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Lion

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(seeing). Once found in Palestine (Judg. 14:5-6⁵Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. ⁶And 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: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. (Judges 14:5‑6); 1 Sam. 17:34-36³⁴And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: ³⁵And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. ³⁶Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. (1 Samuel 17:34‑36); 2 Sam. 23:20²⁰And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow: (2 Samuel 23:20)). Symbol of strength (Gen. 49:9⁹Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? (Genesis 49:9)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

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There are several Hebrew words translated “lion,” the principal of which is ari, from “to tear.” The lion is declared to be the “strongest among beasts and turneth not away for any” (Prov. 30:30³⁰A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; (Proverbs 30:30)). This shows that the lion may be taken as a symbol of “strength,” and as such the Lord is called the lion of the tribe of Judah, to which is attached the symbol of royalty, for Judah held the scepter (Gen. 49:9-10⁹Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? ¹⁰The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:9‑10); Rev. 5:5⁵And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Revelation 5:5)). Satan also has a kingdom and is called a strong one (Matt. 12:26²⁶And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? (Matthew 12:26)); and he is the “lion” seeking whom he may devour. He is compared to a “roaring lion,” because he is like that animal, which roars when it is sure of its prey (compare Amos 3:4⁴Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? (Amos 3:4)). The Lord knows how to deliver His servants even out of the mouth of the lion.

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