Biblical references

Noted Biblical references, listing people, passages and terminology.

Biblical figures[]

Locations[]

Terminology[]

Judas goat[]

A Judas goat was a goat that led others to slaughter. Metaphorically, it was a traitor who trapped another person.

When convinced by Kirk and Spock to draw the Companion out into the open so that it could be neutralized, Zefram Cochrane recalled the term "Judas goat," as he regretfully knew that he was leading the Companion into a trap. (TOS: "Metamorphosis")

The term was also used in the final draft script of TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver", in which Kirk called Balok's pilot vessel a "Judas Goat".

Good Samaritan[]

A Good Samaritan was someone who offered help out of the goodness of their heart, expecting nothing in return.

In 2266, Lenore Karidian expressed her wish that the Karidian Company of Players had alternate travel arrangements by saying, "if ever we needed a Good Samaritan…" (TOS: "The Conscience of the King")

In 2373, a supposedly dead Kathryn Janeway told the alien posing as her father that he didn't seem like a Good Samaritan to her, but rather a vulture. (VOY: "Coda")

The allusion is from the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible. The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Samaritan Snare" also takes its title from this story.

Quotations and allusions[]

Hebrew Bible[]

Genesis 1:1-31: In 2265, enhanced esper Gary Mitchell creates a Kaferian apple tree on Delta Vega, saying, ""Let there be food", echoing the other "let there be"s of Genesis. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

In 2285, Leonard McCoy, appalled by Project Genesis, stated, "According to myth, the Earth was created in six days. Now, watch out: here comes Genesis, we'll do it for you in six minutes!" (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

In 2377, The Doctor sardonically said to the leader of Iden's Rebellion, "And on the seventh day, Iden created Ha'Dara." (VOY: "Flesh and Blood")

Genesis 1:3: The last words of Gideon Seyetik were, "Let there be light." (DS9: "Second Sight")

Genesis 1:26-27: The Borg Queen discussed Seven of Nine's re-acquaintance with Humanity and commented, "They've taken you apart and they've re-created you in their own image." (VOY: "Dark Frontier")

Genesis 3:23-24: In 2267, Pavel Chekov claimed, "It must've made Adam and Eve very sad to leave," in reference to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, which he inaccurately believed was located "just outside Moscow." (TOS: "The Apple")

In 2269, Spock commented on the irony that, like his Biblical namesake, Adam had been punished for eating fruit from "Eden". (TOS: "The Way to Eden")

In 2293, Spock kept an image of Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise in his quarters aboard the USS Enterprise-A. A depiction of the Biblical expulsion from Eden, this painting reminded Spock that all things must end. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

Genesis 5:21-27: Flint claimed to be Methuselah. (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")

Genesis 6:9-9:18: The hologram Hippocrates Noah planned to flood the Earth, leaving only a few survivors to repopulate the planet. (DS9: "Our Man Bashir") The Biblical Noah was also a survivor of a worldwide flood.

The script for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home mentioned Noah's Ark, but that reference did not make it on screen.

Genesis 11:1-9: The planet Babel is a reference to the ancient city of Babel. (TOS: "Journey to Babel") Christopher Pike made reference to the Tower of Babel when the USS Discovery's universal translator malfunctioned. (DIS: "An Obol for Charon") In the Bible, the city of Babel was said to be the location where mankind started speaking many languages and divided into various nations.

Genesis 13:15: In several places in the Bible, Israel is referred to as the Promised Land. When breaking McCoy out of confinement to reunite Spock's katra with his body, Kirk delivered the message, "The Kobayashi Maru has set sail for the promised land," which McCoy understood to mean that one phase of their mission had been successful. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)

Exodus

Exodus 14:21 was alluded to in the script for DS9: "The Sword of Kahless", which described Kor's raised hands towards the Bajoran wormhole as being like "Moses parting the Red Sea."

Deuteronomy 8:3: See Luke 4:4

Joshua 1:9: "…be of good courage." – Preacher (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")

Judges 7:1-8:35 is referenced in the title of the episode TOS: "The Mark of Gideon". The planet had an overpopulation problem. Likewise, the biblical Gideon had too many soldiers and later had seventy sons.

