The bull is somewhat unique in the world of symbolism in that he is both a solar and a lunar creature. His male fertility, his fiery temperament, and his role as father of the herd make him the masculine sun-god in many cults. Just as the lion is the king and terror of the beasts of the forest, the bull is the king of the farm and the personification of brute strength and power. The lion, the bull, and the sun are popular symbols of life and resurrection. The bull's crescent shaped horns link him to moon worship and symbolism although, in some areas, the sun is a bull while the moon is a cow. Sin, the moon-god of ancient Ur, was often pictured as a bull.
Its association with the sun makes this animal a god of the heavens, resurrection, and fire, while its association with the moon makes it a god of earth, water, night, and death. This animal's masculinity is not diminished by its feminine lunar connections. However, when ridden by moon-goddesses such as Astarte, its masculine powers are said to be tamed or domesticated.
Bull cults abounded in the ancient world and survive today in such festivities as bullfights and bull-runs. As in Ancient Crete, where dancers leapt over the horns of bulls, these activities are thought to praise the superiority of humans over animals and pit the intellectual or spiritual faculties against brute force and instinct. Oddly enough, the bull being led to the arena is sometimes used to symbolize Christ being led to the cross. There is even a certain movement of the bullfighter's cape called the "Veronica Pass" which is named for the woman who wiped the blood and sweat from Christ's face as He carried His cross to Golgotha.
In Egypt a sacred black bull known as the Apis bull was kept on display. It was believed to be the incarnation of the creator and fertility god Ptah along with creator and sky god Amon and Osiris, the god of the dead. It was a symbol of creation and death and so of reincarnation. Only one Apis bull lived at a time. It was recognized by these distinctive markings: a scarab on its tongue, a vulture on its back, a white triangle on its forehead, and a crescent moon on its right flank. It was sometimes pictured carrying the sun disk between its horns. It was worshiped like an idol rather than sacrificed. Amon was also known as the "Celestial Bull."
Black bulls were associated with death in many cultures. In Egypt, Osiris' body was sometimes borne on the back of a black bull. In Indonesia and India it was customary to cremate the bodies of princes in coffins shaped like bulls.
While Christianity was spreading throughout the Roman world, the cult of Mithras, a Persian sun-god, was being embraced and spread by Roman soldiers. According to this religion, Mithras assisted in the creation of life on earth by taking a bull into a cave where he cut its throat. The first plants and animals then sprang up from the bull's blood and semen and managed to populate the earth in spite of attacks by the evil Ahriman's serpent and scorpion. A rite called the "taurobolium" was used to commemorate the death and resurrection of Mithras and to baptize initiates into his cult. In this rite the initiate was placed in a trench under a latticed roof. The bull was then led on top of the roof where its throat was slashed and its blood gushed down upon the initiate thereby purifying him and causing him to be symbolically reborn into eternal life. The person thus baptized was then venerated by his co-worshipers as a semi-divine being. Mithras was also worshiped as a sun-bull and was believed to continually give up his own life in the form of bull sacrifices in order to bring about peace between warring brethren. It was not uncommon for enemies to get together, sacrifice a bull, and then work out their differences.
The roar of the bull, his windy breath, the sound of his hooves, and his wild nature were likened to thunder, wind, the crash of the ocean, and mighty tempests. Because of these associations, bulls were sacrificed to sea gods such as Poseidon. Along with the thunderbolt, bulls are symbols of thunder, sky, and storm gods such as Adad, Thor, and Ishkur. These gods may also be pictured riding bulls. In Asia and Siberia there are stories of a bull which lives at the bottom of a lake and warns of approaching storms with its thunderous bellowing. The bull as a thunder or storm god is a symbol of fertility, creation, and the violence of nature which cannot be tamed.
