Difference between revisions of "Wolf"

<p> זאב , in Arabic, <em> zeeb, </em> &nbsp; [[Genesis]] 49:27; &nbsp;Isaiah 11:6; &nbsp;Isaiah 65:25; &nbsp;Jeremiah 5:6; &nbsp;Ezekiel 22:27; &nbsp;Zephaniah 3:3; &nbsp;Habakkuk 1:8; λυκος , &nbsp;Matthew 7:15; &nbsp;Matthew 10:16; &nbsp;Luke 10:3; &nbsp;John 10:12; &nbsp;Acts 20:29; Ecclesiastes 13:17. M. Mains derives it from the Arabic word <em> zaab </em> or <em> daaba, </em> "to frighten;" and hence, perhaps, the German word <em> dieb, </em> "a thief." The wolf is a fierce, strong, cunning, mischievous, and carnivorous quadruped; externally and internally so nearly resembling the dog, that they seem modelled alike, yet have a perfect antipathy to each other. The [[Scripture]] observes of the wolf, that it lives upon rapine; is violent, bloody, cruel, voracious, and greedy; goes abroad by night to seek its prey, and is a great enemy to flocks of sheep. Indeed, this animal is fierce without cause, kills without remorse, and by its indiscriminate slaughter seems to satisfy its malignity rather than its hunger. The wolf is weaker than the lion or the bear, and less courageous than the leopard; but he scarcely yields to them in cruelty and rapaciousness. His ravenous temper prompts him to destructive and sanguinary depredations; and these are perpetrated principally in the night. This circumstance is expressly mentioned in several passages of Scripture. "The great men have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds; wherefore, a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them," &nbsp;Jeremiah 5:6 . The rapacious and cruel conduct of the princes of [[Israel]] is compared by &nbsp;Ezekiel 22:27 , to the mischievous inroads of the same animal: "Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, to destroy lives, to get dishonest gain;" and &nbsp;Zephaniah 3:3 , says, "Her princes within her are roaring lions, her judges are evening wolves: they gnaw not the bones till the morrow." Instead of protecting the innocent and restraining the evil doer, or punishing him according to the demerit of his crimes, they delight in violence and oppression, in blood and rapine; and so insatiable is their cupidity, that, like the evening wolf, they destroy more than they are able to possess. The dispositions of the wolf to attack the weaker animals, especially those which are under the protection of man, is alluded to by our [[Saviour]] in the parable of the hireling shepherd: "The wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the flock," &nbsp;Matthew 7:15 . And the [[Apostle]] Paul, in his address to the elders of Ephesus, gives the name of this insidious and cruel animal to the false teachers who disturbed the peace and perverted the faith of their people: "I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock," &nbsp;Acts 20:29 . </p>

<p> <strong> WOLF </strong> . </p> <p> In AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘wolf’ is always tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of <em> ze’çb </em> (cf. [[Arab]] [Note: Arabic.] , <em> zeeb </em> ‘wolf’), &nbsp; Genesis 49:27 , &nbsp; Isaiah 11:6; &nbsp; Isaiah 65:25 , &nbsp; Jeremiah 5:6 , &nbsp; Ezekiel 22:27 , &nbsp; Habakkuk 1:8 , &nbsp; Zephaniah 3:8 . Cf. also proper name Zeeb, &nbsp; Judges 7:25 . For <em> ‘iyyîm </em> (tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘wolves’ in &nbsp; Isaiah 13:22 RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) and <em> tannîm </em> see <strong> [[Jackal]] </strong> . The NT term is <em> lykos </em> (&nbsp; Matthew 7:15; &nbsp; Matthew 10:16 , &nbsp; Luke 10:3 , &nbsp; John 10:12 , &nbsp; Acts 20:29 ). </p> <p> The wolf of [[Palestine]] is a variety of <em> Canis tupus </em> , somewhat lighter in colour and larger than that of N. Europe. It is seldom seen to-day, and never goes in packs, though commonly in couples; it commits its ravages at night, hence the expression ‘wolf of the evening’ (&nbsp; Jeremiah 5:6 , &nbsp; Zephaniah 3:3 ); it was one of the greatest terrors of the lonely shepherd (&nbsp; John 10:12 ); persecutors are compared to wolves in &nbsp; Matthew 10:18 , &nbsp; Acts 20:29 . </p> <p> E. W. G. Masterman. </p>

<p> '''(1):''' ''' (''' a.) A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries. </p> <p> '''(2):''' ''' (''' a.) Any one of several species of wild and savage carnivores belonging to the genus Canis and closely allied to the common dog. The best-known and most destructive species are the European wolf (Canis lupus), the American gray, or timber, wolf (C. occidentalis), and the prairie wolf, or coyote. Wolves often hunt in packs, and may thus attack large animals and even man. </p> <p> '''(3):''' ''' (''' a.) One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvae of several species of beetles and grain moths; as, the bee wolf. </p> <p> '''(4):''' ''' (''' a.) Fig.: Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation; as, they toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door. </p> <p> '''(5):''' ''' (''' a.) In bowed instruments, a harshness due to defective vibration in certain notes of the scale. </p> <p> '''(6):''' ''' (''' a.) An eating ulcer or sore. Cf. Lupus. </p> <p> '''(7):''' ''' (''' a.) The harsh, howling sound of some of the chords on an organ or piano tuned by unequal temperament. </p> <p> '''(8):''' ''' (''' a.) A willying machine. </p>