1 Samuel 17:1-51: In 2376, The Doctor determined that a pathogen had killed all the adult Borg drones on a cube in the Delta Quadrant. In showing the pathogen to Captain Kathryn Janeway and Tuvok, The Doctor remarked, "Behold! The David that slew our Goliath." (VOY: "Collective")

1 Samuel 17:35: Jake Sisko used the expression, "We're going to beard the lion in its den." The saying originated from this verse, combined with the passage at Daniel 6:1-28. (DS9: "In the Cards")

1 Kings 3:16-27: In 2269, Kirk referenced an account of Solomon choosing between two women claiming to be the mother of a child after Spock chose between two Kirks. (TOS: "Whom Gods Destroy")

1 Kings 10:1-13: Trelane compared Nyota Uhura to the Queen of Sheba. (TOS: "The Squire of Gothos")

2 Chronicles 9:1-12: See 1 Kings 10:1-13.

Job 19:23: "Oh, that my words were now written! Oh, that they were printed in a book!" – Preacher (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")

Psalms 8:2: "Out of the mouth of babes…" – James T. Kirk (TOS: "A Piece of the Action"; DS9: "What You Leave Behind")

Psalms 23:4: "I fear no evil." – Benjamin Sisko (DS9: "Waltz")

The Star Trek: Discovery epsiode "Through the Valley of Shadows" takes its title from this Psalm.

Psalms 95:4: "In His hands are the deep places of the Earth." – Dr. Ozaba (TOS: "The Empath")

Psalms 119:105: "The light of the Lord is in his path." – Preacher (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")

Psalms 121:6-8: When releasing Ripper, Sylvia Tilly recited a short prayer: May the sun and moon watch your comings and goings in the endless nights and days that are before you. (DIS: "Choose Your Pain")

Tilly's prayer combines verses 6 and 8 of the psalm and removes direct references to God.

Proverbs

The original title of TNG Season 3 episode "The Price" was "A Price Far Above Rubies", a reference to Proverbs 31:10 ("Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."

The idiom "spare the rod and spoil the child" originates from Proverbs 13:24: "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."

Ecclesiastes 8:15: "Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry." – commonly conflated with Isaiah 22:15 (q.v.) as "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die"; quoted by Julian Bashir and Quark (DS9: "The Reckoning")

Ecclesiastes 9:11: "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." (The title of DS9: "Nor the Battle to the Strong" references this verse)

Isaiah 11:6: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." (The title of "And the Children Shall Lead" is a paraphrase of this passage)

Isaiah 14:12: Leonard McCoy compared Lucien to the biblical Lucifer. (TAS: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu")

Isaiah 22:13: "Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die." – commonly conflated with Ecclesiastes 8:15 (q.v.) as "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die"; quoted by Julian Bashir and Quark (DS9: "The Reckoning"); "It is a time to celebrate, for tomorrow we all may die!" – Kurn (TNG: "Redemption II")

Isaiah 35:5: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped." – Preacher (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")

Daniel 6:1-28: In 2268, McCoy and Spock both referred to the account of Daniel and the lion's den during Kirk's capture by the Providers of Triskelion. (TOS: "The Gamesters of Triskelion") See also 1 Samuel 17:35.

Jonah 1:17-2:10: In a log entry made by Lieutenant John Kelly of the Earth spacecraft Ares IV in 2032, the lost astronaut remarked that he was beginning to feel like Jonah; Kelly remarked that he had been trapped in the vessel longer than Jonah was in the "belly of that whale." (VOY: "One Small Step")

In 2371, Kathryn Janeway said, "Find yourself a seat with a good view, because just like Jonah and the whale, you're going in." (VOY: "The Cloud")

Haggai 2: There was a corresponding Book of Haggai in the Omegan Bible, also containing two chapters. (TOS: "The Omega Glory")

New Testament[]

Matthew 4:4: See Luke 4:4

Matthew 5:13: Tom Paris describes his ancestors as "salt of the Earth"-type people (i.e. good folks). (VOY: "11:59")

Matthew 5:18: Not one Iota. (DS9: "Melora")

Matthew 5:43: While playing the role of a priest on the holodeck, The Doctor said, "Gentlemen, please! Love thy neighbor!" (VOY: "Fair Haven")

