Simon says: "Let's meet the Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica)

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Simon says: "Let's meet the Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica)

The lion appears more than 150 times in the Hebrew Bible.
Samson tore one apart with his bare hands at Timnah (Judges 14:5-6); David killed a lion - & a bear - to protect his flock (1 Samuel 17:34-36)

The lion was the emblem of the tribe of Judah (Genesis/Bereshit 49:9); the first of the 4 living creatures in Ezekiel's vision had the face of a lion.

The Asiatic lion once roamed the Levant from Turkey through Israel, east to Persia; the region's forests giving them cover. But they became extinct in Israel in the wild during the Middle Ages, due to habitat loss & hunting.

Archaeologists found lion bones at Tel Hazor & Tel Megiddo, & attached is a drawing of a lion in the Sidonian cave in Beit Guvrin

The Talmud lists 6 terms to describe a lion; each name captures a different stage of life or a human reaction to the animal. Rabbi Levi added gur aryeh, which literally translates from Genesis 49:9 as a "lion's whelp" or "young lion cub" - as a 7th distinct term.

The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens (Jerusalem Biblical Zoo) houses a pride of Asiatic lions. They are the same subspecies that once lived in this Land. The zoo participates in a European breeding programme to preserve this critically endangered population. Past adult residents like Gir & Yasha have welcomed cubs over the years. Every birth is a small victory for a species pushed to the edge.

Want to walk in the footsteps of a lion?

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#lions #asiaticlion #jerusalembiblicalzoo #israelnature #wildlifehistory #bibleanimals #samson #davidandgoliath #tribeofjudah #hebrewlanguage #biblicalhebrew #pantheraleopersica #conservation #tanakh

Photo credit:

אלכסנדר מובצ'ן

Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

Asiatic lion Jerusalem zoo

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