ארי, or ארה, Genesis xlix, 9; Deut. xxxiii, 22; Psalm vii, 2;
xxii, 13; Hosea xiii, 8; Micah v, 8; a large beast of prey, for his
courage and strength called the king of beasts. This animal is produced
in Africa, and the hottest parts of Asia. It is found in the greatest
numbers in the scorched and desolate regions of the torrid zone, in the
deserts of Zaara and Billdulgerid, and in all the interior parts of the
vast continent of Africa. In these desert regions, from whence mankind
are driven by the rigorous heat of the climate, this animal reigns sole
master. His disposition seems to partake of the ardour of his native
soil. Inflamed by the influence of a burning sun, his rage is
tremendous, and his courage undaunted. Happily, indeed, the species is
not numerous, and is said to be greatly diminished; for, if we may
credit the testimony of those who have traversed those vast deserts, the
number of lions is not nearly so great as formerly. Mr. Shaw observes
that the Romans carried more lions from Libya in one year for their
public spectacles, than could be found in all that country at this time.
The lion was also found in Palestine, and the neighbouring countries.
The length of the largest lion is between eight and nine feet, the tail
about four, and its height about four feet and a half. The female is
about one-fourth part less, and without a mane. As the lion advances in
years, his mane grows longer and thicker. The hair on the rest of the
body is short and smooth, of a tawny colour, but whitish on the belly.
Its roaring is loud and dreadful. When heard in the night it resembles
distant thunder. Its cry of anger is much louder and shorter. The
attachment of a lioness to her young is remarkably strong. For their
support she is more ferocious than the lion himself; makes her
incursions with greater boldness; destroys, without distinction, every
animal that falls in her way, and carries it reeking to her cubs. She
usually brings forth in the most retired and inaccessible places; and
when afraid that her retreat should be discovered, endeavours to hide
her track by brushing the ground with her tail. When much disturbed or
alarmed, she will sometimes transport her young, which are usually three
or four in number, from one place to another in her mouth; and, if
obstructed in her course, will defend them to the last extremity. The
habits of the lion and the lioness afford many spirited, and often
sublime, metaphors to the sacred writers.
The lion has several names in Scripture, according to his different ages
or character: 1. גור, a little lion, a lion’s whelp, Deut. xxxiii, 22;
Jer. li, 38; Ezek. xix, 2; Nahum ii, 13. 2. כפיר, a young lion that has
done sucking the lioness, and, leaving the covert, begins to seek prey
for himself. So Ezekiel xix, 2, 3: The lioness hath brought up one of
her whelps; it became a _chephir_; it learned to catch the prey; it
devoured men.” See Psalm xci, 13; Prov. xix, 12. 3. ארי, a grown and
vigorous lion, having whelps, eager in pursuit of prey for them, Nahum
ii, 12; valiant, 2 Sam. xvii, 10; arrogantly opposing himself, Num.
xxiii, 24. This is, indeed, the general name, and occurs frequently. 4.
שחל, one in the full strength of his age; a black lion, Job iv, 10; x,
16; Psalm xci, 13; Prov. xxvi, 13; Hosea v, 14; xiii, 7. 5. ליש, a
fierce or enraged lion, Job iv, 11; Prov. xxx, 30; Isaiah xxv, 6. A
regard to these characteristics and distinctions is very important for
illustrating the passages of Scripture where the animal is spoken of,
and discovering the propriety of the allusions and metaphors which he so
often furnishes to the Hebrew poets. The lion of the tribe of Judah,
mentioned Rev. v, 5, is Jesus Christ, who sprung from the tribe of
Judah, and overcame death, the world, and the devil. The lion from the
swelling of Jordan, Jer. l, 44, is Nebuchadnezzar marching against
Judea, with the strength and fierceness of a lion. Isaiah, describing
the happy time of the Messiah, says, that then the calf, and the young
lion, and the fatling should lie down together; and that a little child
should lead them; and that the lion should eat straw like the ox, Isaiah
xi, 6, 7, which is hyperbolical, and signifies the peace and happiness
which the church of Christ should enjoy. The lion hath roared, and who
shall not fear?” Amos iii, 8. “The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a
lion. Who provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul,” Prov.
xix, 12; xx, 2; that is, he seeketh his own death. Solomon says, A
living dog is better than a dead lion,” Eccles. x, 4; showing that death
renders those contemptible who otherwise are the greatest, most
powerful, and most terrible.
