Most Accurate Spiritual Meaning of Spiders in the Bible

Spiders can be intimidating creatures. They are depicted in children’s shows as villains who come to harm people, so they have a stigma associated with them. The creepy crawlers are rarely someone’s favorite animal, but there might be some positive meaning behind spiders in the Bible. Although spiders are mostly neutral in the Bible, they are used in multiple passages to demonstrate different spiritual truths. Here is the spiritual meaning of Spiders in the Bible. Spiders represent the fragility of a Godless life, the wisdom of using gifts to accomplish things, and the danger of living in sin. 

There are no specific mentions of black spiders, red spiders, the wolf spider, or even the black widow spider in the Bible, there are mentions of spiders in general in the Bible 

Spiders are not specifically a bad omen, so if you’ve had dreams about spiders, don’t worry. If you’ve seen many spiders recently it does not mean that your life is doomed, however, the spiders mentioned in the Bible are always used to reveal a spiritual truth. In fact, spiders are used in the Bible to mean many different things. As we see through passages in Job, Proverbs, and Isaiah, spiders are used as symbolism for teachings. 

Mentions of Spiders in the Bible

There are three moments in the Bible where spiders are mentioned. Job 8, Proverbs 30, and Isaiah 59 all reference spiders, which show something about our relationship with God. Job focuses on the unstable nature of a life without God. Proverbs teaches that spiders are wise and use their gifts to achieve great things, and Isaiah talks about spiders as people who do evil. 

Job 8

In Job 8:13-15, the Bible talks about people who forget God. Forgetting God means that you don’t rely on Him in your life, instead, you rely on your strength. We see a dark destiny for people who act like spiders. 

Job 8:13-15 says this, “13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. 14 What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider’s web. 15 They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold.”

A Lack of Hope Without God

The Book of Job teaches an important message here: people who forget God have no hope. Atheism is the belief that there is no god. Without a God, life is hopeless. There is no reason for the good or the bad things that happen. All pain and suffering are simply a part of life that serves no purpose. 

On the contrary, people who do remember God can have hope. As talked about in 1 Peter, suffering happens ultimately so we can be restored into a glorious kingdom with God. 1 Peter 5:10 says, “10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

Job is talking about the same concept at this moment. Without God, there is no reason for hope, but with God, we can have hope. He promises to provide and defend us, so we can be hopeful about the future. The hope we get from a relationship with God can help sustain us through difficult times. 

The Fragility of Faith in Anything Else 

The spider in this passage has constructed itself intricate webs. Spiders’ webs probably look great and are well-crafted, but they are fragile. A strong wind or the swipe of a hand could destroy the spider’s web. 

The web is being used as a metaphor for what it is like when people build their lives on the foundation of anything but God. People might depend on external happiness or internal motivation, but when they come across a difficult situation those things fall apart. 

The argument that can be deduced on the contrary is that people who do not forget God will not have fragile lives. Their hope will be in the right thing, and they won’t have to worry about being destroyed by the things that life throws at them. 

This message is echoed in the teaching of Jesus. In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus said this, “24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 

Jesus’ teaching was the same as Job’s, a life with faith in God, built on living for him, means that even in tough times, we will be taken care of. 

The spider in Job reminds us that faith in God is necessary for a stable life. 

Proverbs 30

Spiders are not only used in a negative context in the Bible, however. In Proverbs 30, we read about a spider being praised for its wisdom. We can examine this spider to determine what wisdom we can apply to our lives. Proverbs 30:24-28 says this:

“24 There are four things which are little on the earth,

 But they are exceedingly wise:

25 The ants are a people not strong,

Yet they prepare their food in the summer;

26 The rock badgers are a feeble folk,

Yet they make their homes in the crags;

27 The locusts have no king,

Yet they all advance in ranks;

28 The spider skillfully grasps with its hands,

And it is in kings’ palaces.

Little Things with Great Wisdom 

All of the creatures in this passage are considered small, compared to humans, but they all have certain qualities that make them wise. The ants are small, but they prepare well. The badgers are feeble, but they make homes. Spiders might be small, but they grab food and go wherever they would like. 

These creatures might not be mighty or intimidating, but they each have adapted to do great things. Spiritually, we might not feel like we are good-looking enough, smart enough, or strong enough, but this passage reminds us that God has given us everything that we need to succeed in life. 

The message of this passage could be summed up by a verse in 1 Samuel 16:7. It says, “ 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God does not see as man sees, since man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

The outward appearance of the spider is scary and small, both unappealing traits, but the wisdom of the spider allows it to achieve a life in the king’s palace. God isn’t concerned with appearances, but He is concerned with the wisdom that we choose to have in our hearts. 

Is all of our wisdom earthly and useless? Or is our wisdom from Him, so it yields a reward? These are the questions that we should be asking ourselves. Regardless of how large or small we are, we should always seek wisdom. 

A Call To Humility 

Beyond that, the spider is a humble creature. It crawls around on the ground, not seeking power or position, but only striving to survive. It weaves a web and catches prey to provide for itself. The spider’s situation can remind us of the importance of humility wherever we are. 

We might be working a job we don’t like for a time, but eventually, we can step forward and move on to the next adventure. This is something that the spider demonstrates, focusing on today to get to tomorrow.  

It takes humility to be satisfied where you are, and the spider does that. The importance of humility is mentioned in Luke 14 where it says, “11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

When we do our daily tasks, it might not seem like much, but when we do those things as if we are working for the Lord, He promises to exalt us. It is a hard lesson to learn, but it is an important one. Just like the spider, we are called to live humbly in the house of the King, tending to our lives. 

