Symbols and Similitudes
115 passages listed in Nave’s Topical Bible and Torrey’s New Topical Textbook. Verse text: Berean Standard Bible; links open in your translation.
69 sections
- A Boiling Pot
- A Siege
- A Vine
- Almond Rod
- Basket of Fruit
- Being Mute
- Belt
- Bottles
- Bow-Shot by Joash
- Bow-Shot by Jonathan
- Bread
- Breaking of a Potter's Vessel
- Canaan, of the Spiritual Rest
- Ceremonially Unclean Food
- Change of Domicile
- Childhood
- Circumcision, of the Covenant of Abraham
- Cooking
- Darkness, of God's Inscrutability
- Death
- Eating and Drinking in Fear
- Eating Bread with Alertness
- Ephah
- Ezekiel's Beard
- Food
- Good and Bad Figs
- Handwriting on the Wall
- Harvest
- Invitation to Approach
- Isaiah's Children
- Jeremiah's Deeds of Land
- Jonah
- Lapping Water
- Manna
- Marrying a Whore
- Men Meeting Saul
- Mourning Forbidden
- Nakedness
- Offering Water to Drink
- Passover, of the Sparing of the Firstborn, and of the Atonement Made by Christ
- Posture
- Praying Toward the Temple
- Rain and Thunder
- Rainbow
- Roll
- Sacrificial Animals
- Salt
- Sanctuary
- Shadow on Ahaz' Sun-Dial
- Sticks and Staves
- Tabernacle
- The Book Thrown Into the Euphrates River
- The Bronze Serpent, of Christ
- The Plumb-Line
- The Rock That Was Struck
- The Rock That Was Struck, of Christ
- The Sprinkled Blood, of the Covenant
- The Star in the East
- The Tearing of the Curtain in the Temple
- The Torn Altar
- The Whole System of Mosaic Rites
- Thunder on Mount Sinai
- Trees of Life and Knowledge
- Two Sticks
- Waving the Wave offering and Lifting up the Heave offering
- Wine
- Wine, of the Atoning Blood
- Wounding
- Yokes
A Boiling Pot
- Ezekiel 24:1–5 In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, …
A Siege
- Ezekiel 4:1–3 “Now you, son of man, take a brick, place it before you, and draw on it the city of Jerusalem. …
A Vine
- Ezekiel 15:2 “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?
- Ezekiel 19:10–14 Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundant waters. …
Almond Rod
- Jeremiah 1:11 And the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” “I see a branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
Basket of Fruit
- Jeremiah 24:1–3 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed …
- Amos 8:1–2 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: I saw a basket of summer fruit. …
Being Mute
- Ezekiel 3:26–27 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. …
- Ezekiel 24:27 On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.”
- Ezekiel 29:21 In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
- Ezekiel 33:22 Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.
- Luke 1:20–22 And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day this comes to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.” …
- Luke 1:62–64 So they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted to name the child. …
Belt
- Jeremiah 13:1–7 This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” …
- Acts 21:11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
Bottles
- Jeremiah 13:12 Therefore you are to tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every wineskin shall be filled with wine.’ And when they reply, ‘Don’t we surely know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’
- Jeremiah 19:1–2 This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and leaders of the priests, …
- Jeremiah 19:10 Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you,
Bow-Shot by Joash
- 2 Kings 13:15–19 Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So Jehoash took a bow and some arrows. …
Bow-Shot by Jonathan
- 1 Samuel 20:21–37 Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows!’ Now, if I expressly say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them,’ then come, because as surely as the LORD lives, it is safe for you, and there is no danger. …
Bread
- Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.”
- Mark 14:22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it; this is My body.”
- Luke 22:19 And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Breaking of a Potter's Vessel
- Jeremiah 19:1 This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and leaders of the priests,
Canaan, of the Spiritual Rest
- Hebrews 3:11–12 So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’” …
- Hebrews 4:5 And again, as He says in the passage above: “They shall never enter My rest.”
Ceremonially Unclean Food
- Ezekiel 4:9–17 But take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. This is what you are to eat during the 390 days you lie on your side. …
Change of Domicile
- Ezekiel 12:3–11 Therefore, son of man, pack your bags for exile. In broad daylight, set out from your place and go to another as they watch. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. …
Childhood
- Matthew 18:3 “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
- Mark 10:14–15 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. …
- Luke 18:16–17 But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. …
Circumcision, of the Covenant of Abraham
- Genesis 17:11 You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
- Romans 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness …
Cooking
- Jeremiah 1:13 Again the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot,” I replied, “and it is tilting toward us from the north.”
- Ezekiel 4:9–15 But take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. This is what you are to eat during the 390 days you lie on your side. …
- Ezekiel 24:3–5 Now speak a parable to this rebellious house and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Put the pot on the fire; put it on and pour in the water. …
Darkness, of God's Inscrutability
- Exodus 20:21 And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
- Leviticus 16:2 And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
- 1 Kings 8:12 Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
- Psalm 18:11 He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
- Psalm 97:2 Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
- Hebrews 12:18–19 For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm; …
Death
- Ezekiel 24:16–19 “Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow. …
Eating and Drinking in Fear
- Ezekiel 12:18 “Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with quivering and anxiety.
