Reference: Lions
Easton
the most powerful of all carnivorous animals. Although not now found in Palestine, they must have been in ancient times very numerous there. They had their lairs in the forests (Jer 5:6; 12:8; Am 3:4), in the caves of the mountains (Song 4:8; Na 2:12), and in the canebrakes on the banks of the Jordan (Jer 49:19; 50:44; Zec 11:3).
No fewer than at least six different words are used in the Old Testament for the lion. (1.) Gor (i.e., a "suckling"), the lion's whelp (Ge 49:9; Jer 51:38, etc.). (2.) Kephir (i.e., "shaggy"), the young lion (Jg 14:5; Job 4:10; Ps 91:13; 104:21), a term which is also used figuratively of cruel enemies (Ps 34:10; 35:17; 58:6; Jer 2:15). (3.) 'Ari (i.e., the "puller" in pieces), denoting the lion in general, without reference to age or sex (Nu 23:24; 2Sa 17:10, etc.). (4.) Shahal (the "roarer"), the mature lion (Job 4:10; Ps 91:13; Pr 26:13; Ho 5:14). (5.) Laish, so called from its strength and bravery (Job 4:11; Pr 30:30; Isa 30:6). The capital of Northern Dan received its name from this word. (6.) Labi, from a root meaning "to roar," a grown lion or lioness (Ge 49:9; Nu 23:24; 24:9; Eze 19:2; Na 2:11).
The lion of Palestine was properly of the Asiatic variety, distinguished from the African variety, which is larger. Yet it not only attacked flocks in the presence of the shepherd, but also laid waste towns and villages (2Ki 17:25-26) and devoured men (1Ki 13:24-25). Shepherds sometimes, single-handed, encountered lions and slew them (1Sa 17:34-35; Am 3:12). Samson seized a young lion with his hands and "rent him as he would have rent a kid" (Jg 14:5-6). The strength (Jg 14:18), courage (2Sa 17:10), and ferocity (Ge 49:9) of the lion were proverbial.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
A lion's whelp, is Judah, From the prey, my son hast thou come up! He hath stooped - hath crouched As a lion - or as a lioness, Who shall rouse him?
A lion's whelp, is Judah, From the prey, my son hast thou come up! He hath stooped - hath crouched As a lion - or as a lioness, Who shall rouse him?
A lion's whelp, is Judah, From the prey, my son hast thou come up! He hath stooped - hath crouched As a lion - or as a lioness, Who shall rouse him?
Lo, a people, like a lioness, shall rise, And like a strong lion, shall rouse himself up; He will not lie down till be eat the torn, And the blood of the slain, he drink.
Lo, a people, like a lioness, shall rise, And like a strong lion, shall rouse himself up; He will not lie down till be eat the torn, And the blood of the slain, he drink.
He hath knelt - hath lain down, Like a strong lion, yea like a lioness, Who shall rouse him up? Such as bless thee are each one blessed, But, such, as curse thee, are each one cursed.
So Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, - and they came as far as the vineyards of Timnath, when lo! a young lion, roaring to meet him.
So Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, - and they came as far as the vineyards of Timnath, when lo! a young lion, roaring to meet him. And the Spirit of Yahweh, came suddenly over him, and he tore it in pieces as if he had torn in pieces a kid, there being, nothing at all, in his hand, - but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
And the men of the city said to him, on the seventh day - ere yet the sun went in, What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them: If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle!
Then said David unto Saul, Thy servant used to tend his father's sheep, - and there would come a lion, or a bear, and carry off a lamb out of the flock; and I would go out after him, and smite him, and rescue it out of his mouth, - and, if he rose against me, I would catch him by his beard, and smite him, and slay him.
then will, even the son of valour himself, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, utterly melt, - for all Israel do know that, a man of might, is thy father, and that, sons of valour, are they who are with him.
And, when he had gone, there met him a lion by the way, and slew him, - and his dead body was cast out in the way, and, the ass, was standing near it, and, the lion, was standing near the dead body. And lo! certain men, passing by, saw the dead body, cast out in the way, and the lion standing near the dead body, - so they came in, and spake of it in the city, wherein, the aged prophet, dwelt.