Matthew 6:3: In 2364, Data attributed Starfleet's ignorance about a pattern in personnel reshuffling to the subtlety in which it occurred, saying, "Starfleet's left hand did not know what its right hand was doing." (TNG: "Conspiracy")

Matthew 6:28: In 2268, Spock, quoting from the Sermon on the Mount, compared tribbles to "lilies of the field… they toil not, neither do they spin." (TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles")

Matthew 8:26: When assuring James T. Kirk that he could remember a series of four coordinates Kirk had given him, Montgomery Scott chided Kirk, saying, "O ye of little faith." (Star Trek Into Darkness)

Matthew 13:45-46: In 2268, Montgomery Scott related the parable of the Pearl of Great Price while referring to Gem's value to the Vians. (TOS: "The Empath")

Matthew 18:12: Showing special attention to some overlooked crew members, Captain Janeway paraphrased this verse, "If even one sheep strayed into the wilderness, the shepherd left the safety of the flock and went after it." (VOY: "Good Shepherd")

Matthew 26:41: In 2373, The Doctor, having been taken over by an evil personality caused by an unstable combination of various historical figures' personalities, told Kes, "The flesh is weak." (VOY: "Darkling")

Matthew 27:24: Origin of the phrase "wash my hands of it." In 2266, Doctor Simon Van Gelder pointed out to Kirk that he wanted to "wash [his] hands" of claims Gelder had made. (TOS: "Dagger of the Mind")

Luke 4:4: In 2268, Harry Mudd remarked, "Human beings do not survive on bread alone," slightly paraphrasing the words of Jesus Christ found in this verse and the parallel account at Matthew 4:4. These words were, in turn, a paraphrase of Moses' writing at Deuteronomy 8:3. (TOS: "I, Mudd")

Luke 4:23: "Physician, heal thyself" – James T. Kirk (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan); Tom Paris (VOY: "Year of Hell")

Luke 10:29-37: A "Good Samaritan" was someone who offered help out of the goodness of their heart, expecting nothing in return.

In 2266, Lenore Karidian expressed her wish that the Karidian Company of Players had alternate travel arrangements by saying, "if ever we needed a Good Samaritan…" (TOS: "The Conscience of the King")

In 2373, a supposedly dead Kathryn Janeway told the alien posing as her father that he didn't seem like a Good Samaritan to her, but rather a vulture. (VOY: "Coda")

The TNG episode "Samaritan Snare" also takes its title from the story of the Good Samaritan.

John 3:3-8: Regarding the expression "born again", Tom Paris said to B'Elanna Torres, "One minute, you're in a coma, the next you're a born-again Klingon?!" (VOY: "Barge of the Dead")

John 8:7: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." (The title of DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin..." is a variation of this verse)

John 8:32: "The truth that shall set them free!" – Preacher (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars"), also referenced by Vic Fontaine, who phrased it, "The truth shall set you free." (DS9: "Tears of the Prophets")

John 10:11: Empathizing with this passage, Captain Janeway said, "Ever hear the tale of the Good Shepherd?" (VOY: "Good Shepherd")

John 11:1-12:17: Flint claimed to be Lazarus. (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")

1 Corinthians 13:12: "For now we see but through a glass, darkly." – Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek Nemesis; The title of ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly" is also an allusion to this verse)

1 Corinthians 15:32: "Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die." – quotation of Isaiah 22:13 (q.v.), commonly conflated with Ecclesiastes 8:15 (q.v.) as "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die"; quoted by Julian Bashir and Quark (DS9: "The Reckoning")

2 Corinthians 12:7: "Thorn in my side" (DS9: "The Sword of Kahless", VOY: "Endgame")

2 Timothy 4:7: "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith." – Joseph Sisko (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")

Revelation 16:16: Source of the term "Armageddon"

Revelation 22:6: "And he said to me, 'These words are trustworthy and true.' And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place." – Preacher (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")

Figures of speech

Adages • Allusion • Aphorism • Axiom • Cliché • Colloquialism • Euphemism • Hyperbole • Idiom • Metaphor • Motto • Onomatopoeia • Oxymoron • Personification • Profanity • Proverb • Quotation • Rhetoric • Rhetorical question • Saying • Simile • Slang

Subjective parlance: Arts • Biblical • Economic • Legal • Medical • Military • Nautical • Sports

Appendices[]