The term was translated as “cedar”, “poplar” and even “cypress” as it was thought that fir trees did not exist in Biblical lands.

In ancient times carob pods were used to feed horses, donkeys and pigs, though they could also be used as a source of food for humans.

Debora means “bee”, an animal regarded by the Hebrews as organised, wise and hard-working.

How could a life-long atheist abandon evolutionary materialism and embrace the existence of God?

The Dead Sea area - situated some 400 metres below sea level - only gets 150 to 200 per square metre per year.

How sad it is to have heard the word of God, and to allow it to be snatched away.

The greatest madness, the supreme stupidity of the human being consists in hearing the Word of God, delighting in it, but without wanting to put it into practice.

These insects are mentioned in the Bible ten times, in the Old and New Testament.

They are ruminating animals, capable of running more than one hundred kilometres a day without eating or drinking anything. Hence they were trained in Arabia in the 13th century before Christ, as the basis of what has come to be known as the "camel civilisations".

Being so ugly, bald and having a taste for dead meat, they tend not to be seen as the most charismatic of animals. Nevertheless, they have certain features which make them unique.

The common deer (Cervus elaphus) often appears in the Bible as an illustration.

In other words, just as the partridge, which covers eggs that are not its own, will probably lose the chicks later on, so anyone who stores up riches that do not belong to them will end up losing everything.

In Jesus God became human, thus bringing himself into proximity with the nature that he had created. Animals were the silent witnesses of this unique and mysterious event.

The resurrection of Jesus is not only a victory over biological death, but a victory over global Death and over the prince of darkness.

When the molting period is over, the eagle's youth is renewed and it looks like a different bird altogether. 

The bird got its name from the English clergyman, Henry Baker Tristram, who took an interest in the Bible's natural history, and therefore in the fauna of Israel.

The Old Testament links the health of the body with the health of the soul.

For a long time, archaeologists doubted the historicity of Solomon and the horses which, according to the Bible, he possessed, as at that time supposedly only camels were used.

The stars, be they the celestial or the marine varieties, shine brightly or stand out against the background where they are located.

Bee colonies give the impression of being a single organism made up of thousands of individual parts.

We are living in a society which is driven by appearance and image, where aesthetics take precedence over ethics and morality.

Strawberry juice, with its bitter-sweet taste and mouth-watering aroma, is one of the most complex natural products of the vegetable kingdom.

While horses were often used for war, donkeys were symbols of peace, which is why Christ chose to enter the capital of Israel as a gentle and humble king on the back of a donkey's colt.

It is 588 metres high and stands on the southern edge of Lower Galilee. It was a sacred mountain for the Canaanites, and then also for the Northern Israelite tribes.

When we accommodate our moral beliefs and choices to our personal preferences, we are almost always distorting the message of Jesus Christ.