sion, he stiU remains so to his nature. Tluis nothing can be more graphic than the record of the man of (iod (1 Kings xiii, 28), disobedient to his charge, struck down from his ass, and lying dead, while the lion stands by him, without touching the lifeless body or attacking the living animal, usually a favorite prey. (See also Gen. xlix, 9 ; Job iv, 10, 11 ; Nah. ii, 11, 12.) Samson's adven- ture also with the young lion (Judg. xiv, 5, 6), and the picture of the young lion coming up from the underwood cover on the banks of the Jordan, all attest a perfect knowledge of the animal and its habits. Finally, the lions in the den with Daniel, miracidously leaving him unmolested, still retain, in all other respects, the real characteristics of their nature" (Kitto),
" The strength (Judg, xiv, 18, Prov, xxx, 30 ; 2 Sam, i, 23), courage (2 Sam. xvii, 10; Prov. xxviii, 1; Isa, xxxi, 4; Nah. ii, 11), and ferocity (Gen. xlix, 9; Numb, xxiv, 9) of the lion were proverbial. The ' lion-faced' warriors of Gad were among David's most valiant troops (1 Chron. xii, 8) ; and the hero Judas MaccabiEus is de- scribed as ' like a lion, and like a lion's whelp roaring for his prey' (1 Mace, iii, 4)" (Smith). Hence the lion, as an emblem of power, was symbolical of the tribe of Ju- dah (Gen. xlix, 9). Grotius thinks the passage in Ezek. xix, 2, 3, alludes to this fact that Judtea was among the nations like a lioness among the beasts of the forest ; she had strength and sovereignty. The same type of sovereignty recurs in the prophetical visions, and the figure of this animal was among the few which the He- brews admitted in sculpture or in cast metal, as exem- plified in the throne of Solomon (1 Kings x, 19, 20) and the brazen sea (1 Kings vii, 29, 36). The heathen as- sumed the lion as an emblem of the sun, of the god of war, of Arcs, Ariel, Arioth, Re, the Indian Siva, of do- minion in general, of valor, etc. ; and it occurs in the names and standards of many nations. This illustrates Dan, vii, 4, " The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings," The Chaldajan or Babylonian empire is here represented (see Jer. iv, 7). Its progress to what was then deemed universal empire Avas rapid, and therefore it has the wings of an eagle (see Jer. xlviii, 40, and Ezek. xvii, 3). It is said bj' Megasthenes and Strabo that this power advanced as far as Spain. W'hen its wings were plucked or torn out, that is, when it was checked in its progress h\ frequent defeats, it became more peaceable and humane, agreeably to that idea of Psa. ix, 20. A remarkable coincidence between the sj-m- bolical figure of Daniel's vision and the creations of an- cient Assj-rian art has lately been brought to light bj' the researches of Layard and Botta on the sites of Bab- ylon and Nineveh. SeeCiiERLB. In Isa. xxix, l,"Woe to the lion of God, the city where David dwelt," Jeru- salem is denoted, and the terms used appear to signify the strength of the place, by which it was enabled to resist and overcome all its enemies. See Ariel. The ajjostle Paid says (2 Tim, iv, 17), " I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion,'' The general opinion is that Nero is here meant, or, rather, his prefect JElius Caesari- anus, to whom Nero committed the government of the city of Rome during his absence, with power to put to death whomsoever he pleased. See Paul, So, when Ti- berius died, Marsyas said to Agrippa, " The lion is dead,'' So likewise speaks Esther of Artaxerxes, in the apocrj'- phal chapters of that book (ch, xiv, 13), " Put a word into my mouth before the lion," There are some com- mentators who regard the ajiostle's expression as a pro- verbial one for a deliverance from any great or immi- nent danger, but others conclude that he had been actu- ally delivered from a lion let loose against him in the amphitheatre. That the same symbol should some- times be applied to opposite characters is not at all sur- prising or inconsistent, since different qualities may re- side in the symbol, of which the good may be referred to the one, the bad to another. Thus in the lion reside courage and victorj- over antagonists. In these respects it may be and is employed as a symbol of Christ, called the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. v, 5), as being the
LIONESS
449
LIPPE
illustrious descendant of that tribe, whose emblem was the lion. In the lion also reside fierceness and rapacity. In this point of view it is used as a fit emblem of Satan : " Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the dev- il, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking wliom he may devour" (1 Peter v, 8). On the subject generally, see Bochart, Ilieroz. ii, 1 sq.; Kosenmiiller, Alterth. IV, ii. Ill sq. ; Wemyss, Clavis Symholica,s.\.\ renmj Cy- clopedia, s. V. ; Wood, Bible A ninials, p. 18 sq. ; Tristram, Natural History of the Bible, p. 115 sq.
Lioness. See Lion.