Abstract
The relatively numerous references to animals in the blessing of Jacob(Gen 49: 1-28) show that the biblical author had a broad knowledge of nature.According to the current classification of living organisms and method ofresearch used by modern zoology, it is stated that these observations donot have the characteristics of scientific research. In spite of this, they arethe evidence of the clear-sighted observation of animals, which is reflectednot only in the knowledge of the appearance of individual species, but alsoof specific behaviours related to their way of life. It concerns not only domesticanimals, like the ass (cf. Gen 49: 14), but also wild representativesof the fauna. References concerning the latter apply to the species perceivedas highly dangerous to man and domestic animals, that is the lion(cf. Gen 49: 9), snake (cf. Gen 49: 17) or wolf (cf. Gen 49: 27). Amongstthe animals mentioned in the blessing of Jacob one can also distinguishthose which aroused admiration because of their appearance, such as thedoe (cf. Gen 49: 21). At the same time, it is essential to emphasise the factthat the wealth of animal metaphors is just a tool used to translate “God’saddress” into human language.
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