Bible
From Lostpedia
Lost contains numerous references to the Bible.
Contents |
Explicit references
Physical appearances
- Boone finds a Bible in the Beechcraft (which we later found out must have belonged to Yemi or were props used by the fake priest drug smugglers). ("Deus Ex Machina")
- Desmond had a Bible in the Swan station, seen on the bed next to the book "The Third Policeman". ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")
- A hollowed-out Bible was found in The Arrow station. ("The Other 48 Days")
- We later learn that it contained a missing piece of the Swan orientation film. ("What Kate Did").
- There is a Bible displayed on Jack's office bookshelf. ("A Tale of Two Cities")
- Eko find's Yemi's King James Bible in the church. The picture of young Eko and Yemi was placed in between Isaiah chapters 4 and 5 (about God's judgement) and was apparently the last thing Yemi read before going to the airstrip. ("The Cost of Living")
- Cassidy "sells" Bibles at Kate's mom's home. ("Left Behind")
Episode titles
- "Numbers" (Book 4 of the Old Testament--the name comes from two censuses taken during the 40 years the Israelites wandered the desert before entering the promised land in Canaan)
- "Exodus, Part 1"/"Exodus, Part 2"
- "The 23rd Psalm"
- "Fire + Water" "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matt 3:11) John the Baptist re- Jesus. This is the episode about Baptism.
- "Stranger in a Strange Land" Gershom was the firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah (Exodus 2:22: And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. Gershom's name may be literary translated as "a stranger there" (גר שם ger sham), referring to Moses' flight from Egypt.
Bible verses quoted
- Eko recites Psalm 23 in the episode "The 23rd Psalm" and begins to recite it in "The Cost of Living" immediately before the "Monster" kills him.
Mr Eko's stick
The following Biblical references can be found carved on Eko's stick:
Psalm 23: Highly significant, often quoted passage in Christianity. Makes explicit mention of God's rod and staff (Psalm 23:4- "...Your Rod and Staff, they comfort me." Also, a possible illusion to The Monster (Psalm 23:4- "Even though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of death..."). The Psalmist says they will not be afraid for God is with them (Psalm 23:4- "...I will fear no evil for you are with me...") which is paraleled in Mr Eko's confrontation with The Monster
Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" The book of Acts was written as the second volume of the Gospel of Luke. This passage is a refutation of Judaism, and the proclamation that only Christ can provide salvation. The speaker of this passage is Peter who, along with John, has just spent the night in prison for preaching.
Collosians A disputed epistle of Paul, probably not written by Paul but it has been attributed to him b y the author perhaps for the purpose of legitimising it's content. The epistle has today been divided into 4 chapters. The main themes throughout the Epistle are reconciliation with Christ and rules for Christian living.Life and Death imagery is found in Col 2:13- "When you were dead in your sins... God made you alive with Christ...". There is also explicit refence to the show's theme of Parent issues in Col 3:21-"Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged"
Hab 1:3 From the book of Habakkuk, the 8th of the 12 minor prophets. This book is essentially a dialogue between Habakkuk and YHWH, The LORD. In this sense Habakkuk is unique amongst the minor Prophets for challenging God. In Hab1:3 he is essentially demanding an answer for the Problem of Evil ([1]). Habakkuk asks God "Why do you make me look at injustice?, Why do you tolerate wrong?.." and "Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds." God answers that in solution, He is going to raise up the Babylonians presumably for war.
John 3:05 Firstly it important to note the non-standardised referencing used here. This should have been written 'John 3:5' the fact that Mr Eko has chosen to do otherwise is revealed to be significant. Perhaps this is meant to symbolise a revelation, or a vision from Mr Eko. Nevertheless John 3:5 reads "Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit." this is Jesus' reply to Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees who is questioning Jesus on the idea of re-birth. This significant piece of scripture allows for Adult Baptism (Claire in Fire + Water) and insists that Baptism must be by the Holy Spirit, not just water. The Gospel of John was written for a Gentile (Non-Christian) audience.