Eating Bread with Alertness
- Ezekiel 12:17–20 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, …
Ephah
- Zechariah 5:6–11 “What is it?” I asked. And he replied, “A measuring basket is going forth.” Then he continued, “This is their iniquity in all the land.” …
Ezekiel's Beard
- Ezekiel 5:1–4 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair. …
Food
- 2 Kings 19:29 And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third year you will sow and reap; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
- Isaiah 37:30 And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third year you will sow and reap; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
Good and Bad Figs
- Jeremiah 24:1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed …
Handwriting on the Wall
- Daniel 5:5–6 At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing, …
- Daniel 5:16–28 But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain …
Harvest
- 2 Kings 19:29 And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third year you will sow and reap; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
Invitation to Approach
- 1 Samuel 14:8–12 “Very well,” said Jonathan, “we will cross over toward these men and show ourselves to them. …
Isaiah's Children
- Isaiah 8:18 Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
Jeremiah's Deeds of Land
- Jeremiah 32:1–16 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. …
Jonah
- Matthew 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
- Luke 11:29–30 As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. …
Lapping Water
- Judges 7:4–8 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go. But if I say, ‘This one shall not go with …
Manna
- John 6:31–58 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” …
Marrying a Whore
- Hosea 1:2–9 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the LORD.” …
- Hosea 3:1–4 Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” …
Men Meeting Saul
- 1 Samuel 10:2–7 When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and …
Mourning Forbidden
- Ezekiel 24:15–18 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, …
Nakedness
- Isaiah 20:2–4 the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot. …
Offering Water to Drink
- Genesis 24:13–15 Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. …
- Genesis 24:42–44 So when I came to the spring today, I prayed: O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if only You would make my journey a success! …
Passover, of the Sparing of the Firstborn, and of the Atonement Made by Christ
- Exodus 12:3–28 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must select a lamb for his family, one per household. …
- 1 Corinthians 5:7 Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
Posture
- Ezekiel 4:4–8 Then lie down on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their iniquity for the number of days you lie on your side. …
Praying Toward the Temple
- 1 Kings 8:29 May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place.
- Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, …
Rain and Thunder
- 1 Samuel 12:16–18 Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. …
Rainbow
- Genesis 9:12–13 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: …
Roll
- Zechariah 5:2–4 “What do you see?” asked the angel. “I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.” …
Sacrificial Animals
- Genesis 15:8–11 But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?” …
- John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- John 1:36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
Salt
- Numbers 18:19 All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the LORD for you and your offspring.”
Sanctuary
- Psalm 20:2 May He send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion.
Shadow on Ahaz' Sun-Dial
- 2 Kings 20:8–11 Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?” …
- Isaiah 38:7–8 This will be a sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised: …
Sticks and Staves
- Ezekiel 37:16–17 “And you, son of man, take a single stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Judah and to the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Joseph— the stick of Ephraim— and to all the house …
- Zechariah 11:7 So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock.
- Zechariah 11:10–11 Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. …
- Zechariah 11:14 Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Tabernacle
- Psalm 15:1 O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain?
- Ezekiel 37:27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.
- Hebrews 8:2 and who ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.
- Hebrews 8:5 The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
- Hebrews 9:1–12 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. …
- Hebrews 9:23–24 So it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. …
The Book Thrown Into the Euphrates River
- Jeremiah 51:63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates.
The Bronze Serpent, of Christ
- Numbers 21:8–9 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” …
- John 3:14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
The Plumb-Line
- Amos 7:7–8 This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. …
The Rock That Was Struck
- 1 Corinthians 10:4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
- Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
The Rock That Was Struck, of Christ
- Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
- 1 Corinthians 10:4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
The Sprinkled Blood, of the Covenant
- Exodus 24:8 So Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
The Star in the East
- Matthew 2:2 asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
The Tearing of the Curtain in the Temple
- Matthew 27:51 At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split.
- Mark 1:38 But Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that is why I have come.”
- Luke 23:45 The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.
The Torn Altar
- 1 Kings 13:3 That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’”
- 1 Kings 13:5 And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
The Whole System of Mosaic Rites
- Hebrews 9:9–10 It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper. …
- Hebrews 9:18–23 That is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. …
Thunder on Mount Sinai
- Exodus 19:9 The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.
- Exodus 19:16 On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
Trees of Life and Knowledge
- Genesis 2:9 Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
- Genesis 2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
- Genesis 3:3 but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’”
- Genesis 3:24 So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.
- Revelation 22:2 down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Two Sticks
- Ezekiel 37:15–28 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, …
Waving the Wave offering and Lifting up the Heave offering
- Exodus 29:24–28 Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering. …
- Leviticus 8:27–29 He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and waved them before the LORD as a wave offering. …
- Leviticus 9:21 but he waved the breasts and the right thigh as a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses had commanded.
Wine
- Jeremiah 25:15–17 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. …
- Matthew 26:27 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
- Mark 14:23 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
- Luke 22:17 After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves.
Wine, of the Atoning Blood
- Matthew 26:27–29 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. …
- Mark 14:23–25 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. …
- Luke 22:17–18 After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. …
- Luke 22:20 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.
Wounding
- 1 Kings 20:35–40 Meanwhile, by the word of the LORD, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me, please!” But the man refused to strike him. …
Yokes
- Jeremiah 27:2–3 This is what the LORD said to me: “Make for yourself a yoke out of leather straps and put it on your neck. …
- Jeremiah 28:10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.
Related topics
Symbols and Similitudes of the Holy SpiritSymbols and Similitudes of the Divine Presence, the Pillar of CloudInstruction by Object Lessons
Topics: Nave’s Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey’s New Topical Textbook (1897), public domain, via the Berean Bible topical index.