Leopard

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

(πάρδαλις)

The Greek word seems to have been used indiscriminately by the classical writers to designate ‘leopard,’ ‘panther,’ or ‘ounce.’ The only NT reference to the ‘leopard’ is in  Revelation 13:2, where it occurs in the description of ‘the Wild Beast from the sea’-‘the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard.’ The concrete reality, of which the Wild Beast was the abstract emblem, was of course the Roman Empire. To the mind of the Seer, the attitude adopted by Rome towards the early Christian Church was that of a leopard. She exhibited the same agility (cf.  Habakkuk 1:8) and cunning (cf.  Hosea 13:7), as well as the same ruthless cruelty, as that much-dreaded inhabitant of Palestine and the East.

The leopard ( Felis pardus , Arab. nimr , Heb. nâmçr ) is still found round the Dead Sea, in Gilead and Bashan, and also occasionally in Lebanon and the wooded districts of the west; but, judging from the numerous allusions in the OT and the occurrence of the word in place-names ( e.g. ‘Beth-Nimrah’ or ‘Nimrah’), it is reasonable to suppose that it was more common in early times. It usually lurks near wells or watering-places (cf. ‘waters of Nimrim,’  Isaiah 15:6,  Jeremiah 48:34), and in the outskirts of villages (cf.  Jeremiah 5:6), to pounce at night upon cattle and dogs. The beautifully spotted skins are often sold in the markets and are used as rugs and saddle-covers, while sometimes they are worn as an article of clothing.

The Felis pardus is found over the whole of Africa, S. Asia, China, Japan, and the islands of the Malay Archipelago.

Another animal of the leopard tribe, the well-known cheeta or hunting-leopard of India ( Felis jubatus ), is sometimes found in the hills of Galilee and in the neighbourhood of Tabor, but its occurrence is rare. It is much tamer than the Felis pardus , and in India it is often domesticated and kept for hunting antelopes and other animals.

Literature.-H. B. Tristram, SWP [Note: WP Memoirs of Survey of Western Palestine.]vii. [1884], p. 18f., The Natural History of the Bible 10, 1911, pp. 111-114; H. B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John 2, 1907, p. 162; Hastings’ Single-vol. Dictionary of the Bible 540f.; Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) iii. 95; Encyclopaedia Biblica iii. 2762f.; W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book , 1864, p. 444f.

P. S. P. Handcock.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

נמר  Song of Solomon 4:8;  Isaiah 11:6;  Jeremiah 5:6;  Jeremiah 13:23;  Hosea 13:7;  Habakkuk 1:8;  Daniel 7:6; παρδαλις ,  Revelation 13:2; Sir_28:23 . There can be no doubt that the pard or leopard is the animal mentioned. Bochart shows that the name is similar in the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic. The LXX uniformly render it by παρδαλις ; and Jerom, pardus. Probably, these animals were numerous in Palestine; as we find places with a name intimating their having been the haunts of leopards: Nimrah,   Numbers 32:3; Beth-Nimrah,   Numbers 32:36;  Joshua 13:27; and "waters of Nimrim,"   Isaiah 15:6;  Jeremiah 48:34; and "mountains of leopards,"  Song of Solomon 4:8 . Nimrod might have his name from this animal; "He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord,"  Genesis 10:9 . It is supposed, however, that his predations were not confined to the brute creation. Dr. Geddes remarks, that the word "hunter" expresses too little. He was a freebooter, in the worst sense of the word; a lawless despot:

Proud Nimrod first the bloody chase began, A mighty hunter, and his prey was man.

