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What Does the Bible Say About..Interpreting Passages?

"The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it." (Prov 30:17) Surely that's metaphor for World Destruction "The eye that mocketh at his father" (That's us embracing violence over enlightenment) "Despiseth to obey his mother" (That's obviously man abusing Mother Earth) "The Ravens of the valley, and the young shall eat it" (Our punishment. . . ) Does the above mean that the raven is the tool of our destruction?

Answer

You say “surely” and “obviously” this passage is a metaphor for world destruction. I don’t see that it is so sure or obvious. I agree with most people that “surely” this passage can be taken at face value. It clearly says that anyone who acts disrespectfully to his actual parents (biological or adopted father and mother in the traditional sense) will suffer for it.

I suppose you could, understanding that it is not the original or obvious meaning, use the passage as a metaphor as you do. If you do use it as a metaphor, however, you must use it entirely as a metaphor. Thus the raven and the eagle may be symbols of “the tool of our destruction,” but you couldn’t say that literal ravens and eagles are themselves such tools. They could stand for almost anything. Hitchcock used them, in “The Birds,” to stand for nature’s rebellion against man’s mistreatment. He, at least, saw it as a symbol and a metaphor, not taking the ravens literally.