Then went Samson down and, behold, a young lion roared against him, and
the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he
would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand,” Judges xiv, 5,
6. An instance in quite modern times of an unarmed man attempting to
combat a lion is related by Poiret: “In a douar, or a camp of Bedouin
Arabs, near La Calle, a French factory, a young lion had seized a cow. A
young Moor threw himself upon the savage beast, to tear his booty from
him, and as it were to stifle him in his arms, but he would not let go
his prey. The father of the young man hastened to him, armed with a kind
of hoe; and aiming at the lion, struck his son’s hand, and cut off three
of his fingers. It cost a great deal of trouble to rescue the prey from
the lion. I saw this young man, who was attended by Mr. Gay, at that
time surgeon to the hospital of La Calle.” David, according to 1 Sam.
xvii, 34, had, when a shepherd, once fought with a lion, and another
time with a bear, and rescued their prey from them. Tellez relates, that
an Abyssinian shepherd had once killed a lion of extraordinary size with
only two poles. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling
of Jordan against the habitation of the strong,” Jer. xlix, 19. The
comparison used by the prophet in these words will be perfectly
understood by the account which Mr. Maundrell gives of the river Jordan:
After having descended,” says he, “the outermost bank of Jordan, you go
about a furlong upon a level strand, before you come to the immediate
bank of the river. This second bank is so beset with bushes and trees,
such as tamarisks, willows, oleanders, &c, that you can see no water
till you have made your way through them. In this thicket anciently, and
the same is reported of it at this day, several sorts of wild beasts
were wont to harbour themselves, whose being washed out of the covert by
the overflowings of the river gave occasion to that allusion: ‘He shall
come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan.’”
He shall be cast into the den of lions,” Dan. vi, 7. In Morocco,” says
Höst, “the king has a lions’ den, into which men, particularly Jews, are
sometimes thrown; but the latter generally come off unhurt, because the
keepers of these animals are Jews, who may safely be with them, with a
rod in the hand, if they only take care to go out backward, as the lion
does not suffer any one to turn his back upon him. The other Jews do not
let their brethren remain longer than a night among the lions, as they
might otherwise become too hungry; but ransom them with money, which is,
in fact, the king’s object.” In another place in the same work we find
the following description of the construction of this lions’ den: “At
one end of the royal palace there is a place for ostriches and their
young; and beyond the other end, toward the mountains, there is a large
lions’ den, which consists of a large square hole in the ground, with a
partition, in the middle of which there is a door, which the Jews, who
are obliged to maintain and keep them for nothing, are able to open and
shut from above, and can thus entice the lions, by means of the food,
from one division to the other, to clean the other in the mean time. It
is all in the open air, and a person may look down over a wall, which is
a yard and a quarter high.”
xxii, 13; Hosea xiii, 8; Micah v, 8; a large beast of prey, for his
courage and strength called the king of beasts. This animal is produced
in Africa, and the hottest parts of Asia. It is found in the greatest
numbers in the scorched and desolate regions of the torrid zone, in the
deserts of Zaara and Billdulgerid, and in all the interior parts of the
vast continent of Africa. In these desert regions, from whence mankind
are driven by the rigorous heat of the climate, this animal reigns sole
master. His disposition seems to partake of the ardour of his native
soil. Inflamed by the influence of a burning sun, his rage is
tremendous, and his courage undaunted. Happily, indeed, the species is
not numerous, and is said to be greatly diminished; for, if we may
credit the testimony of those who have traversed those vast deserts, the
number of lions is not nearly so great as formerly. Mr. Shaw observes
that the Romans carried more lions from Libya in one year for their
public spectacles, than could be found in all that country at this time.
The lion was also found in Palestine, and the neighbouring countries.
The length of the largest lion is between eight and nine feet, the tail
about four, and its height about four feet and a half. The female is
about one-fourth part less, and without a mane. As the lion advances in
years, his mane grows longer and thicker. The hair on the rest of the
body is short and smooth, of a tawny colour, but whitish on the belly.
Its roaring is loud and dreadful. When heard in the night it resembles
distant thunder. Its cry of anger is much louder and shorter. The
attachment of a lioness to her young is remarkably strong. For their
support she is more ferocious than the lion himself; makes her
incursions with greater boldness; destroys, without distinction, every
animal that falls in her way, and carries it reeking to her cubs. She
usually brings forth in the most retired and inaccessible places; and
when afraid that her retreat should be discovered, endeavours to hide
her track by brushing the ground with her tail. When much disturbed or
alarmed, she will sometimes transport her young, which are usually three
or four in number, from one place to another in her mouth; and, if
obstructed in her course, will defend them to the last extremity. The
habits of the lion and the lioness afford many spirited, and often
sublime, metaphors to the sacred writers.