Isaiah, describing the happy state of the reign of Messiah, says, "The leopard shall lie down with the kid,"  Isaiah 11:6 . Even animals shall lose their fierceness and cruelty, and become gentle and tame.  Jeremiah 5:6 , mentions the artful ambuscades of this animal; and in  Jeremiah 13:23 , alludes to his spots: "Can a Cushite change his skin; or a leopard his spots? Then may ye prevail with them to do good who are habituated to do evil;" and  Habakkuk 1:8 , refers to its alertness.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Famed for swiftness and agility ( Habakkuk 1:8); "you would fancy it was flying" (Oppian Cyneg., iii. 76); it climbs trees, and can crawl along the ground. Hence the symbol for Greece and Alexander's rapid victories ( Daniel 7:6;  Revelation 13:2). The prevalence of leopards anciently in Palestine is marked by the many places named from them ( Namer , Hebrew): Nimrah, Nimrim, Beth Nimrah. "The mountains of the leopard" ( Song of Solomon 4:8), namely, Lebanon and Hermon, where still they are found; "the mountains of prey" ( Psalms 76:4), symbolizing the rapacious world kingdoms. They spring with successive rapid bounds. They cunningly lie in wait in thickets and often near villages for their prey, as distinguished from the lion's bold, open attack ( Jeremiah 5:6;  Hosea 13:7): "as a leopard by the way, I will observe (lie in wait for) them." Its unalterable spots represent man's inability to change himself ( Jeremiah 13:23); yet the leopard in the millennium shall "lie down with the kid" ( Isaiah 11:6).

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Jeremiah 5:6 (b) This animal which is so quick in its actions and so swift in its pursuit is a picture of the swift destroyers mentioned in the passage. They would come suddenly with fierceness and attack with cruelty.

 Jeremiah 13:23 (a) The spots on the leopard are from birth. It is an inherent marking. So the sinner is born with evil and wicked tendencies which are permanent in his life. He cannot change them nor obliterate them in any way. Only a divine power could remove them. The sinner is helpless in his sins. Only the divine Son of GOD can change him and make him whiter than snow. This animal represents also the sinner who admits he has "spots of sin" on him, but thinks there is lots of good in him. GOD will not save him, until he admits he is all bad.

 Hosea 13:7 (a) In this passage the lion represents power, the leopard represents swiftness, the bear represents silence and certainty, and these are characteristics of the GOD whom they abandoned.

 Revelation 13:2 (a) This animal represents the antichrist, who though pretending to be a man of peace will really be a cruel monster, killing all his enemies, violating his oath and showing swift and certain vengeance on those who belong to Jesus Christ

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Leopard ( nâmçr ). This animal ( Felis pardus , Arab. [Note: Arabic.] nimr ) is still found at times in the wilder parts of Palestine. Its beautiful spotted skin (  Jeremiah 5:6 ) is from time to time brought into the towns for sale. Some dervishes clothe themselves in a leopard’s skin. Its fierceness (  Hosea 13:7 ), its agility (  Habakkuk 1:8 ), and untamableness (  Isaiah 11:6 ) are all mentioned. The name Nimr is a favourite one with the Arabs, who admire these qualities. In the names ‘waters of Nimrîm ’ (‘leopards,’   Isaiah 15:6 ,   Jeremiah 48:34 ) and ‘Beth- nimrah ’ (‘f. leopard,’   Numbers 32:3-36 ) references to the leopard also occur; cf. the ‘mountains of nÄ•mçrîm ( i.e . ‘the leopards,’   Song of Solomon 4:8 ). The cheetah ( Felix jubata ) is found also in Galilee, and it too may have been included under the Heb. word nâmçr .

E. W. G. Masterman.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A fierce wild beast of the feline genus, beautifully spotted with a diversity of colors; it has small eyes, wide jaws, sharp teeth, round ears, a large tail; five claws on the fore feet, and four on those behind. It is swift, craft, and cruel; dangerous to all domestic cattle, and even to man,  Jeremiah 5:6   13:23   Daniel 10:6   Hosea 13:7   Habakkuk 1:8 . Its name, leopard, implies that it has something of the lion and of the panther in its nature. It seems from Scripture that the leopard could not be rare in Palestine. Its Hebrew name occurs significantly in several names of places; as Beth-nimrah, the haunt of leopards,  Numbers 32:36 . So in Nimrah, Nimrim, and perhaps Nimrod the mighty hunter. Isaiah, describing the happy reign of the Messiah, says,  Isaiah 11:6 , "The leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together." The spouse in the Canticles speaks of the mountains of the leopards, Song of  Song of Solomon 4:8; that is to say, such as Lebanon and Hermon, where wild beasts dwelt.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Leopard. (Hebrew, namer ). Leopard is invariably given, by the Authorized Version, as the translation of the Hebrew word, which occurs in the seven following passages:  Song of Solomon 4:8;  Isaiah 11:6;  Jeremiah 5:6;  Jeremiah 13:23;  Daniel 7:6;  Hosea 13:7;  Habakkuk 1:8. Leopard occurs also in Sir. 28:23 and in  Revelation 13:2.

