Story of the Bible Animals: A Description of the Habits and Uses of every living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, with Explanation of Passages in the Old and New Testament in which Reference is made to them — John Shaqi
Story of the Bible Animals: A Description of the Habits and Uses of every living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, with Explanation of Passages in the Old and New Testament in which Reference is made to themWood, J. G. (John George)
Religion
Story of the Bible Animals: A Description of the Habits and Uses of every living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, with Explanation of Passages in the Old and New Testament in which Reference is made to them
Wood, J. G. (John George)
Animals in the Bible; Nature in the Bible
Many passages refer to the Lion's roar, and it is remarkable that
the Hebrew language contains several words by which the different
kind of roar is described. One word, for example, represents the
low, deep, thunder-like roar of the Lion seeking its prey, and which
has already been mentioned. This is the word which is used in Amos
iii. 4, "Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey?" and
in this passage the word which is translated as Lion signifies the
animal when full grown and in the prime of life. Another word is
used to signify the sudden exulting cry of the Lion as it leaps
upon its victim. A third is used for the angry growl with which a
Lion resents any endeavour to deprive it of its prey, a sound with
which we are all familiar, on a miniature scale, when we hear a cat
growling over a mouse which she has just caught. The fourth term
signifies the peculiar roar uttered by the young Lion after it has
ceased to be a cub and before it has attained maturity. This last
term is employed in Jer. li. 38, "They shall _roar_ together like
lions; they shall _yell_ as lions' whelps," in which passage two
distinct words are used, one signifying the roar of the Lion when
searching after prey, and the other the cry of the young Lions.
The prophet Amos, who in his capacity of herdsman was familiar
with the wild beasts, from which he had to guard his cattle, makes
frequent mention of the Lion, and does so with a force and vigour
that betoken practical experience. How powerful is this imagery,
"The lion hath roared; who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken;
who can but prophesy?" Here we have the picture of the man himself,
the herdsman and prophet, who had trembled many a night, as the
Lions drew nearer and nearer; and who heard the voice of the Lord,
and his lips poured out prophecy. Nothing can be more complete than
the parallel which he has drawn. It breathes the very spirit of
piety, and may bear comparison even with the prophecies of Isaiah
for its simple grandeur.
It is remarkable how the sacred writers have entered into the spirit
of the world around them, and how closely they observed the minutest
details even in the lives of the brute beasts. There is a powerful
passage in the book of Job, iv. 11, "The old lion perisheth for lack
of prey," in which the writer betrays his thorough knowledge of the
habits of the animal, and is aware that the usual mode of a Lion's
death is through hunger, in consequence of his increasing inability
to catch prey.
The nocturnal habits of the Lion and its custom of lying in wait
for prey are often mentioned in the Scriptures. The former habit is
spoken of in that familiar and beautiful passage in the Psalms (civ.
20), "Thou makest darkness, and it is night; wherein all the beasts
of the forest do creep forth. The young Lions roar after their
prey; and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather
themselves together, and lay them down in their dens."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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