I think you will agree that there is symbolism in the Bible.
You can find it in
- Jesus’ parables
- Prophecies
- Poems
- New and Old Testament
- Biblical typology
- Colors, numbers, animals, etc.
However, the symbolism in the Bible can make Scripture difficult to understand.
Or does it?
It turns out that you can get dramatically more out of the Bible by studying the biblical symbolism.
This article explores the use of symbolism in the Bible, its purposes, and how to recognize and interpret it effectively.
By understanding biblical symbolism, you gain insight into the profound and interconnected nature of the biblical narrative, seeing how all elements point to God and Jesus Christ.
Contents
What is biblical symbolism?
Symbolism is the use of symbols, words, or images to communicate another meaning or idea.
Symbolism can contain only a word or an image. However, people, places, events, actions, and even complete stories (allegories) can also be used symbolically.
Symbolism is not arbitrary. You can’t interpret water in the Bible to mean chickens. Biblical symbols have meaning, and the interpretations are not subjective but based on patterns in the Scriptures.
When is symbolism used in the Bible?
Symbolism is a literary device biblical authors use to make their text more lively and communicate ideas and themes beyond what they can express literally.
God also uses symbolism in the Bible to reveal or hide spiritual truths. For example, Jesus used parables to hide the truth from unbelievers so that He could complete God’s will on the cross. This concept is known as the Messianic Secret. Nowadays, many non-believers are puzzled by the central Christian symbol, the cross. In Paul’s words: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The Bible also uses symbolism to connect different events to patterns. You can start recognizing a pattern when the same symbolism emerges several times in other contexts.
For example, in Genesis 1, you read that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters on the first day of creation week and that Noah released a dove to fly over the floodwaters after the Flood. You can see the connection between these events and Jesus’ baptism, during which the Spirit of God descended on Him as a dove.
Through the pattern, you understand that Matthew includes the historical event of the dove descending on Jesus in his Gospel because he wants to communicate that the event marks a new creation. The interpretation is further solidified when you read that the Flood symbolizes baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21). All this should help you understand that your receiving the Holy Spirit and baptizing yourself are related to a new creation so that you “might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
How to recognize when the Bible uses symbolism?
One easy way of knowing that the Bible uses symbolism is when the plain reading of the text seems to indicate something other than its literal meaning.
So, when we read in Revelation 13 that “a beast is coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads,” it’s evident that the passage is symbolic.
Another easy way to recognize symbolism in the Bible is when the Bible directly tells you that A symbolizes B.
For example, Revelation 17:5 tells us that waters symbolize peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages, and Revelation 12:9 teaches us that the serpent and dragon symbolize Satan.
We have listed more examples of symbolism in the Bible below.
How to interpret Biblical symbolism?
Firstly, let the Bible interpret itself. You will find many biblical symbols clearly interpreted for you in the Scriptures.
If a symbol is not clearly explained, look for other passages where the word or the concept is used. After seeing it several times, a pattern emerges that will solidify your interpretation.
A good idea to avoid mistakes is to take the meaning of a symbol from multiple established sources. If you are the first to develop a new meaning or theology, you are almost certainly making a mistake.
Symbolism becomes concrete when it is universal. Your interpretation needs to tap into the universality of human experience if you want to make it meaningful for more than just you. If you interpret water as chickens, no one will care about it because they can’t relate to that. If you interpret water as a means for renewal and washing, everyone can understand it because that is precisely what we do with water.
Difference between symbolism and typology
Typology is a form of symbolism where persons and events in the Bible act as symbols for later events and persons.
The difference between symbols and types is that symbols emerge at one moment in time, and types emerge through time.
You can interpret a symbol at any moment in time, but you need at least two moments in time to have a type of something. Adam can’t be “a type of Christ” (Romans 5:14) if only Adam exists.
Symbolism in the Bible’s allegories
An allegory is also a form of symbolism. It is a story, often fictional, in which the characters and events represent other events or people.
An allegory is one of many literary devices used to say one thing but mean something else. Unlike symbols or types that assign one thing to another, an allegory is a complete story with multiple symbols expressing a more complex meaning behind them.
The Bible contains many allegories. The most famous ones are Jesus’ parables, in which He uses stories in which the people and events represent the Kingdom of God and how to live a Christian life.
The clearest example of an allegory is in Galatians 4, where Paul mentions that the story of Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah is an allegory of the Old and New Covenant. In this historical story, Hagar and her son, Ishmael, represent the Old Covenant of slavery, and Sarah and her son, Isaac, represent the New Covenant and freedom in Christ.