From  Song of Solomon 4:8, we learn that the hilly ranges of Lebanon were, in ancient times, frequented by these animals. They are now not uncommonly seen in and about Lebanon and the southern maritime mountains of Syria. Under the name namer , which means "Spotted", it is not improbable that another animal, namely the cheetah ( Gueparda jubata ), may be included; which is tamed by the Mohammedans of Syria, who employ it in hunting the gazelle.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

The Hebrew word, namer, signifies a 'spotted' animal. This well-known wild animal is introduced by the prophet as an illustration: as the leopard cannot change its spots, no more can rebellious man change his nature.  Jeremiah 13:23 . The leopard is also represented as lying in wait and watching its prey, and acting with swiftness.  Jeremiah 5:6;  Hosea 13:7;  Habakkuk 1:8 . The Grecian kingdom was compared to a leopard with four wings,  Daniel 7:6; and it answered to this in the rapidity of its conquests. The future Roman empire is symbolically likened to a leopard, but having the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion: that is, like no known beast, but symbolically uniting the characteristics of the three former powers.  Revelation 13:2 . In the millennium "the leopard shall lie down with the kid."  Isaiah 11:6 . The common leopard is the Leopardus varius.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Πάρδαλις (Strong'S #3917 — Noun Feminine — pardalis — par'-dal-is )

denotes "a leopard or a panther," an animal characterized by swiftness of movement and sudden spring, in  Daniel 7:6 symbolic of the activities of Alexander the Great, and the formation of the Grecian kingdom, the third seen in the vision there recorded. In   Revelation 13:2 the imperial power, described there also as a "beast," is seen to concentrate in himself the characteristics of those mentioned in   Daniel 7 .

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Leopard.  Isaiah 11:6. An animal of the cat tribe, which is often mentioned by the sacred writers. The Hebrew name is nimrah.  Numbers 32:8. Beth-nimrah,  Numbers 32:36, means the house of the leopards; and in  Song of Solomon 4:8, are mentioned the mountains of the leopards. Allusions are made in the Bible to its manner of watching for its prey,  Jeremiah 5:6;  Hosea 13:7; its fleetness,  Habakkuk 1:8; its fierceness and cruelty,  Isaiah 11:6, and in  Daniel 7:6 it is made the emblem of power.

King James Dictionary

LEOPARD, n. lep'ard. L. leo, lion, and pardus, pard. Gr. from Heb. to separate, that is, spotted, broken into spots.

A rapacious quadruped of the genus Felis. It differs from the panther and the once in the beauty of its color, which is of a lively yellow, with smaller spots than those of the two latter, and disposed in groups. It is larger than the once and less than the panther. This animal is found in Africa and Asia, and so rapacious as to spare neither man nor beast.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Song of Solomon 4:8 Isaiah 11:6 Jeremiah 5:6 Habakkuk 1:8 Jeremiah 13:23 Daniel 7:6 Revelation 13:2

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) A large, savage, carnivorous mammal (Felis leopardus). It is of a yellow or fawn color, with rings or roselike clusters of black spots along the back and sides. It is found in Southern Asia and Africa. By some the panther (Felis pardus) is regarded as a variety of leopard.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Fig. 243—Leopard