The bull as a male deity was certainly familiar to the Israelites since many of their neighbors worshiped gods in this form. In addition to the Egyptian bull gods mentioned above, Israelites would've recognized the Canaanite Baal and his sister-wife Astarte who were worshiped in the form of bulls. Baal was sometimes depicted riding a bull while in a standing position. The Babylonian Hadad and Enlil were bull gods. The bull was also associated with Bel and Eabani who might be pictured sporting bull horns and hindquarters. Canaanite worshipers of Molech made huge bronze statues of this god in the shape of a man with a bull's head. These hollow statues were filled with children who were then roasted inside the idols as offerings to Molech (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; I Ki 11:5-7, 33; 2 Ki 23:10-13; Is 57:9; Jer 32:35; 49:1-3; Zeph 1:5; Acts 7:43). The Israelites sometimes referred God as the "Bull of Israel" or the "Bull of Heaven." When they set up idols for themselves they were in the form of golden calves (Ex 31:1-4;1 Ki 12:28).
In Hinduism, as in many other religions, the bull symbolizes strength and fertility, especially that fertility which is sparked or strengthened by fire, heat, the sun, and lightning. Its symbolism is strongly linked with that of the sacred cows of India. The cow represents the fruitful earth while the bull symbolizes the fertile sky. According to the Rig-Veda, the heavenly bull Rudra fertilized the earth with his sperm. Agni, the god of fire, was called "the mighty bull." Indra is another Hindu fertility god associated with heat and the bull. The bull-god Vrishabha was originally responsible for the spinning of the cosmic wheel. Nandin is a pure white bull which is ridden by Shiva, the Destroyer. In this case it symbolizes sexual energy which Shiva transforms into spiritual energy. Shiva's white bull also represents strength, justice, and the cosmic order.
In some cultures it is thought that a celestial bull carries the world upon its horns. Unfortunately, this creature occasionally gets rather rowdy and tosses the globe about, catching it upon its horns. This, of course, causes violent earthquakes. In Islamic, Buddhist, and Turkish tradition, bulls may carry the world upon their backs as well as upon their horns. According to Buddhist mythology, the history of the earth will consist of four distinct ages. As each age passes, the bull which supports the earth lifts up one of his legs. When all four ages have passed, the bull will raise his last leg and the earth will fall and be destroyed. In other parts of the world, bulls are symbols of the powerful inhabitants of the netherworld.
In Greco-Roman mythology, the bull was sacred to Aphrodite/Venus, Dionysus/Bacchus, Poseidon/Neptune, and Zeus/Jupiter or Jove. In order to obtain the Golden Fleece, Jason had to yoke a pair of savage fire-breathing bulls which had been created in Hephaistos' forge and then plow a huge field with them. Zeus once masqueraded as a white bull in order to seduce Europa.
The most famous bull story in Greek mythology was that of the Cretan bull and the Minotaur. According to this myth, King Minos, in order to prove that he had been divinely appointed to the Cretan throne, bragged that the gods would grant any request he made of them. He, therefore, prayed for a bull to sacrifice to Poseidon. Immediately, a beautiful white bull came forth from the sea. However, Minos decided to keep this magnificent creature and sacrificed an ordinary bull from his herds instead. Enraged by this act of ingratitude, Poseidon caused the Cretan bull to go on a rampage throughout Crete causing a great deal of destruction.
Two stories are offered to explain Pasiphae's (Minos' wife's) subsequent infatuation with the Cretan bull. One says that this attraction was a continuation of Poseidon's vengeance. The other claims that Queen Pasiphae had neglected the worship of Aphrodite for a number of years. Therefore, the slighted love goddess aroused in her an unnatural desire for the beast. The queen ordered Daedalus to construct a wooden cow so that she might enter it and have sexual relations with the bull. The end result was that the queen became pregnant by the bull and delivered a man-eating monster known as the Minotaur which had the body of a man and the head of a bull.
Unwilling to kill the queen's offspring, King Minos had Daedalus build the famous Labyrinth or maze underneath his castle to contain the beast. He then periodically demanded a tribute from Athens of seven youths and seven maidens (the number varies) to be sent into the Labyrinth as food for this monster. Eventually, a brave and handsome lad, Theseus, volunteered to accompany the victims being sent to the Labyrinth in the hopes of killing the Minotaur and ending the tribute. When Theseus arrived in Crete, Princess Ariadne fell in love with him and, with the help of Daedalus, came up with a plan to rescue him from the beast. Using a ball of string to leave a trail into the Labyrinth, Theseus found and killed the creature. Then, following the string, he left the maze, unchained the young Athenians, fought his way to the boats, and sailed home.
