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Lion

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

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Nave Topical Bible
• Lion
Thompson Chain Reference
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Torrey Topical Textbook
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Dictionaries
American Tract Society
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Baker's Evangelical Dictionary
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Easton's Bible Dictionary
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Fausset Bible Dictionary
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Holman Bible Dictionary
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• Den of Lions
Hastings' BibleDictionary
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Hastings' NT Dictionary
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King James Dictionary
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Morrish Bible Dictionary
• Lion-Like Men
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1910 New Catholic Dictionary
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Hawker's Poor Man's Dictionary
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People's Bible Dictionary
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Smith Bible Dictionary
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Vines' Expository Dictionary
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• Lion
Wilson's Bible Types
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Webster Dictionary
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• Lions' Teeth
• Lion-Hearted
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Watson's Theological Dictionary
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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Ant-Lion
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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia
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McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
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• Lion-Worship
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
• British Lion
• Coeur de Lion
• Lion, the
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The Jewish Encyclopedia
• Lion
• Lion, Henri Julius
• Lion, Isaac Jacob
Lexicons
• ܐܰܪܝܳܐ
• ܐܰܪܝܳܐ
• λέων
• אֲרִי , אַרְיֵה
• אֲרִאֵל
• אֲרִידָתָא
•   (only first 3 shown)

'Ărı̂y (אַרְיֵה, Strong's #738), “lion.” This apparently Aramaic loan word finds a cognate only in Aramaic. Occurring in all periods of biblical Hebrew, it is attested 83 times. The word represents a “full-grown lion.”

This word should be compared to: (1) gur (Gen. 49:9), a suckling lion; (2) shachal (Hos. 5:14), a young lion which no longer is a suckling; and (3) kepir (Judg. 14:5), a young lion which no longer is a suckling and which hunts for its food independently.

The “lion” was a much-feared beast (Amos 3:12) found mostly in the Trans-jordan (Jer. 49:19) and in the mountainous areas (Song of Sol. 4:8). The various characteristics of the “lion” make it a frequent figure of strength and power (Judg. 14:18), of plundering (Gen. 49:9), and of malicious scheming (Ps. 10:9).