Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

LION

A large carnivorous member of the cat family. The Asiatic lion, Panthera leo persica, was once common throughout the ancient Near East and Mediterranean but has been extinct in Palestine for centuries; in Mesopotamia, it survived in the marshes of the Tigris and Euphrates until the 19th century a.d. (cf. Jer. 50:44).

Although Samson killed a lion with his bare hands (Judg. 14:6), in OT stories of encounters with lions the lions are usually victorious (1 Kgs. 13:24; 20:36; 2 Kgs. 17:25). Israel’s topography naturally isolated lions from the human population, although kings bred lions in captivity to show their royal power and to punish criminals (cf. Dan. 6); the most prolific royal lion breeder was Assurnasirpal II of Assyria. Since wild prey was essential to their survival, lions were generally found in forested regions, such as the Lebanon Mountains, the area contiguous to the Jordan River, Bashan, and in suitable portions of the Negeb and Arabah. Ultimately, the lack of cover and wild game and the increasing human population resulted in the total eradication of the lion in Israel.

Due to its unmatched power and majesty, the lion leant itself to artistic and literary expression. Thus, the vast majority of biblical references refer symbolically to lions. Israel (Num. 23:24), a valiant warrior’s heart (2 Sam. 17:10), the devil (1 Pet. 5:8), and the Messiah (Rev. 5:5, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”) are all compared to the lion.

The lion was very commonly used in art. Solomon’s throne (1 Kgs. 10:18-20) and his temple (7:29, 36; cf. Ezek. 41:15-19) employed lion sculptures. Often a pair of lions would flank a city gate (as at the gates of Mycenae and Hattusas and Babylon’s famous Ishtar Gate), offering magical protection (called šēdû; cf. Deut. 32:17) to the inhabitants. This protection through artwork extended to daggers, axes, decorated trappings on war horses, and afterlife items (e.g., the decorative lions flanking Tutankhamun’s funeral headrest, as well as his bed). One of the most famous seals ever found in Israel (at Megiddo in 1909 belonging to “Shema the servant of Jeroboam”) was dominated by its distinctive royal lion emblem.

Donald Fowler

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

LION

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)