Bulls were sacrificial victims in many nations. Since their blood was believed to fertilize the earth, the sacrifice of a bull was sometimes associated with the death of winter and the return of spring. In Crete, the worshipers of Dionysus are said to have torn apart a living bull with their teeth as a part of their festivities. According to Jungian psychology, bull sacrifices and bull fights are an acting out of the desire to kill the beast within each of us.
The Israelites sacrificed bulls on many occasions, usually as tokens of repentance and reconciliation with God (Exo 29:1-36; Lev 1:5; 4:3-21; 8:2, 14-17; 9:2-19; 16:3-27; 22:23-27; 23:18; Num 7:15-88; 8:8-12; 15:8-24; 28:11-28; 29:2-37; Deu 17:1; 18:3; I Sam 1:24-25; Ezek 43:19-25; 45:23-24; 46:6-11; 1 Chr 15:26; 2 Chr 15:11; 29:21-22, 32-33; 30:24; Ezra 6:9; 7:17; 8:35; Psa 66:15). Christians often view these sacrifices as a foreshadowing of the purifying sacrifice of Christ (Heb 9:13-14). The wealth of Solomon is evidenced by the fact that, upon being crowned king of Israel, he sacrificed "a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings..." [(1 Chr 29:21). At the dedication of his great temple in Jerusalem he sacrificed "twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep" (1 Ki 8:63; see also 1 Chr 7:5). Because of the reduction in the population and wealth of the Israelites at the hands of the Babylonians, the Second Temple was dedicated with the sacrifice of only "one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel" (Ezra 6:17).
Unlike the gods of the surrounding nations, the God of the Israelites did not require animal sacrifices for His own sustenance. After all, every living creature was His to eat if He so desired. Mosaic sacrifices were for cleansing the ritually unclean, restoring the sinner, fulfilling vows, and thanksgiving rather than nourishing a hungry god or fertilizing the thirsty soil. God was more pleased with thanksgiving, righteousness, and songs of praise than with the sacrifice of bulls (Psa 50:9-15; Psa 69:30-31; Psa 51:19; Isa 1:11). The Lord says of the person who approaches His altar with wickedness in his heart, "He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man..." (Is 66:3). Hosea warned that the idolatrous sacrifices of bulls in Gilgal would not save Israel from the wrath of God (Hosea 12:11). In spite of the excellence of the Mosaic sacrifices, Paul writes that only the blood of Christ is powerful enough to "take away sins" (Heb 10:4).
For persons outside of the Mosaic covenant, the perfect sacrifice consisted of seven bulls and seven rams - seven being the number of perfection. The Lord told Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, the "comforters" of Job, to offer Him a burnt sacrifice of seven bulls and seven rams because "you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has" (Job 42:8). Every time Balak brought Balaam to curse the Israelites as they encamped in the wilderness the prophet caused seven bulls and seven rams to be sacrificed on seven newly built altars. Even so, Balaam could not curse these people, but could only speak blessings upon them (Num 22:41-24:25).
Twice bull sacrifices were used to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of the idols of Baal. Before Gideon led the Israelites in battle against their Midianite oppressors, God told him to tear apart his father's idol of Baal and his altar. Gideon was to use the stones from Baal's altar to build an altar to the Lord and he was to use the wood from the idol to burn his father's bull upon it. Fearfully, Gideon carried out his sacrifice under the cover of night. In the morning an outraged mob of Baal worshipers came to kill him for insulting their god. But his father saved his life by saying, "Let Baal avenge himself if he is truly a god" (Judges 6:25-32).
