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Bible Dictionaries
Lion
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or '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).
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Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Lion'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/l/lion.html. 1940.
