05-30-2010, 12:02 PM
The last lions in Europe were extinguished, I always thought, in the Late Bronze Age. The Mycenaean warriors may still have seen them, but after that, there were no lions in Europe any more. In a sense, Heracles killed the last one at Nemea.
But how is this in Asia? I receive a question from a Dutch "biblioblogger" who asks my advise - but I do not know it either.
What I do know, is that the Jewish Bible refers 127 times to lions. Only in Judges 14.5 and 1 Samuel 17.34-37 are the animals real. There are also lions in 1 Kings 13.24-28 and 20.36, and 2 Kings 17.25-26; yet these are miracle stories, and in the last case it is even made explicit that the lions were sent by the Lord. Finally, 2 Samuel 23.20 = 1 Chronicles 11.22 is an astrological joke (explanation).
All other references are metaphors: brave like a lion, fear-inspiring like a lion, and so on. The nine references in the New Testament are also metaphorical. Only Amos 3.4 appears to be a metaphor based on actual observation. Does anyone know about the archaeological evidence? When did lions vanish from Judah? From the Near East in general?
But how is this in Asia? I receive a question from a Dutch "biblioblogger" who asks my advise - but I do not know it either.
What I do know, is that the Jewish Bible refers 127 times to lions. Only in Judges 14.5 and 1 Samuel 17.34-37 are the animals real. There are also lions in 1 Kings 13.24-28 and 20.36, and 2 Kings 17.25-26; yet these are miracle stories, and in the last case it is even made explicit that the lions were sent by the Lord. Finally, 2 Samuel 23.20 = 1 Chronicles 11.22 is an astrological joke (explanation).
All other references are metaphors: brave like a lion, fear-inspiring like a lion, and so on. The nine references in the New Testament are also metaphorical. Only Amos 3.4 appears to be a metaphor based on actual observation. Does anyone know about the archaeological evidence? When did lions vanish from Judah? From the Near East in general?