To prove that the Lord rather than Baal is God, Elijah gathered together the people and the prophets of Baal and proposed a contest. Each party built an altar and sacrificed a bull on it. Then they called upon their god to send down fire to consume it. The prophets of Baal cried out to him all day to no avail. But when the time for the evening sacrifice came, Elijah covered his altar and the sacrifice upon it with water, and cried out to the Lord. Immediately, fire fell from heaven consuming the sacrifice and the altar. "Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God!" (1 Ki 18:39). Then Elijah killed all the prophets of Baal (1 Ki 18:20-40).
A kneeling bull is an attribute of St. Silvester who restored a bull to life in order to prove that the "Crucified Man," Jesus Christ, was the God of Life. The miracle came about during the fourth century A.D. when Constantine's mother, hearing that he had converted to Christianity and being distressed that he was worshiping a "Crucified Man" instead of practicing Judaism, came to Rome with 161 of the most learned teachers of Judaism to convince him of the true faith. Twelve of the teachers were chosen to debate the issue of whether Christ was the same God as that of the Jews with St. Silvester. The twelfth Jewish teacher, Zambri, deciding that the truth could not be discovered by reason, declared that he knew the name of God and to settle the case he proposed that he should whisper this name into a bull's ear which would certainly die since no creature can hear the name of God and live.
A wild and ferocious bull was (with great difficulty) brought before the assembly. Zambri whispered a name into the animal's ear and it fell dead. Silvester, far from feeling that this wonder settled the matter, pointed out that neither could any man hear the name of God and live. He, therefore, accused Zambri of using the name of a demon to slay the bull. Quoting scripture, Silvester said, "'The true God both kills and makes alive (Deut 32:29; see also 1 Sam 2:6). For any wild beast can kill that which is living, but only the one true God can restore life to the dead. Therefore, let Zambri whisper God's name in the bull's ear and resurrect it."
But Zambri replied, "Let Silvester bring the bull to life with the name of Jesus and we will all believe in this Galilean." And so, with the name of Jesus, Silvester restored the bull to life and it afterwards lived very gently and peacefully. It is said that all the Jews present were converted by this miracle.
A brass bull is an attribute of St. Eustace who, along with his wife and sons, was roasted inside a brazen bull for refusing to offer sacrifices to idols.
In symbolism the lusty bull is the antithesis of the gentle, hardworking ox. It is a symbol of power, strength, resurrection, masculinity, fertility, impulsiveness, fathers, kingship, and the constellation Taurus. In many countries bull-men (similar to scorpion-men) were believed to guard hidden treasure. In Ireland a heroic warrior might be called a "bull in battle" as a compliment upon his valor and ferocity. The tribe of Joseph (meaning Ephraim and Manasseh) was said to be "like a firstborn bull" because of its fertility and its strength in battle (Deu 33:17). To have bulls which "breed without failure" was a sign of wealth and the favor of God during Old Testament times (Job 21:10).
Bulls were also emblems of tyranny, death, ferocity, stubbornness, lust, brutality, and the Devil. After being sent into exile, Ephraim contritely muses that he has been chastised "like an untrained bull" (Jer 31:18). Because of their brutality, the enemies of Israel were often referred to as bulls (Ps 22:12; 68:30; Jer 50:11, 27). Israel's enemies are also depicted as bulls which have been fattened for slaughter as they approach the time of God's wrath (Jer 46:21; Ezek 39:18). When Isaiah describes God's destruction of Edom he says that the land shall be overrun and trampled with wild oxen and bulls (Isa 34:7).
Solomon had a pedestal of twelve bronze bulls made to hold up the large bronze wash basin of his temple (2 Ki 7:25). Josephus believed that these bulls were a transgression of the commandment against the making of images. Abijah, King of Judah, once stood upon Mount Zemaraim and rebuked King Jeroboam and the Israelite army for abandoning the proper worship of God saying, "Have you not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of things that are not gods?" (2 Chr 13:9).
All scripture quotes are from the NKJV Bible unless otherwise indicated.
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Comments© 1998 by Suzetta Tucker
To cite this page:
Tucker, Suzetta. "ChristStory Bull Page." ChristStory
Christian Bestiary. 1997. http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/bull.htm
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