of “many bulls… strong bulls of Bashan” is symbolic of Satan and his seed – both human and angelic. All were in rebellion to the Lord as they crucified Him.
Do we have any other confirmation of this unique symbolism in Scripture? We sure do!
Ezekiel 39: God’s Feast at the Second Coming of Messiah Yeshua and the ‘Bullocks [Bulls]… of Bashan’
[For a detailed analysis ascertaining that Ezekiel 39:17-29 is a new prophecy in Ezekiel 39 that prophesizes Messiah’s Second Coming and the restoration of Israel, please see Ezekiel 38 and 39: Nuances.]
“And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
“Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan [literally, “bulls, fatlings of Bashan, all of them”].
“And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God.” – Ezekiel 39:17-20
“Bullocks” and “Bashan” are the same Hebrew words found in Psalm 22:12.
So, what does the word Bashan mean? Though Bashan has been suggested and referenced to mean fertile or smooth, Bashan also means light soil, which seems innocuous enough. But is there something within this meaning of light soil that we should ponder? In our questions at the end of this article, we will revisit the meaning of Bashan as light soil for the reader’s consideration.
“Fatlings” is the Hebrew מְרִיאֵ֥י “mə·rî·’ê” – used only this once – from the Hebrew word 4806 מְרִיא “mə·rî” and means fat fed beast cattle. From mara’ in the sense of grossness, through the idea of domineering (compare mare’); stall-fed; often (as noun) a beeve — fat (fed) beast (cattle, -ling).
“Strong” or “mighty” in Psalm 22:12-13 seems to parallel “fatlings” in Ezekiel 39:18. Therefore, Messiah’s enemies are equated with beings – both physical and especially spiritual – who are mighty and strong and grossly domineering.
Isaiah also mentions this same event, though without the reference to Bashan, as Ezekiel did.
“For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
“And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
“For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
“And the unicorns [wild bulls] shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.” – Isaiah 34:2-7 [The Mark of the Beasts]
Putting this together, we can reasonably submit the following conclusions.
The enemies of the Lord – the Antichrist, False Prophet, and all those who have taken The Mark of The Beast – will come to wait for Jesus and His returning armies from heaven around the mountains of Jerusalem in Israel all the way to Bozrah in modern-day southern Jordan, and all, it seems, will be demonically possessed.
It even appears that many of the animals that come with what is left of the armies of God’s enemies will also be possessed by demons (Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:22-39)! The animals that come with what is left of the armies of the rebelling world will be destroyed by Messiah (Zechariah 14:15) in the same fashion as the human enemies of Jesus Christ will be (Zechariah 14:12) at His Second Coming.
Consider that God destroyed most every animal on Earth during the Global Flood, save those who were aboard the Ark and a portion of aquatic life. Could these two occasions of the global Flood and the Second Coming picture the same situation experienced by some of the animals on Earth?
Thus, when Christ returns, He will destroy His physical enemies by the Word of His Mouth and remove His spiritual enemies by confining them to the Abyss in what is commonly referred to as ‘Armageddon,’ as both groups will be present and waiting for Him at His Second Coming.
But what is the connection to Bashan? When is the “first mention” of Bashan in Scripture?
It just happens that we hear of Bashan when Israel entered the Promised Land east of the Jordan under Moses and Og of Bashan went out to fight against God’s chosen people.
“And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.
“And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.” – Numbers 21:32-35
Who was Og? Well, he just happened to be a giant! Moses, in reviewing Israel’s conquests, said of Og:
“And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon; (Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;) All the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.” – Deuteronomy 3:8-11
Now that is very interesting, is it not?!?
Concluding Questions for the Reader to Contemplate
We would like to pose a few questions for the reader to consider. Article links next to the questions are provided in that they might be of some assistance and/or of some interest to the reader as you consider our questions.
1. Is there any connection with some of the animals that died in the Global Flood and those that will die at our Lord’s Second Coming? [A Study of Zechariah 14:12-21]
2. What is the relationship, if any, to Christ’s experience during His crucifixion and that of His Second Coming regarding The Bulls of Bashan? [The Seed of the Serpent in the Last Days]
3. Is there a connection with The Bulls of Bashan and the giants before and after the flood, and with the genetic research going on today – and, if so, what might this be? [Genesis 6: Biology and Genetics]
4. The Bible states that the physical aspect of man and beasts of the field and the fowls of the air were created from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7-19). Jesus also said that “as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37). Considering the genetic manipulation foisted upon mankind – and possibly even on the animals (though this is not mentioned in Scripture) – from the fallen angels, the sons of God; that Og, king of Bashan, was a giant; knowing that the times of Noah are equated with the end-times before Jesus returns to Earth; and understanding that one of Bashan’s definitions is light soil; might the usage of The Bulls of Bashan as the bulls of light soil be indicating that the enemies who come to meet Christ at His Second Coming are less than human and that the animals that provide their transportation are less than how God created them to be when He created all of them from the dust, or soil, of the Earth?
If, by chance, you feel led to share your thoughts with me on this thought-provoking topic, please do not hesitate to reach out, as I always love to hear from the beloved!
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May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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