While in Greek the lion is called λέων leôn, the Hebrew has several names. A roaring lion is a symbol of royal rule, the servant of Jeroboam (Megiddo, 8th century BC).
Often the behavior of this powerful land predator (see Ri 14,18), was admired by the people as a hero among the animals.His widely heared roar, with which he marked his territorial boundaries could be compared with thunder, and exactly this made man fear him.
Lions appeared in Jordan (Jer 49,19; Jer 50,44, Jer 12,5, Zech. 11: 3), but also in the steppe and woodlands (Isa 30: 6, Jer 5: 6, Jer 12: 8). Nah 2,12f, on the other hand, has in mind a pack of lions that has its encampment in a cave.
When lions are hungry, they leave their hiding place and lurk for prey in secret places (Jer 25:38, Jn 38: 39f; Ps 104,20f) expressly refers to the night as the time set for the lion by God to recreate the prey necessary for their survival.
Several times lion’s hunting behavior is described, which is taught to them by their mother (Ez 19,2f): lions lurking in the thicket, sneaking silently in the tall grass to suddenly attack their victim. With their teeth, their most dangerous weapon (Hi 4:10), they break the spoils (Mi 5,7; Dtn 33,20; Nah 2,13 u.ö.), v.a.
Wild animals, such as Wild donkeys or Gazelles (Sir. 13:19 [Luther Bible: Sir. 13:23]).
But they also broke into herds to tear an animal apart (Mi 5,7). They were able to skip the hurdles that protected the animals, bring down the prey through a mighty leap, and break the vertebrae of the neck with their powerful teeth (Isaiah 38:13). With the prey in their throats, lions were able to leap over the hurdle again to bring it into their encampment and eat it (Mi 5:7, Isa 5:29, Hos 5:14).
In the ancient Orient, the ritual hunting of the lion was a matter for the kings (see the Jagraeliefs from the Assyrian palaces): The victory over this most powerful representative of the non-human world and of evil conferred upon the king qualities which he had in war and in the fight against the enemy Powers zugutekam (for lion hunting as a topos of the king ideology).
In the Old Testament, on the other hand, the hunting of lions is rarely reported: as lion hunters, Samson (Ri 14: 8f), David (1 Sam 17: 34ff; see Sir 47,3) and Benaiah (2 Sam 23:20). called. Lions were also caught in pits (Ez 19,4).
Dan 6,8ff assumes that captive lions are kept in enclosures for display purposes (see ZusDan 2,30ff).
Lioness in a garden (In comparisons and metaphors, lions are often referred to as the courage and strength of heroes (2 Samuel 1:13, 2 Sam 17:10, 1 Chron 12,9, compare 1 Makk 3: 4, 2 Macc 11:11), of tribes (Gen 49,9: Judah, Deuteronomy 33:20: Gad, Deut 33,22: Dan, see also Num 23,24, Num 24,9: Israel, Mi 5,7: the rest of Jacob) or also to emphasize the righteous (Prov. 28: 1).
The angry wrath of a king is similar to the lion’s growl in order to emphasize the threatening danger to the immediate surroundings of the king or his subjects (Prov 19:12, Prov 20: 3;).
Lion – Symbolism
The lion is the most common heraldic animal together with the eagle.
The lion (Panthera Leo) has long been considered the king of the desert, while the eagle is considered the king of the birds, and, like all the symbols of the ruler, the lion is closely related to the sun: it shines from his eyes, he finds himself again in his radiant mane and in the golden yellow color of his coat.
In ancient Egypt, the lion with the sun disc on his head represented the god Re, the kings were depicted as lions or sphinxes.
In Buddhism he defends the law and symbolizes wisdom: when Heracles defeats the lion, it is meant to express the dominion of the human mind over animal nature, and Samson kills a lion (Judges 14: 5ff.).
For the Greeks, the lion was considered a symbol of courage. Thus, after the Battle of the Thermopylae for Leonidas a stone lion was built. A Lion Monument was built in Braunschweig in 1166 (left) commemorates Duke Henry the Lion (1129-1195).
The “Physiologus” says of the lion, “that he never closes his eyes and therefore has a close relation to the light.” Or: “The lioness gives birth to her cub dead and wake up the same for three days, until the father come and give him the breath of life. ”
The lion surrounds the thrones of the rulers as a symbol of power and wisdom, guarding, as a light-beast, the demons, temples and tombs.
Therefore it is also a symbol of vigilance – by the way it is particularly beautiful to see on the cenotaph of Rudolf IV, the founder of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. At countless buildings all over the world – mostly two – lions guard the entrance gates.
The “Lion of Aspern” carved in stone by Anton Dominik von Fernkorn recalls the bloody battle of Aspern and Eßling, in which on 21 and 22 May 1809 23,000 Austrians and 44,000 Frenchmen lost their lives. “One of the elders said to me, ‘Stop crying! The Lion of Judas tribe and descendant of David has won the victory. He can break the seven seals and open the book. ”
The lion is the symbol of the evangelist Mark: he unites in this role cosmological and christological elements, because he emphasizes the ruler role of Christ.
The lion also owes much of its symbolic content to its occurrence as the fifth sign in the zodiac of astrology. He stands in midsummer, at the time of the strongest solar power, in front of which now hide all other animals.
In negative connotation, the lion is portrayed as a human devourer and thus is considered the bearer of a punitive power. If he struggles with another animal, it may be the expression of cosmic appearances or the struggle of good with evil.
Thus, the “Leo Belgicus” was considered a symbol of the Dutch in the fight against the Spanish oppressors.
As particularly aggressive, the lion proves to be a heraldic animal founded in 2007 right-wing extremist “Hungarian Guard”. It is worn nine times in the old Hungarian coat of arms and white on the uniform back in black.
While in Northern Europe and the UK, the lion is the more common heraldic animal, because he was regarded there as “superior”, dominated in Austria, Germany and southern Europe of the eagle. Two Austrian states lead the lion in their coat of arms: Salzburg a black rising (“sent to bark”) lion, Carinthia three standing lion.
Lion – Dream Interpretation and Meaning
In the interpretation of dreams, the lion is first of all to be regarded as an animal: Animals usually stand for the animal, instinctual side in us, that is, for what is often suppressed during the day. They also embody qualities that we see in ourselves or in other people.
Dreams meaning varies from person to person. While one may associate loyalty and happiness with the dog, the other may think of ferocity and aggressiveness. Moreover, what an animal in a dream means for us is also culturally shaped. Accordingly, not everyone has the same dream image of a lion in mind. The lion can symbolize all that we associate with him in waking life: strength and strength, power and pride, passion and energy, cruelty and anger.
If you want to interpret your dream, first of all ask yourself: In what context did the lion appear? What feelings did he trigger with me? Admiration? Fear? How did I react to him?
All of these questions can provide approaches to interpretation.
The lion that chases the dreaming may represent a person or situation in his life that he is suffering and desires to run away from. You feel threatened, harassed or under pressure.
If you have such a dream, you have to think about what it might be about and find a solution. Often it already helps to become aware of these feelings.
But it may also be that the lion stands for certain traits of the dreaming that he does not like about himself – just qualities that he associates with the animal “lion”, such as domination, dominance or aggressiveness.
Here you have to face reality first and accept these traits as part of yourself. Only then will it be possible to change positively.
Anyone who is afraid of a lion in a dream, is also in real life someone or something scared.
Presumably you do not want to allow yourself this feeling and try to repress it – in the dream, however, it comes to light. In this case one should deal with his fears and the situation at stake.