Galatians 4:24
These things contain an allegory, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar.
How Jesus used symbolism
Jesus’ teaching is full of symbolism. For example, in the famous seven “I am” statements in John’s Gospel, Jesus presented Himself as
- Bread (John 6:35)
- Light (John 8:12)
- Door (John 10:9)
- Shepherd (John 10:11-14)
- Vine (John 15:1-5)
- (Do you remember the other two found in John 11:25, John 14:6?)
In His parables, Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a wedding feast, a seed, a tree, a field, a net, a pearl, and a yeast.
Jesus is also the cornerstone that the builders rejected and a bridegroom to whom the bride belongs (John 3:29).
More examples of symbolism in the Bible
You have already seen a couple of examples of symbolism in the Bible. These were related to typological and allegorical forms of symbolism but also to straight-up symbols, like the bridegroom symbolizing Jesus.
Below, you will find more examples of biblical symbols.
Noah’s flood symbolizes baptism
According to 1 Peter 3:20-21, God delivering Noah and his family through the floodwaters symbolizes Christian baptism. (Read Why God flooded the earth? Noah’s flood as a type of exodus)
1 Peter 3:20-21
who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you—not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
The Tabernacle is a symbol of a heavenly tabernacle
According to Hebrews 9:24, the Tabernacle symbolizes a heavenly “tabernacle.” God dwelled and was enthroned in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle. When Jesus ascended to the Father, He went to the Holy of Holies in heaven, which the Tabernacle represents on earth.
Hebrews 9:23-24
It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
Waters symbolize nations
Revelation 17:5 tells us that waters symbolize peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. Read our article Water in the Bible to discover what else water represents.
Revelation 17:15
He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.”
Stars have multiple meaning
When we listed 52 key Bible verses about stars, we discovered that the stars symbolize several different things depending on the context.
For example, in Revelation 1:20, stars symbolize angels.
Revelation 1:20
The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.
In Philippians 2:15, stars symbolize believers.
Philippians 2:15 (NIV)
so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
In Genesis 37:9, stars symbolize leaders on earth.
Genesis 37:9
He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.”
Trees symbolize believers
God-fearing people are like trees planted by the streams of water bearing good fruit. This and much more you’ll learn when you read Trees in the Bible and Best Bible verses about trees articles.
Psalm 1:3
He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water,
that produces its fruit in its season,
whose leaf also does not wither.
Whatever he does shall prosper.
Mountains symbolize God’s dwelling place
When God created the world and man, He placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, which was located on a mountain.
When God distributed His holy law, He came to dwell on Mt. Sinai, where He met Moses.
When Solomon built the first temple where God came to dwell in the Holy of Holies, he built it on Mt. Moriah.
When Ezekiel saw a vision of the grand new temple, God “set him down on a very high mountain, on which was something like the frame of a city to the south.” (Ezekiel 40:2)
When John saw a vision of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, he “was carried away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain.”
In the New Covenant, believers are temples of the Holy Spirit and “have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God.” (Hebrews 12:22)
In the Biblical symbolism, the mountain represents God’s dwelling place where He meets with His people. God takes the prophets up to a high mountain to receive His will, which they must act out on the earth. We see the most famous example of this when Jesus goes up to Mt. Olives on the night of His arrest (Luke 22:39-44) to pray to God: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)
Object symbolism in the Bible
The tabernacle symbolizes the heavenly Tabernacle.
The lamp symbolizes God’s Word (Psalm 119:105).
The sword symbolizes God’s Word (Hebrews 4:12).
Animal symbolism in the Bible
The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16).
The sheep symbolizes God’s people (Matthew 25:32).
The goat symbolizes unbelievers (Matthew 25:32).
The serpent and dragon symbolize satan (Revelation 12:9 and 20:2).
Wolves symbolize false prophets (Matthew 7:15).
More examples of Biblical symbolism
In addition to the above, many other things have their symbolic meaning in the Bible.
- Actions
- Elements: water, fire, air, earth
- Colors
- Numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 30, 40, 70, 666
- Places: Jerusalem, Egypt, Zion, Eden, Babylon
- Precious metals and stones: gold, silver, bronze, sapphire, etc.
As you can see, the examples given only scratched the surface of symbolism in the Bible, and you can learn much more about this topic. Studying biblical symbolism will help you understand the Bible better. You will also understand that the way God created the world was not arbitrary; everything has a meaning, and all point to God and Jesus Christ.