Ant

(Heb. nemalah). This insect is mentioned twice in the Old Testament: in (Proverbs 6:6; 30:25) In the former of these passages the diligence of this insect is instanced by the wise man as an example worthy of imitation; in the second passage the ant's wisdom is especially alluded to; for these insects "though they be little on the earth, are exceeding wise." (For a long time European commentators and naturalists denied that ants stored up grain for future use, as was asserted in Proverbs but while this is true of most of the 104 European species, two of those species do lay up food, and are called harvesting ants . Like species have been found in Texas and South America, and are known to exist in Palestine. They show many other proofs of their skill. Some of them build wonderful houses; these are often several stories high, sometimes five hundred times the height of the builders, with rooms, corridors, and vaulted roofs supported by pillars. Some species keep a kind of cows; others have a regular army of soldiers; some keep slaves --"No closer imitation of the ways of man could be found in the entire animal economy." (See Encyc. Brit.) McCook's "The Honey Ants" gives many curious facts about the habits of this peculiar kind of ant, and of the harvesting ants of the American plains.--ED.)

Ant

If you look at the sixth verse of the sixth chapter of Proverbs, Proverbs 6:6 you will read, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise." A sluggard, you know, is a man, or woman, or child, who does not love to read or to do any kind of work, but likes to sleep or be idle all the day long. Do you think you were ever acquainted with one?

Now see what the Bible tells the sluggard to do. It bids him go to the little ant, and "consider her ways," that is, look on and see what she does. Have you ever watched the ants when they were busy at work? It will give you very pleasant employment for half an hour on a summer's day. In some places you may see small ant-hills scattered about, so close together that you can hardly step without treading on them; and you may find other places where there are not so many, but where the hills are much larger. I have seen them so large that you could hardly step over one of them without touching it with your foot and breaking some part of it. And then how busy the little creatures are! Just kneel down on the grass beside them, and notice how they work! You will see one little fellow creeping along as fast as he can go, with a grain of sand in his mouth, perhaps as large as his head. He does not stop to rest, but when he has carried his grain to help build the hill, away he goes for another. You may watch them all day and never see them idle at all.

You see why God tells the sluggard to go and look at the little ants: it is that when he sees them so busy, he may be ashamed of himself for being idle, and learn to be "wise," or diligent in whatever he undertakes. I should not think he could help going to work, after he had looked at them a little while. The ants seem to be very happy, and I think it is because they are so busy. God has put nobody in this world to be idle: even children have something to do. The inside of an ant-hill is very curious, but it is not easy to examine it without destroying all the work that the little insects have taken so much pains to finish. There is a kind of ant in warm climates that builds for itself hills as high as a man. They are not made of sand, but of a kind of clay; and have a great many cells or apartments, and many winding passages leading from one part to another. All this is done, as the Bible says, without "guide, overseer or ruler;" that is, they have no one to direct them how to do it. God gives them skill just as he does to the honey-bees in building the beautiful cells which you have so often admired; all His works are wonderful.

Ant

A small insect, famous for its industry and economy, for its social habits and skill in building. Some species build habitations truly immense compared with themselves, and able to contain a dozen men. Their roofs are impervious to rain, and they contain numerous stories, galleries, etc., the result of skilful and incessant labor. Ants lavish the utmost care and pains upon their young, both in the egg and the chrysalis state. The termites or white ants are large and very destructive. Most varieties of ants are known to choose animal or saccharine food; and no species has yet been found laying up stores of grain for winter use, for while the frost continues they all lie torpid. The language of Solomon, Proverbs 6:6, commends them for toiling as soon and as long as the season permits and rewards their labor, and bids us make the same diligent use of life and opportunities, Proverbs 30:24,25. The inferior animals are in many respects wiser than sinful man, Job 12:7,8.

ANT

(nemalah = Arabic namalah): The word occurs only twice in the Bible, in the familiar passages in Proverbs 6:6; Proverbs 30:25 in both of which this insect is made an example of the wisdom of providing in the summer for the wants of the winter. Not all ants store up seeds for winter use, but among the ants of Palestine there are several species that do so, and their well-marked paths are often seen about Palestinian threshing-floors and in other places where seeds are to be obtained. The path sometimes extends for a great distance from the nest.

Alfred Ely Day

(Hebrews nemalah, from a word meaning to creep, cut off, destroy), referred to in Proverbs 6:6; 30:25, as distinguished for its prudent habits. Many ants in Palestine feed on animal substances, but others draw their nourishment partly or exclusively from vegetables. To the latter class belongs the ant to which Solomon refers. This ant gathers the seeds in the season of ripening, and stores them for future use; a habit that has been observed in ants in Texas, India, and Italy.

1. (n.) A hymenopterous insect of the Linnaean genus Formica, which is now made a family of several genera; an emmet; a pismire.

2. (n.) A suffix sometimes marking the agent for action; as, merchant, covenant, servant, pleasant, etc. Cf. -ent.

5244. nemalah -- an ant
... << 5243, 5244. nemalah. 5245 >>. an ant. Transliteration: nemalah Phonetic
Spelling: (nem-aw-law') Short Definition: ant. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/5244.htm - 6k

8334. sharath -- to minister, serve
... A primitive root; to attend as a menial or worshipper; figuratively, to contribute
to -- minister (unto), (do) serve(- ant, -ice, -itor), wait on. ...
/hebrew/8334.htm - 6k

7227. rab -- much, many, great
... By contracted from rabab; abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality) --
(in) abound(-undance, -ant, -antly), captain, elder, enough, exceedingly ...
/hebrew/7227.htm - 6k

3427. yashab -- to sit, remain, dwell
... make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure,
establish, X fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep ...
/hebrew/3427.htm - 7k