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The hobbit remembers the beauty of the Shire and reminds the king of his vision, a promised land flowing with gold and freedom. Bilbo executed his gifts by using his heart and emotional fortitude, that is compassion. Thorin’s gift is knowledge, leadership, vision, and he is aware of everyone’s roles and capabilities. Also, he is able to speak the truth, a type of wisdom, which he has received from Gandalf - a representative of God - to the king. Like several of the biblical kings of old, Thorin becomes a hero in the courageous act in battle sense, and the hobbit becomes a hero in the spiritual sense like the prophets of Israel.īilbo’s gifts are faith and prophecy as he demonstrates endurance and motivation when things become difficult. (which) learns to experience the supernormal range of human spiritual life.” Along with a troop of twelve other dwarves and Gandalf, Thorin and Bilbo set out on an adventure to reenter the dwarven paradisiacal homeland and discover the true meaning of bearing God’s image. Joseph Campbell, a professor of comparative mythology, identifies two types of heroic acts including “a courageous act in battle. Thorin is in many ways like the kings of Israel, and Bilbo is much like a prophet, and each is under the watchful eye of Gandalf, the Middle-earth version of an angelic guide. Noted Tolkien scholar Bradley Birzer, wrote that Gandalf is “the archetypal prefiguration of a powerful Prophet or Patriarch, a seer who beholds a vision of the Kingdom beyond the understanding of men.” Gandalf perceived that as each individual has at least one gift from the creator Eru (or in New Testament language the Holy Spirit), so each of these characters, bearing the image of God, has a particular gift and role to play in bringing about the will of the divine creator of Middle-earth. As Tolkien argues, one of the virtues of fairy stories is “to hold communion with other living things.” Gandalf, a wizard of the Istari order, designed their meeting in a humble abode in the Shire, in order to accomplish an important task. Thorin and Bilbo are bearers of the divine image and throughout the tale demonstrate this by using the gifts God gave them in communion with each other. Tolkien, an image-bearer and sub-creator, spent time crafting relatable and genuine characters. This essay will examine Thorin Oakenshield, the dwarf king, and Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, as a king and prophet respectively, similar to ones found in the Jewish Scriptures, as told by J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit often reflects what is best in human nature or what Christians refer to as the divine stamp or imago Dei. Literary characters such as those found in J.R.R.