A person with a stentorian voice and powerful build is said to be a “bull of Bashan.”
The reference is to the Bible, to Psalms xxii, 12: “Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.”
The conquest of Bashan by Moses (Deuteronomy iii, 14), known as the land of giants, was a memorable feat to the Israelites; there are a number of references to it in the Old Testament.
The size and power of the cattle were especially impressive.
Related Posts
-
Where does the phrase “John Bull” come from and What does John Bull mean?
The long-drawn-out War of the Spanish Succession, 1701-1714, in which the allied armies of England, Austria, the Netherlands, and Prussia were finally victorious over the combined forces of France and Spain, was not…
-
Where does the expression “to shoot the bull” originate and What does bull session mean?
Back in our college days a "bull session" was a gathering of young men, always men and always young, congregated informally in some dormitory room over late coffee or beer or other refreshments,…
-
Who Won the Contest Between the Brown Bull of Ulster and the White Horned Bull In Irish Mythology?
With Cuchulainn dead, Maeve's army seized the Brown Bull and sent it back to Connacht. When the White Horned Bull saw the Brown Bull entering his territory, he charged. The two bulls slammed…
-
Where does the phrase “cock and bull story” come from and What does it mean?
The French have a phrase, coq-a-lane, literally, cock to the donkey, which they use in exactly the same sense as we use cock-and-bull; concocted and incredible; fantastic. A cock and bull story is…
-
What Does the Expression “Cock and Bull Story” Mean and Where Did the Phrase Come From?
In the sixteenth century a papal bull or bulla was a decree from the Roman Catholic Pope. It was sealed with a stamp bearing the likeness of St. Peter accompanied by the cock…
-
Where does the phrase “not to know B from a battledore (or broomstick, bull’s foot, buffalo’s foot)” originate and What does it mean?
The phrase "not to know B from a battledore means: To know not one letter from another; not to know beans; to be wholly illiterate, or extremely ignorant. This accusation of complete illiteracy…