Leopard (;;;;;;;; ). Though zoologists differ in opinion respecting the identity of the leopard and the panther, and dispute, supposing them to be distinct, how these names should be respectively applied, and by what marks the animals should be distinguished, nevertheless there can be no doubt that the leopard of the Bible is that great spotted feline which anciently infested the Syrian mountains, and even now occurs in the wooded ranges of Libanus. The variety of leopard, or rather panther, of Syria, is considerably below the stature of a lioness, but very heavy in proportion to its bulk. Its general form is so well known as to require no description beyond stating, that the spots are rather more irregular, and the color more mixed with whitish, than in the other pantherine felinae, excepting the Felis Uncia, or Felis Irbis, of High Asia, which is shaggy and almost white. It is a nocturnal, catlike animal in habits, dangerous to all domestic cattle, and sometimes even to man. In the Scriptures it is constantly placed in juxtaposition with the lion or the wolf; which last, if the hyena be intended, forms a natural association. There is in Asia Minor a species or variety of panther, much larger than the Syrian, not infrequent on the borders of the snowy tracts even of Mount Ida, above ancient Troy; and the group of these spotted animals is spread over the whole of Southern Asia to Africa. From several names of places, it appears that, in the earlier ages of Israelitish dominion, it was sufficiently numerous in Palestine. Leopard skins were worn as a part of ceremonial costume by the superiors of the Egyptian priesthood, and by other personages in Nubia; and the animal itself is represented in the processions of tributary nations.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

lep´ẽrd ((1) נמר , nāmēr (  Song of Solomon 4:8;  Isaiah 11:6;  Jeremiah 5:6;  Jeremiah 13:23;  Hosea 13:7;  Habakkuk 1:8 ); compare Arabic nimr , "leopard." (2) Chaldaic נמר , nemar ( Daniel 7:6 ). (3) πάρδαλις , párdalis ( Revelation 13:2; Ecclesiasticus 28:23); compare נמרים , nimrı̄m , Nimrim ( Isaiah 15:6;  Jeremiah 48:34 ), נמרה , nimrāh , Nimrah ( Numbers 32:3 ), and נמרה בּית , beth - nimrāh , Beth-nimrah ( Numbers 32:36;  Joshua 13:27 )): The leopard is found throughout Africa and ranges through Southern Asia from Asia Minor to Japan, being absent from Siberia and Central Asia. Its range is much the same as that of the lion, which latter, however, does not extend so far to the East. Like other animals of wide range, it has local varieties, but these shade into each other imperceptibly, and the one specific name, Felis pardus , includes all. Leopards live in some of the valleys East and South of the Dead Sea, and in the mountains of Sinai and Northwestern Arabia. They have but rarely been seen of recent years in Lebanon or the more settled portions of Palestine. So far as can be judged from skins which are available for comparison, the leopard of Palestine is rather light in color, and is not as large as. some found in Africa or India. It is not certain that the place-names, Nimrim , Nimrah , and Beth-Nimrah (which see), have to do with nāmēr , "leopard," but their location is in Moab, where leopards are well known, even at the present day. One of the valleys entering the Dead Sea from the East, South of the Arnon, is called Wâdi - en - Numeir ("valley of the little leopard"; numeir , diminutive of nimr ).

In the Bible "leopard" occurs mainly in figurative expressions, as a large and fierce beast. The leopard is mentioned with the lion and bear in  Daniel 7:6;  Hosea 13:7;  Revelation 13:2; with the lion, wolf and bear in  Isaiah 11:6; with the lion and wolf in  Jeremiah 5:6; with the lion alone in Ecclesiasticus 28:23; with the wolf alone in  Habakkuk 1:8 . The leopard is smaller than the lion and the tiger, but is more active than either. Its swiftness is referred to in  Habakkuk 1:8 : "Their horses also (of the Chaldeans) are swifter than leopards." The spots of the leopard are referred to in   Jeremiah 13:23 : "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?"

The Greek πάρδαλις , párdalis , and πάνθηρ , pánthēr , were both applied to the leopard. "Panther" is sometimes used of large leopards, while in America, with its corrupt form "painter," it is one of the names applied to the cougar or puma, Felis concolor , which, as the specific name implies, is not spotted like the leopard, or striped like the tiger.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Leopard'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/l/leopard.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.