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
Judah is a lion's whelp. My son, you have gone up from the prey. He stooped, he crouched like a lion; and like a lioness, who shall rouse him?
Judah is a lion's whelp. My son, you have gone up from the prey. He stooped, he crouched like a lion; and like a lioness, who shall rouse him?
Judah is a lion's whelp. My son, you have gone up from the prey. He stooped, he crouched like a lion; and like a lioness, who shall rouse him?
Behold, the people shall rise up like a great lion, and lift up himself like a young lion. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey and drinks the blood of the slain.
Behold, the people shall rise up like a great lion, and lift up himself like a young lion. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey and drinks the blood of the slain.
He crouched. He lay down as a lion, and as a great lion. Who shall stir him up? Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.
And Samson and his father and his mother went down to Timnath. And they came to the vineyards of Timnath. And, behold, a young lion roared to meet him.
And Samson and his father and his mother went down to Timnath. And they came to the vineyards of Timnath. And, behold, a young lion roared to meet him. And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he tore it as he would have torn a kid; and nothing was in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.
And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey, and what stronger than a lion? And he said to them, If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.
And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb out of its mouth. And when it rose against me, I caught it by the beard, and struck it and killed it.
And also he, the son of valor, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt. For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and they who are with him are mighty men.
And he left, and a lion met him by the way and killed him. And his dead body was thrown in the highway, and the ass stood by it, and the lion also stood by the body. And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the way, and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
And it happened at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear Jehovah. And Jehovah sent lions among them, who killed them. And they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the manner of the God of the land. And He has sent lions among them, and, behold, they kill them because they do not know the way of the God of the land.
The roar of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
The roar of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the strong lion's cubs are scattered abroad.
The young lions lack, and suffer hunger; but those who seek Jehovah shall not lack any good thing.
O Jehovah, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my only one from the lions.
O God, break their teeth in their mouth; break out the big teeth of the young lions, O Jehovah.
You shall tread on the lion and adder; the young lion and the jackal You shall trample underfoot.
You shall tread on the lion and adder; the young lion and the jackal You shall trample underfoot.
The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God.
The lazy one says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
Come with Me from Lebanon, My spouse; with Me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
The burden concerning the beasts of the south. Into the land of trouble and woe. The lioness and the lion are from them; the viper, and the fiery flying serpent. They carry their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit.
The young lions roared against him; they gave their voice. And they made his land a waste; his cities are burned without inhabitant.
Therefore a lion out of the forest shall kill them, and a wolf of the deserts shall rob them; a leopard shall watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from them shall be torn in pieces, because their sins are many and their backslidings are multiplied.
My inheritance is to Me as a lion in the forest; it cries out against Me; therefore I have hated it.
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the home of the strong. But I will suddenly make him run away from her. And who is a chosen one I may appoint over it? For who is like Me? And who will summon Me? And who is that shepherd who will stand before Me?
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan to the home of the strong. But I will make them suddenly run away from her. And who is a chosen one whom I will appoint over her? For who is like Me? And who will set Me the time? And who is that shepherd who will stand before Me?
They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions' cubs.
and say: What is your mother? A lioness. She lay down among lions; she multiplied her cubs among young lions.
For I will be to Ephraim as a lion, and as a strong lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away. I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey for him? Will a young lion cry out of his den unless he has caught?
So says Jehovah: As the shepherd takes two legs out of the mouth of the lion, or a piece of an ear; so shall the sons of Israel be taken out, those who dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus on a couch.
Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked, and the lion's cub, and no one made them afraid? The lion tears in pieces enough for his cubs, and strangles for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with torn prey.
There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is destroyed. There is a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is destroyed.