IT DOES not lie within the scope of this book to go into
minute detail concerning Old Testament symbolism.
Very few writers have attempted to do so. And yet
the fact confronts us that Old Testament symbolism is a
rich field of study, and forms the background for all later
symbolism.

From the very beginning, God Almighty used symbol-
ism in order to teach important truths. The flaming sword
of the angel of Eden was a symbol of the authority of God.
The mark placed by the Lord upon Cain was a symbol to
be read by all men. The blood sprinkled upon the door-
posts of Egypt was a symbol, and the angel who slew the
first born of every creature spared the households upon
which this sign was placed. Tradition states that it was
the Tau cross. When the Lord gave minute directions for
the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings, sym-
bols were used everywhere. The same is true in regard to
Solomon's temple. Nobody can read the oft repeated ref-
erences to the numbers three, seven, twelve and forty,
without realizing that these had a symbolical meaning.

We will not attempt to give an exhaustive list of Old
Testament symbols, but will mention a few of them, leav-

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