<p> A ferocious wild animal, the Canis [[Lupus]] of Linnaeus, belonging to the dog genus. Indeed, it closely resembles the dog; and it is only by a few slight differences of shape that they are distinguished. Wolves never bark, but only howl. They are cruel, but cowardly animals; they fly from man, except when impelled by hunger; in which case they prowl by night in great droves through villages, and destroy any persons they meet, &nbsp;Jeremiah 5:6 &nbsp; Ezekiel 22:27 &nbsp; Habakkuk 1:8 . </p> <p> They are swift of foot, strong enough to carry off a sheep at full speed, and an overmatch for ordinary dogs. In severe winters, wolves assemble in large troops, join in dreadful howlings, and make terrible devastation. They are the peculiar object of terror to shepherds, as the defenselessness and timidity of the sheep render it an easy prey to wolves, &nbsp;Luke 10:3 &nbsp; John 10:12 . So persecutors and false teachers have been "grievous wolves" to the flock of Christ, &nbsp;Matthew 10:16 &nbsp; Acts 20:29 . The wolf inhabits the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Driven in general from the populous parts of the country, he is yet everywhere found in large forests and mountainous regions. </p>

<p> '''Wolf.''' The Hebrew ''Zeeb,'' "wolf," was so called from its tawny color. It is the common ''Canis Lupus,'' still found in some parts of Palestine. &nbsp;Isaiah 11:6; &nbsp;Isaiah 65:25; &nbsp;Jeremiah 5:6; &nbsp;Habakkuk 1:8. It is of an unsated appetite; and often indiscriminately killing sheep and goats, apparently rather to satisfy its fierce nature than its hunger. &nbsp;Zephaniah 3:3; &nbsp;Matthew 7:15; &nbsp;John 10:12. Persecutors are compared to wolves. &nbsp;Matthew 10:16; &nbsp;Acts 20:29. The peaceful reign of the Messiah is spoken of under the metaphor of the wolf dwelling with the lamb. &nbsp;Isaiah 11:6; &nbsp;Isaiah 65:25. </p>

<p> WOLF, n. WULF. G., Gr. </p> 1. An animal of the genus Canis, a beast of prey that kills sheep and other small domestic animals called sometimes the wild dog. The wolf is crafty, greedy and ravenous. 2. A small white worm or maggot, which infests granaries. 3. An eating ulcer.