Lift Up Your Eyes and Look North- Gen13:14. Interestingly this is only a partial quote that misrepresents the Scripture and gives a new meaning to the text. This adaption of the text strongly lends itself to the theory that Mr Eko is writing specifically to John Locke. The original scripture reads "The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west". The omission of the other directions clearly serves the purpose of directing John Locke somewhere. The scripture itself is the beginning of YHWH's covenant with Abram (whose name is later changed to Abraham. YHWH asks Abram, who is in Canaan, at the time to look around in all directions; he says that the land will belong to Abram, and that Abram's decendents will be as numerous as the dust (from which Adam and Eve were created) upon the earth. This is a particularly significant passage as it refers to the Covenant God, the Covenant Land and the Covenant people ([2])which is the beginning of the Jewish (and thus; Christian) faith. Abraham is father of Isaac, who is father of Jacob. The three are generally held to be the great patriarchs of the religion; "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (Exodus 3:16 et al.)
Luke The Gospel of Luke is believed to have been written as an orderly account to legitimate Jesus in relation to political history, particularly in order to provide effective evangelism to the Gentiles (non-Christians). One of the main themes in Luke is the re-orientation of Salvation from the future to the present. That is to say that one does not need to wait in order to claim spirtual gifts or healing; it is available now. Luke is a particularly liberating Gospel oftn used in Liberation and Feminist theology. It focuses on the idea of Jesus (and thus, Salvation) for everyone. Perhaps significant is the fact that Luke is sometimes called, or believed to be (because of his writing style) "the Doctor" (Col 4:14) Medical personnel
Psalm 14 Is about how those who are corrupt fear the righteous for God is on the side of the Righteous(Psa14:5). The Psalm is essentially about the corrupt nature of the world and also of Israel, it looks forward to salvation (rescue). Psalm 14 also includes a reference to Jacob; Psa14:7- "When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!"
Rev 5:3 Revelation is part of a genre known as apocalypticism. It is rich with Symbolism and Metaphor and is otherwise known as "The Apocalypse of John" and deals with the Apocalypse and the coming of the Kingdom of God. The scripture Rev 5:3 reads "But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.". It is contained in a narrative of the author's religious visions. The scroll referred to cannot be opened by anyone apart from The Lamb (Jesus) who alone is worthy to do so. When Jesus reads the scroll it is found to contain a list of the saved; 144,000 in all. 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel including the tribe of Benjamin. This may be an illusion to the Shows theme of Lists.
Rom 6:12 The Epistle to the Romans is one of the undisputed letters of Paul. It was written as indicated by it's title to the Church in Rome. The particular verse referenced reads "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires" and is part of Paul's invocation to become dead to Sin and alive in Christ (Life and Death).Essentially Paul urges one to offer themselves to God and assures them of their salvation through Jesus' death.
Titus 3 The letters to Titus are according to Wikipedia "principally occupied in describing the qualifications to be sought for in those whom they should appoint to offices in the church". Since Mr. Eko used to be a criminal and now considers himself a priest, this may be significant. Titus 3 in particular is concerned with the previously sinful nature of the clergy before they came to know Christ, and were "Justified by grace" (Titus 3:7) and emphasises the Mercy of Jesus. Titus 3 praises the virtues of obedience and humility and discourages quarrels about the (Jewish) Law, instead advocating a 3-strikes-you're-out policy "Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him" (Titus 3:10) (see the entry on baseball in Games).
Biblical allusions
Biblical names
Adam and Eve are the first people created in the Bible, which is why the skeletons found in the caves in "White Rabbit"are nicknamed Adam and Eve.
Aaron is the brother of Moses.
Jacob buys his Brother Esau's birth right for a bowl of soup, he is the father of Benjamin and Dan and the great-great-grandfather of Aaron.
Naomi is the mother-in-law of Ruth.