And so it was, that, when they first dwelt there, they revered not Yahweh, - therefore Yahweh sent among them, lions, which were slaying them. Therefore spake they unto the king of Assyria, saying, The nations whom thou hast removed and settled in the cities of Samaria, know not the custom of the God of the land, - and he hath sent among them lions, and lo! they are slaying them, because they know not the custom of the God of the land.
Notwithstanding the roaring of the lion, and the noise of the howling lion, yet, the teeth of the fierce lions, are broken:
Notwithstanding the roaring of the lion, and the noise of the howling lion, yet, the teeth of the fierce lions, are broken: The strong lion perishing for lack of prey, Even the whelps of the lioness, are scattered.
Young lions, have come short, and suffered hunger, but, they who seek Yahweh, shall not lack any good thing.
My Lord! how long wilt thou look on? Bring back my soul out of their raging, from among lions, my solitary self.
O God! break away their teeth in their mouth, The biters of the young lions, knock thou out, O Yahweh!
On the lion and adder, shalt thou tread, Shalt trample on young lion and crocodile.
On the lion and adder, shalt thou tread, Shalt trample on young lion and crocodile.
Saith the sluggard, A roaring lion in the road! A tearing lion in the midst of the broadways.
The lion, hero among beasts, which turneth aside from the face of no one;
With me, from Lebanon, O bride, with me, from Lebanon, shalt thou enter, - Thou shalt look round from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir, and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards.
The Oracle on the Beasts of the South, - Through a land of distress and oppression - Lioness and lion coming therefrom, Viper and fiery flying serpent, They would carry, on the shoulders of young asses their wealth And on the humps of camels their treasures Unto a people that cannot serve them.
Against him, have been roaring wild lions, They have uttered their voice, - and have made his land a desolation, His cities, have been burned, so as to have no inhabitant.
For this cause, hath the lion out of the forest smitten them, The wolf of the waste plains, preyeth upon them, The leopard, is keeping watch over their cities, Every one that goeth out from thence, is torn in pieces, - For they have multiplied their transgressions, Numerous are their apostasies.
Mine inheritance, hath become to me as a lion in a jungle, - She hath given forth against me her voice, For this cause, have I hated her.
Lo! like a lion, will he come up from the majesty of the Jordan, unto the pasture perennial, But I will wink - I will make him run away therefrom, Who then shall be the Chosen One whom over it, I may set in charge? For who shall be like unto, me? And who shall appoint me, a time? And who is the Shepherd that shall stand before, me?
Lo! as a lion, shall he come up from the majesty of the Jordan, Unto the pasture perennial, But I will wink - I will make them run away therefrom, Who then shall be the Chosen One whom against it, I may set in charge? For who shall be like unto, me? And who shall appoint me, a time? And who is the Shepherd that shall stand before me?
Together, like wild lions, shall they roar, - They have growled like lions' whelps.
and thou shalt say - How was thy mother a lioness, Between lions, she lay down,- I n the midst of young lions, She nourished her whelps;
For, I, will be as a lion unto Ephraim, and as a young lion to the house of Judah, - I, I, will tear in pieces, and depart, I will carry off, and none be able to rescue.
Will a lion roar in the forest, when, prey, he hath none? Will a young lion utter his voice out of his den, when he hath made no capture?
Thus, saith Yahweh, Just as a shepherd rescueth, out of the mouth of the lion, a couple of shankbones, or the tip of an ear, so, shall be rescued the sons of Israel, who are tarrying in Samaria, in the corner of the divan, and on the damask of the luxurious couch.
Where is the lair of the lions? Yea the very feeding-place of the young lions, - where walked the lion, the lioness, the lion's whelp, with none to make them afraid? The lion, used to tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and to strangle for his lionesses, - and then fill with prey his holes, and his lairs with what he had torn.
The noise of the howling of the shepherds, for spoiled is their majesty, - The noise of the roaring of the young lions, for spoiled are the proud banks of the Jordan.