<p> <b> WOLF. </b> —See Animals in vol. i. p. 65a. </p>

<p> (the invariable rendering in the A. V. of זְאֵב, ''Zeeb,'' so called either from. its [[Fierceness]] or its [[Yellow]] color, or perhaps the word is primitive; λύκος )'','' a fierce carnivorous animal, very nearly allied to the dog, and so well known as to require no particular description, excepting as regards the identity of the species in Palestine, which, although often asserted, is by no means established; for no professed zoologist .has obtained the animal in Syria, while other travelers only pretend to have seen it. Unquestionably a true wolf, or a wild canine with very similar manners, was not infrequent in that country during the earlier ages of the world, and even down to the commencement of our era. At this day the true wolf is still abundant in Asia Minor, as well as in the gorges of Cilicia, and, from the traveling disposition of the species, wolves may be expected to reside in the forests of Libanus. Hemprich and Ehrenberg, the most explicit of the naturalists who have visited that region, notice the dib, or zeb, under the denomination of Canis lupaster, and also, it seems, of Lupus Syriacus. </p> <p> They describe it as resembling the wolf, but smaller, with a white tip on the tail, etc.; and give for its synonym Canis anthus and the wolf of Egypt,that is, the λύκος of [[Aristotle]] and ''Thoes Anthus'' of Ham. Smith. This species, found in the mummy state at Lycopolis, though high in proportion to its bulk, measures only eighteen inches at the shoulder, and in weight is scarcely more than one third of that of a true wolf, whose stature rises to thirty and thirty-two inches. It is not gregarious, does not howl, cannot carry off a lamb or sheep, nor kill men, nor make the shepherd flee; in short, it is not the true wolf of Europe or Asia Minor, and is not possessed of the qualities ascribed to the species in the Bible. The next in Hemprich and Ehrenberg's description bears the same Arabic name; it is scientifically called Canis sacer, and is the piseonch of the Copts. </p> <p> This species is, however, still smaller, and thus cannot be the wolf in question. It may be, as there are no forests to the south of Libianus, that these ravenous beasts, who never willingly range at a distance from cover, have forsaken the more open country, or else that the derbonn, now only indistinctly known as a species of black wolf in [[Arabia]] and Southern Syria, is the species or variety which anciently represented the wolf in Syria — an appellation fully deserved if it be the same as the black species of the Pyrenees, which, though surmised to be a wild dog, is even more fierce than the common wolf, and is equally powerful. The Arabs are said to eat the derbonn as game, though it must be rare, since no European traveler has described a specimen from personal observation. Therefore, either' the true wolf or the derbonn was anciently more abundant in Palestine, or the ravenous powers of those animals, equally belonging to the hyena and to a great wild dog, caused several species to be included in the name. See Dog. "‘ There is also an animal of which travelers in Arabia and Syria hear much, under the name of the shib, which the natives believe to be a breed between a leopard and a wolf. They describe it as being scarcely in its shape distinguishable from the wolf, but with the power of springing like a leopard, and attacking cattle. Its bite is said to be mortal, and to occasion raving madness before death. </p> <p> In 1772 Dr. Freer saw and measured the forepart and tail of one' of these animals, and supplied Dr. Russell with the description which he has inserted in his book. The animal was one of several that followed the Basrah caravan from Basrah to the neighborhood of Aleppo. Many persons in the caravan had been bitten, some of whom died in a short time raving mad. It was also reported that some persons in the neighborhood of Aleppo were bitten, and died in like manner; but the doctor saw none of them himself. Dr. Russell imagines that the shib might be a wolf run mad. But this is a hazardous assumption, as it is doubtful whether canine madness exists in Western Asia; and unless we conclude with Col. [[Hamilton]] Smith that the shib is probably the same as the Thous acnon, or the wild wolf-dog of Natolia, it is best to await further information on the subject. [[Burckhardt]] says that little doubt can be entertained of the existence of the animal, and explains its fabulous origin (between a wolf and leopard) by stating that the Arabs, and especially the Bedawin, are in the common practice of assigning to every animal that is rarely met with parents of two different species of known animals"(Kitto, Phys. Hist. of Palest. 2, 364). </p> <p> The following are the scriptural allusions to the wolf: Its ferocity is mentioned in Genesis 49, 27; &nbsp;Ezekiel 22:27; &nbsp;Habakkuk 1:8; &nbsp;Matthew 7:15; its nocturnal habits in Jeremiah 5, 6; &nbsp;Zephaniah 3:3; &nbsp;Habakkuk 1:8; its attacking sheep and lambs in &nbsp;Sirach 13:17; &nbsp;John 10:12; &nbsp;Matthew 10:16; &nbsp;Luke 10:3; Isaiah (&nbsp;Isaiah 11:6; &nbsp;Isaiah 65:25) foretells the peaceful reign of the Messiah under the metaphor of a wolf dwelling with a lamb. [[Cruel]] persecutors are compared with wolves (&nbsp;Matthew 10:16; &nbsp;Acts 20:29). (See [[Zeeb]]). </p> <p> Wolves were doubtless far more common in Biblical times than they are now, though they are occasionally reported by modern travelers (see Russell, Nat. Hist. of Aleppo, 2, 184): "The wolf seldom ventures so near the city as the fox, but is sometimes seen at a distance by the sportsmen among the hilly grounds in the neighborhood; and the villages, as well as the herds, often suffer from them. It is called dib in Arabic, and is common all over Syria." The wolf is now, as of old, the dread of the shepherds of Palestine. Not so numerous, but much more formidable than the jackal, he lurks about the fields, hunting not in noisy packs, but secreting himself till dark among the rocks; and without arousing the vigilance of the sheep- dogs, he leaps into the fold, and seizes his victim by stealth. Their boldness at times, however, is very remarkable, especially in the less-frequented regions. "In every part of the country we occasionally saw the wolf. In the open plain of [[Gennesaret]] my horse one day literally leaped over a wolf. In the hill country of [[Benjamin]] the wolves still remain. We found them alike in the forests of [[Bashan]] and Gilead, in the ravines of [[Galilee]] and Lebanon, and in the maritime plains" (Tristram, Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 154). </p> <p> Wolves, like many other animals, are subject to variation in color. The common color is gray with a tinting of fawn and long black hairs. The variety most frequent in Southern Europe and the [[Pyrenees]] is black; the wolf of Asia Minor is more tawny than those of the common color. The Syrian wolf likewise is of a lighter color than the wolf of Europe, being a pale fawn tint, and seems to be a larger and stronger animal. See Fox. </p>

<p> Fig. 344—Egyptian [[Wolf]] </p> <p> Wolf (; ; ; , etc.; ; ; ; ; ; ), a fierce carnivorous animal, very nearly allied to the dog, and so well known in Europe as to require no particular description; but the identity of the species in Palestine, though often asserted, is by no means established; for no professed zoologist has obtained the animal in Syria, while other travelers only pretend to have seen it. Unquestionably a true wolf, or a wild canine with very similar manners, was not infrequent in that country during the earlier ages of the world, and even down to the commencement of our era. The prophets, as well as the Messiah, allude to it in explicit language. At this day the true wolf is still abundant in Asia Minor, as well as in the gorges of Cilicia, and from the traveling disposition of the species, wolves may be expected to reside in the forests of Libanus; but there is no satisfactory evidence that this is at present the case. It may be, as there are no forests to the south of Lebanon, that these ravenous beasts, who never willingly range at a distance from cover, have forsaken the more open country. </p>