John the Baptist was Jesus second Cousin. John is also the name of one of Jesus' closest disciples, generally believed to be "the disciple whom Jesus loved".
James was the 'brother' of Jesus. Two of Jesus' disciples were also named James.
Thomas(Tom) Disciple of Jesus Christ also referred to as Doubting Thomas.
Daniel was a significant Hebrew prophet, exiled in Babylon where he is drawn out of retirement to interpret signs.
Abaddon is a Hebrew word for destruction, or place of the abyss. Rev9:11-"They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon. Abaddon is often believed by biblical scholars to be Satan, the anti-christ or a dark angel.
Christian Shephard This reference is quite self-explanatory.
The Shadow of Death
The Monster/Cerberus may be an illusion to the Shadow of Death that is referred to in the Bible:
Psalm 23:4- "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
Job 38:17- "Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?"
Isaiah 9:2- "The people walking in darkness, have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." (Quoted in Matthew 4:16)
Luke 1:79- "to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace" re- John the Baptist going ahead of Jesus.
Jacob's Ladder
Jacob's Ladder refers to the story told in Genesis 28:11-19, during which the Biblical Patriarch Jacob has a dream/wision of a ladder to heaven with angels going up and down. Gen28:12-"He had a dream in which he saw a stairway [or ladder] resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it" This is similar to the vision of John Locke in Further Instructions. In this Biblical story YHWH once again assures Jacob of the Covenent, promising him land and numerous decendents, as many as the dust of the earth.
Moses/Aaron
There is much Moses imagery to be found in Lost.
Charlie's Dreams: In Genesis 1 and 2 we find the story of the Israelites being made slaves in Egypt. When their population becomes too large the Pharaoh commands the midwives to kill all male Israelite babies born but to allow the girls to live. They will not do this and tell Pharaoh that they have failed because the Israelite women give birth before they arrive. So Pharaoh gives the commandment that all Israelite male babies should be thrown into the Nile to drown. When an Israleite couple from the house of Levi have their first son they do not have the heart to drown him and so his mother hides him for 3 months "But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile." (Exodus 2:3). He is found by the Pharaoh's daughter and named Moses. He grows up in Pharaoh's household but when he is older he leads the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land.
In Charlie's dream Aaron is seen floating in his crib out to sea. Also the Others are interested in raising children as their own, they say that they give them a better life. They have raised Alex as their own, and have shown a particular interest in Aaron. Raised by Another also seems to be an allusion to the fact that Aaron is destined to be raised by someone else.
Eko's Stick Moses famously carried a Staff which he used to perform miraculous signs. Including throwing it down and having it turn into a snake and staff (The Staff, Medical personnel) so that people would know he had been sent by YHWH. This Staff is the same used when The Red Sea (now believed the be the REED sea; Moses was found amongst the Reeds) was parted. Mr Eko's Jesus Stick guided John Locke towards the Barracks with it's inscription "Lift up your eyes and look North John 3:05".
Aaron's rod (Moses' brother) had miraculous power (Ex. 7)
Infertility
Sarai/Sarah Abraham's wife Sarah was infertile but YHWH tells Abraham that Sarah will have a son, which she does and calls him Isaac.
Rebekkah Gen 25:21- "Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant"
Rachel Jacob's wife Rachel was barren but was cured of her infertility Gen30:22-"Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb"
Hannah Was infertile but then has seven sons.
Elizabeth John the Baptist's mother was infertile and she and her husband were old, but she concieves and gives birth to John the Baptist.
The four-toed statue
In Daniel 2 the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar calls all "...magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers.." (Daniel 2:2) to intepret a recurrent dream he has been having but in order to have them prove their worth he refuses to tell them what the dream is. Daniel, a Jewish man exiled to Babylon, goes to the King and is able to tell him and interpret the dream. (Dreams and visions)
See also
- Literary works
- Religion and ideologies
- Gregg Nations, who created a "Bible" of the Lost storyline for the writers of Lost