The lion has several names in Scripture, according to his different ages
or character: 1. גור, a little lion, a lion’s whelp, Deut. xxxiii, 22;
Jer. li, 38; Ezek. xix, 2; Nahum ii, 13. 2. כפיר, a young lion that has
done sucking the lioness, and, leaving the covert, begins to seek prey
for himself. So Ezekiel xix, 2, 3: The lioness hath brought up one of
her whelps; it became a _chephir_; it learned to catch the prey; it
devoured men.” See Psalm xci, 13; Prov. xix, 12. 3. ארי, a grown and
vigorous lion, having whelps, eager in pursuit of prey for them, Nahum
ii, 12; valiant, 2 Sam. xvii, 10; arrogantly opposing himself, Num.
xxiii, 24. This is, indeed, the general name, and occurs frequently. 4.
שחל, one in the full strength of his age; a black lion, Job iv, 10; x,
16; Psalm xci, 13; Prov. xxvi, 13; Hosea v, 14; xiii, 7. 5. ליש, a
fierce or enraged lion, Job iv, 11; Prov. xxx, 30; Isaiah xxv, 6. A
regard to these characteristics and distinctions is very important for
illustrating the passages of Scripture where the animal is spoken of,
and discovering the propriety of the allusions and metaphors which he so
often furnishes to the Hebrew poets. The lion of the tribe of Judah,
mentioned Rev. v, 5, is Jesus Christ, who sprung from the tribe of
Judah, and overcame death, the world, and the devil. The lion from the
swelling of Jordan, Jer. l, 44, is Nebuchadnezzar marching against
Judea, with the strength and fierceness of a lion. Isaiah, describing
the happy time of the Messiah, says, that then the calf, and the young
lion, and the fatling should lie down together; and that a little child
should lead them; and that the lion should eat straw like the ox, Isaiah
xi, 6, 7, which is hyperbolical, and signifies the peace and happiness
which the church of Christ should enjoy. The lion hath roared, and who
shall not fear?” Amos iii, 8. “The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a
lion. Who provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul,” Prov.
xix, 12; xx, 2; that is, he seeketh his own death. Solomon says, A
living dog is better than a dead lion,” Eccles. x, 4; showing that death
renders those contemptible who otherwise are the greatest, most
powerful, and most terrible.
Then went Samson down and, behold, a young lion roared against him, and
the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he
would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand,” Judges xiv, 5,
6. An instance in quite modern times of an unarmed man attempting to
combat a lion is related by Poiret: “In a douar, or a camp of Bedouin
Arabs, near La Calle, a French factory, a young lion had seized a cow. A
young Moor threw himself upon the savage beast, to tear his booty from
him, and as it were to stifle him in his arms, but he would not let go
his prey. The father of the young man hastened to him, armed with a kind
of hoe; and aiming at the lion, struck his son’s hand, and cut off three
of his fingers. It cost a great deal of trouble to rescue the prey from
the lion. I saw this young man, who was attended by Mr. Gay, at that
time surgeon to the hospital of La Calle.” David, according to 1 Sam.
xvii, 34, had, when a shepherd, once fought with a lion, and another
time with a bear, and rescued their prey from them. Tellez relates, that
an Abyssinian shepherd had once killed a lion of extraordinary size with
only two poles. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling
of Jordan against the habitation of the strong,” Jer. xlix, 19. The
comparison used by the prophet in these words will be perfectly
understood by the account which Mr. Maundrell gives of the river Jordan:
After having descended,” says he, “the outermost bank of Jordan, you go
about a furlong upon a level strand, before you come to the immediate
bank of the river. This second bank is so beset with bushes and trees,
such as tamarisks, willows, oleanders, &c, that you can see no water
till you have made your way through them. In this thicket anciently, and
the same is reported of it at this day, several sorts of wild beasts
were wont to harbour themselves, whose being washed out of the covert by
the overflowings of the river gave occasion to that allusion: ‘He shall
come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan.’”
He shall be cast into the den of lions,” Dan. vi, 7. In Morocco,” says
Höst, “the king has a lions’ den, into which men, particularly Jews, are
sometimes thrown; but the latter generally come off unhurt, because the
keepers of these animals are Jews, who may safely be with them, with a
rod in the hand, if they only take care to go out backward, as the lion
does not suffer any one to turn his back upon him. The other Jews do not
let their brethren remain longer than a night among the lions, as they
might otherwise become too hungry; but ransom them with money, which is,
in fact, the king’s object.” In another place in the same work we find
the following description of the construction of this lions’ den: “At
one end of the royal palace there is a place for ostriches and their
young; and beyond the other end, toward the mountains, there is a large
lions’ den, which consists of a large square hole in the ground, with a
partition, in the middle of which there is a door, which the Jews, who
are obliged to maintain and keep them for nothing, are able to open and
shut from above, and can thus entice the lions, by means of the food,
from one division to the other, to clean the other in the mean time. It
is all in the open air, and a person may look down over a wall, which is
a yard and a quarter high.”