Use What You Have 

The spider uses what it has to advance. God has given spiders the ability to move along webs and create traps for prey. Spiders use that ability to get where they need to go. 

God provides us with characteristics and abilities that we should use to get where He wants us to go, so we need to use those for His glory. We should not spend time wishing we were in a different situation, instead, we should claim ground using the abilities that God has given us. 

Romans 12:7-8 says this, “7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

We should use the gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given us to advance His kingdom. It should not be out of a selfish desire, but as we see through the story of the spider, there are perks to doing what you do well. You get to live in the King’s Palace. This might seem like prosperity doctrine, but it is clear that God wants us to use God’s gifts to bring about our welfare. 

Take the parable of the talents as an example. A man gave talents to his workers. A couple of them doubled what they had, and one hid the talents. The person who hid his talent has his talent taken away, but the servants who doubled the talent were exalted. Spiders are a reminder to put in hard work, so we can thrive. 

Isaiah 59

The final mention of spiders happens in Isaiah 59. In this passage, Isaiah is writing about the dangers of sin and the dangers of walking with others who sin. 

Isaiah 59:5-8 says this, “5 They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched. 6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. 7 Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. 8 The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace”

The Spun Spider’s Web

The spider web is sticky, and it is a trap. Bugs fly into them, they get stuck, then the spider comes to devour the bug. The symbolism in place here is that people who live in sin, entrap others and bring bad things into others’ lives. For this reason, spiders might be considered symbols of evil.

In Genesis 25, Jacob acts like a spider. He hoaxes his brother into selling his birthright for a bowl of soup, then he tricks his dad into blessing him. Although we eventually see God redeem the situation, Jacob is labeled as a deceiver. Later, even he was deceived by someone else. 

The story reminds me of this mention of the spider because the spider’s web is meant to trap someone else for the sake of the spider’s benefit. You might be a spider. You bring others down into your sin. Isaiah is warning against doing this because it will affect our peace in life. 

Isaiah is calling us to lay down the webs, so we should stop trapping others for our sins. Instead, we should seek to live a righteous life with God through Jesus. 

Romans 14:13 says this, “13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” We cannot bring others down with our sin, instead, we must live honorably around everyone in our lives. 

Cobwebs Can’t Cover You 

Doing evil things, won’t protect you from God’s wrath. Although this passage was written before the time of Jesus, it might serve as a reminder that only God’s forgiveness can cover us. 

We might do bad things to try to get ahead in life, but the Bible shows that is simply not the answer. Schemes are not what we deal in, but instead, we should do the things of God. Later in the book of Isaiah, we learn that even righteous acts are nothing to boast about. Isaiah 64:6 says, 

“6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean,

And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;”

Cobwebs are worse than filthy rags. They don’t cover us at all. When we live in sin without Jesus, we are destined to experience the wrath of God. Thankfully, whenever we truly rely on God and place our trust in Him, we can be covered by His grace. 

The spider devours others for short-term satisfaction, but the Christian relies on God to fulfill all their needs. When we apply this to our lives, it looks different in every situation. 

In the United States, there is intense competition in everything. The workplace, fantasy football, and friendships are all areas where people compete. A spider will go into these areas and try to get ahead. They will manipulate and gossip to get ahead, but this passage is promising that God does not bless that activity. 

Instead, we are called to live a life of generosity and compassion for others. Those are truly the things that will bring us closer to God. 

A Warning of Who You Walk With 

The passage ends by shifting the focus from the spider and the snake to the people who surround them. It says that the people who walk with the spider and snake will not know peace, a message that is prominent throughout the rest of the scripture. 

Proverbs 13:20 teaches us that, “20 One who walks with wise people will be wise, But a companion of fools will suffer harm.”

Bugs might not be able to see the webs that spiders have spun very easily, but they must be vigilant if they want to survive. We have to be on the lookout for spiders, so they don’t ruin us. 

We have friends, and the Bible is clear we should have friends in our lives. However, we must be on guard against the wrong people. People who appear as harmless friends, family members, or coworkers, might drag us into a life of gossip, laziness, or any other sin. Furthermore, when we are aware that someone we are walking with is not living the right way, we put our peace at risk.

We are constantly on the edge of our seats, unsure whether the person we are friends with is going to stab us in the back. We must be on guard, watching for spiders. If we don’t, we might end up like harmless flies, caught in a trap that will harm our lives. 

In real life, people who walk with spiders and snakes will never know true peace, because they place their faith in the wrong people. Eventually, the snake will bite and the spider will capture, so live watchfully, and guard who you fly around. 

Closing Thoughts

Ultimately spiders have a few different meanings in the Bible. If you have spider dreams or have been seeing spiders around recently it does not mean you have bad luck, nor is it a specifically good sign. However, the symbolic meaning of spiders in the Bible can teach us many things about the Kingdom of God. 

The Biblical meaning of spiders is that building our lives on Jesus Christ is truly the answer to a stable life. The mentions of spiders throughout various Bible verses show us that although they are tiny creatures, they have wisdom that we can learn from. Finally, spiders are known for trapping other bugs in their own web, just like a sinner traps others in their sin. So, avoid people who are like spiders, so you won’t get caught in their evil acts. 

Next time that you see a small spider, let it be a reminder of the positive meanings that scripture teaches through spiders. Remember the spiritual significance and the warning that the Bible gives us through the symbolism of spiders. 

Whether you come across a giant spider or have a dream of spiders, do not be afraid, but instead allow it to remind you of God’s nature in your life.