Creature

Holman Bible Dictionary

nephesh chayah   Genesis 2:7

In the first creation story God created moving creatures both in the water and in the air ( Genesis 1:20-21 ) and then the beasts that roamed the land ( Genesis 1:24 ,Genesis 1:24, 1:30 ). In the second chapter mankind is created first ( Genesis 2:7 ) and then the land and air creatures ( Genesis 2:19-20 ). God made a covenant with all the creatures of the earth in which He promised never again to destroy the world by a flood. God communicated this covenant to Noah ( Genesis 9:10 ,Genesis 9:10, 9:12 ,Genesis 9:12, 9:15-16 ).

 Leviticus 11:10 ,Leviticus 11:10, 11:46 communicate God's directives relative to the Hebrew dietary laws. No water creature that has no fins or scales are to be a part of the diet (  Leviticus 11:10 ).  Ezekiel 47:9 refers to the living creatures in the prophet's vision of the restored Temple in Jerusalem. The entire chapter is a description of the paradise on earth that God will create in the age of peace. According to the prophet, all the living creatures (fish, fowl, and beasts) that existed in the old age are to exist anew in the age to come.

Mike Mitchell

King James Dictionary

Creature n.

1. That which is created every being besides the Creator, or every thing not self-existent. The sun, moon and stars the earth, animals, plants, light, darkness, air, water, &c., are the creatures of God. 2. In a restricted sense, an animal of any kind a living being a beast. In a more restricted sense, man. Thus we say, he was in trouble and no creature was present to aid him. 3. A human being, in contempt as an idle creature a poor creature what a creature! 4. With words of endearment, it denotes a human being beloved as a pretty creature a sweet creature. 5. That which is produced, formed or imagined as a creature of the imagination. 6. A person who owes his rise and fortune to another one who is made to be what he is.

Great princes thus, when favorites they raise, to justify their grace, their creatures praise.

7. A dependent a person who is subject to the will or influence of another.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

CREATURE . In AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘creature’ is used in the general (and original) sense of ‘what is created.’ Thus   2 Corinthians 5:17 ‘if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature’;   1 Timothy 4:4 ‘for every creature of God is good.’ In   Romans 8:19-21 it is not merely living creatures in the modern use of the word that wait for deliverance, but the whole creation of God (as AV [Note: Authorized Version.] itself has it in   Romans 8:22 ).

Webster's Dictionary

(1): (n.) A human being, in pity, contempt, or endearment; as, a poor creature; a pretty creature.

(2): (n.) A general term among farmers for horses, oxen, etc.

(3): (n.) Anything created; anything not self-existent; especially, any being created with life; an animal; a man.

(4): (n.) A person who owes his rise and fortune to another; a servile dependent; an instrument; a tool.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Romans 8:39 Colossians 1:15 Revelation 5:13 Mark 16:15 Romans 8:19-22

The living creatures in  Ezekiel 10:15,17 , are imaginary beings, symbols of the Divine attributes and operations.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

krē´t̬ū̇r  : The word "creature," as it occurs in the New Testament, is the translation and also the exact English equivalent of the Greek κτίσις , ktı́sis , or κτίσμα , ktı́sma , from κτίζω , ktı́zō , "to create." In the Old Testament, on the other hand, it stands for words which have in the original no reference to creation, but which come from other roots. Nephesh , "living creature" (literally, "a breathing thing"), occurs in the accounts of the Creation and the Flood and at the close of the lists of clean and unclean animals in  Leviticus 11:46 . Ḥay , "living creature" (literally, "a living thing"), occurs 13 times in Ezek 1; 3 and 10 (see Creature , Living ). Sherec , "moving creature" (literally, "a swarming thing," generally rendered "creeping thing," which see), occurs once in  Genesis 1:20 . 'Ōḥı̄m , "doleful creatures," occurs once only in  Isaiah 13:21 . It appears to be an onomatopoetic word referring to the mournful sounds emitted by the animals in question. From the context it is fair to suppose that owls may be the animals referred to. See Owl; Creation .

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Creature'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/c/creature.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.