Basilisk
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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
BASILISK

baz'-i-lisk (tsepha`, tsiph`oni, from obsolete root tsapha`, "to hiss": Isaiah 11:8; Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 59:5 Jeremiah 8:17 Proverbs 23:32 m. In Proverbs 23:32, the King James Version has "adder," margin "cockatrice"; in the other passages cited the King James Version has "cockatrice," margin "adder" (except Jeremiah 8:17, no margin)): The word is from basiliskos, "kinglet," from basileus, "king," and signifies a mythical reptile hatched by a serpent from a cock's egg. Its hissing drove away other serpents. Its look, and especially its breath, was fatal. According to Pliny, it was named from a crown-like spot on its head. It has been identified with the equally mythical COCKATRICE (which see). In all the passages cited, it denotes a venomous serpent (see ADDER; SERPENT), but it is impossible to tell what, if any, particular species is referred to. It must be borne in mind that while there are poisonous snakes in Palestine, there are more which are not poisonous, and most of the latter, as well as some harmless lizards, are commonly regarded as deadly. Several of the harmless snakes have crownlike markings on their heads, and it is quite conceivable that the basilisk myth may have been founded upon one of these.

Alfred Ely Day

Library

As He is Going to Reply to the Slanders of his Opponents He ...
... swells with deadly poison, O Thou who makest the feet of believers to tread unharmed
on serpents and scorpions, and to go upon the adder and basilisk, to tread ...
/.../cassian/the seven books of john cassian /chapter i as he is.htm

He Shows that Like the Devil when Tempting Christ, the Heretics ...
... all Thy ways." [2628] And when he had said this, he left out the context and what
belongs to it; viz., "Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou ...
/.../cassian/the seven books of john cassian /chapter xvi he shows that.htm

Continuation: Audacity of Satan.
... of the rest, furtively concealing what [the Scripture] predicted concerning thee
and thy servants: "Thou shalt tread upon the adder and the basilisk; the lion ...
/.../chapter x continuation audacity of satan.htm

Continuation of the Exposition of 1 Tim. ...
... he says, "Guard the deposit, shunning profane novelties of words." "Shun them as
you would a viper, as you would a scorpion, as you would a basilisk, lest they ...
/.../the commonitory of vincent of lerins/chapter xxiv continuation of the.htm

Epiphanius Intervenes
... own honesty and intelligence. There was a sort of basilisk power in
Theophilus which paralysed opposition. He induced Jerome to ...
/.../chapter xliv epiphanius intervenes.htm

Letter vii. To Chromatius, Jovinus, and Eusebius.
... water. [95] As for me who am still foul with my old stains, like the basilisk
and the scorpion I haunt the dry places. [96] Bonosus ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter vii to chromatius jovinus.htm

Aron, Brother of Moses, 486, 487.
... Basilica of St. Peter, [105]152; Christian churches called basilicæ,
[106]594. Basilisk, [107]451. Beasts of the wood, [108]512. ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/aron brother of moses 486.htm

Of the Different Desires and Wishes which Exist in the Powers of ...
... in such a way that to one is assigned the name of lion because of the fury of his
rage and the madness of his anger, to another that of basilisk because of his ...
/.../cassian/the works of john cassian /chapter xxxii of the different.htm

The Letter of the Synod to the Emperor and Empress.
... eggs and wove a spider's web," as says the prophet; and "he that would eat of their
eggs, having crushed one, found it to be addled, with a basilisk within it ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/the letter of the synod 2.htm

The Portrait of a Drunkyard
... taste. And then comes in, with startling abruptness, the end of all this
fascination,"a serpent's bite and a basilisk's sting. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/the portrait of a drunkyard.htm

Easton's Bible Dictionary
(in R.V., Isaiah 11:8; 14:29; 59:5; Jeremiah 8:17), the "king serpent," as the name imports; a fabulous serpent said to be three spans long, with a spot on its head like a crown. Probably the yellow snake is intended. (see COCKATRICE.)
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (n.) A fabulous serpent, or dragon. The ancients alleged that its hissing would drive away all other serpents, and that its breath, and even its look, was fatal. See Cockatrice.

2. (n.) A lizard of the genus Basiliscus, belonging to the family Iguanidae.

3. (n.) A large piece of ordnance, so called from its supposed resemblance to the serpent of that name, or from its size.

Topical Bible Verses
Psalm 91:13
You shall tread on the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shall you trample under feet.
Topicalbible.org

Isaiah 59:5
They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eats of their eggs dies, and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.
Topicalbible.org

Isaiah 11:8
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
Topicalbible.org

Isaiah 14:29
Rejoice not you, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote you is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Topicalbible.org

Proverbs 23:32
At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder.
Topicalbible.org

Thesaurus
Basilisk (3 Occurrences)
... size. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. BASILISK. baz'-i ... one of these. Alfred
Ely Day. Multi-Version Concordance Basilisk (3 Occurrences). ...
/b/basilisk.htm - 9k

Basilisk's (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Basilisk's (1 Occurrence). Isaiah 11:8 And the
sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the ...
/b/basilisk's.htm - 6k

Cockatrice (3 Occurrences)
... from its size and its nocturnal habits (Isaiah 11:8; 14:29; 59:5; Jeremiah 8:17;
in all which the Revised Version renders the Hebrew tziph'oni by "basilisk"). ...
/c/cockatrice.htm - 10k

Serpent (40 Occurrences)
... occurs only in Isaiah 14:29 where it is translated "adder" (the King James Version
"cockatrice," the English Revised Version "basilisk," Septuagint ekgona ...
/s/serpent.htm - 46k

Basic (3 Occurrences)

/b/basic.htm - 7k

Basilisks (2 Occurrences)

/b/basilisks.htm - 6k

Adder (9 Occurrences)
... The Revised Version has "basilisk." This may have been the yellow viper, the Daboia
xanthina, the largest and most dangerous of the vipers of Palestine. ...
/a/adder.htm - 11k

Stings (3 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). Proverbs 23:32 At the last it biteth
like a serpent, and stingeth like a basilisk. (See NAS RSV). ...
/s/stings.htm - 7k

Suckling (19 Occurrences)
... (DBY YLT NAS). Isaiah 11:8 And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the
asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the den of the basilisk. ...
/s/suckling.htm - 12k

Bible Concordance
Basilisk (3 Occurrences)

Proverbs 23:32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, And stingeth like an adder.
(See JPS YLT)

Isaiah 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
(See JPS WBS)

Isaiah 14:29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth an adder, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
(See JPS WBS)

Subtopics

Basilisk

Related Terms

Basilisk's (1 Occurrence)

Cockatrice (3 Occurrences)

Serpent (40 Occurrences)

Basic (3 Occurrences)

Basilisks (2 Occurrences)

Adder (9 Occurrences)

Stings (3 Occurrences)

Suckling (19 Occurrences)

Naphtali (51 Occurrences)

Basin (37 Occurrences)

Latter (91 Occurrences)

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