Lion - Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words
Usage Number: 1
Strong's Number: H738
Original Word: ’arî
Usage Notes: "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) gûr (Gen. 49:9), a suckling lion; (2) shahal (Hos. 5:14), a young lion which no longer is a suckling; and (3) kepîr (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. 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 (Psa. 10:9).