נמר, Cant. iv, 8; Isaiah xi, 6; Jer. v, 6; xiii, 23; Hosea
xiii, 7; Hab. i, 8; Dan. vii, 6; ϖάρδαλις, Rev. xiii, 2; Ecclus. xxviii,
23. There can be no doubt that the pard or leopard is the animal
mentioned. Bochart shows that the name is similar in the Chaldee,
Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic. The LXX uniformly render it by ϖάρδαλις;
and Jerom, _pardus_. Probably, these animals were numerous in Palestine;
as we find places with a name intimating their having been the haunts of
leopards: _Nimrah_, Num. xxxii, 3; _Beth-Nimrah_, Num. xxxii, 36; Joshua
xiii, 27; and waters of _Nimrim_,” Isa. xv, 6; Jer. xlviii, 34; and
mountains of leopards,” Cant. iv, 8. Nimrod might have his name from
this animal: He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; wherefore it is
said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord,” Gen. x, 9. It
is supposed, however, that his predations were not confined to the brute
creation. Dr. Geddes remarks, that the word hunter” expresses too
little. He was a freebooter, in the worst sense of the word; a lawless
despot:
Proud Nimrod first the bloody chase began,
A mighty hunter, and his prey was man.
Isaiah, describing the happy state of the reign of Messiah, says, The
leopard shall lie down with the kid,” Isaiah xi, 6. Even animals shall
lose their fierceness and cruelty, and become gentle and tame. Jeremiah,
v, 6, mentions the artful ambuscades of this animal; and in xiii, 23,
alludes to his spots: Can a Cushite change his skin; or a leopard his
spots? Then may ye prevail with them to do good who are habituated to do
evil;” and Habakkuk, i, 8, refers to its alertness.
xiii, 7; Hab. i, 8; Dan. vii, 6; ϖάρδαλις, Rev. xiii, 2; Ecclus. xxviii,
23. There can be no doubt that the pard or leopard is the animal
mentioned. Bochart shows that the name is similar in the Chaldee,
Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic. The LXX uniformly render it by ϖάρδαλις;
and Jerom, _pardus_. Probably, these animals were numerous in Palestine;
as we find places with a name intimating their having been the haunts of
leopards: _Nimrah_, Num. xxxii, 3; _Beth-Nimrah_, Num. xxxii, 36; Joshua
xiii, 27; and waters of _Nimrim_,” Isa. xv, 6; Jer. xlviii, 34; and
mountains of leopards,” Cant. iv, 8. Nimrod might have his name from
this animal: He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; wherefore it is
said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord,” Gen. x, 9. It
is supposed, however, that his predations were not confined to the brute
creation. Dr. Geddes remarks, that the word hunter” expresses too
little. He was a freebooter, in the worst sense of the word; a lawless
despot:
Proud Nimrod first the bloody chase began,
A mighty hunter, and his prey was man.
Isaiah, describing the happy state of the reign of Messiah, says, The
leopard shall lie down with the kid,” Isaiah xi, 6. Even animals shall
lose their fierceness and cruelty, and become gentle and tame. Jeremiah,
v, 6, mentions the artful ambuscades of this animal; and in xiii, 23,
alludes to his spots: Can a Cushite change his skin; or a leopard his
spots? Then may ye prevail with them to do good who are habituated to do
evil;” and Habakkuk, i, 8, refers to its alertness.