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Bible Dictionaries
Lion
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or LION
(1) ’ări, ’aryeh , full-grown lion ( Genesis 49:9 , Judges 14:8; Judges 14:2 etc.).
(2) kĕphîr , a young strong lion ( Judges 14:6 , Job 4:10 , Ezekiel 19:2 etc.).
(3) lâbî (cf. Arab [Note: Arabic.] , labwah ), specially lioness ( Genesis 49:9 , Numbers 23:24 , Job 4:11 etc.); and lĕbîyyah ( Ezekiel 19:2 ).
(4) layîsh , particularly in poetry ( Job 4:11 , Proverbs 30:30 , Isaiah 30:6 etc.).
(5) shachal , poetically, lit. ‘the roarer’ ( Job 4:10; Job 10:18; Job 28:8 , Hosea 5:14 , Psalms 91:13 ).
(6) benç-shachats is tr. [Note: translate or translation.] in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] of Job 28:8 ‘lion s whelps,’ but ought to be, as in RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] , ‘sons of pride.’
Lions have been extinct in Palestine since the time of the Crusades, but evidently were once plentiful, especially in the thickets along the Jordan (Jeremiah 49:19; Jeremiah 50:44 , Zechariah 11:3 ). They were a source of danger to men ( 1 Kings 13:24 f., 1 Kings 20:35 , 2 Kings 17:25 ), and especially to shepherds’ flocks ( 1 Samuel 17:34 , Isaiah 31:4 , Amos 3:12 , Micah 5:8 ). The terrifying roar of the lion is referred to in Proverbs 19:12; Proverbs 20:2 etc., and it is compared to the voice of God ( Jeremiah 25:30 , Joel 3:16 , Amos 3:8 ). Metaphorically, Judah is described as a lion in Genesis 49:9 , Dan in Deuteronomy 33:22 , and Israel in Numbers 23:24; Numbers 24:9; but in the NT the lion is usually typical of Satan ( 1 Peter 5:8; ct. [Note: t. contrast.] ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah ,’ Revelation 5:5 ).
E. W. G. Masterman.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Lion'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/l/lion.html. 1909.
