Leopard

Leopard - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

(Heb. namer, so called because spotted, Cant. 4:8), was that great spotted feline which anciently infested the mountains of Syria, more appropriately called a panther (Felis pardus). Its fierceness (Isa. 11:6), its watching for its prey (Jer. 5:6), its swiftness (Hab. 1:8), and the spots of its skin (Jer. 13:23), are noticed. This word is used symbolically (Dan. 7:6; Rev. 13:2).

Leopard - (Webster's 1828 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.

lep'-erd ((1) namer (So 4:8; Isa 11:6; Jer 5:6; 13:23; Ho 13:7; Hab 1:8); compare Arabic nimr, "leopard." (2) Chaldaic nemar (Da 7:6). (3) pardalis (Re 13:2; Ecclesiasticus 28:23); compare nimrim Nimrim (Isa 15:6; Jer 48:34), nimrah, Nimrah (Nu 32:3), and beth-nimrah, Beth-nimrah (Nu 32:36; Jos 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 namer, "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 Wadi-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 Da 7:6; Ho 13:7; Re 13:2; with the lion, wolf and bear in Isa 11:6; with the lion and wolf in Jer 5:6; with the lion alone in Ecclesiasticus 28:23; with the wolf alone in Hab 1:8. The leopard is smaller than the lion and the tiger, but is more active than either. Its swiftness is referred to in Hab 1:8: "Their horses also (of the Chaldeans) are swifter than leopards." The spots of the leopard are referred to in Jer 13:23: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?"

The Greek pardalis, and panther, 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.

Alfred Ely Day

Definition

A leopard is a large, cat-like, wild animal that is brown with black spots.

• A leopard is a kind of animal which catches other animals and eats them.
• In the Bible, the suddenness of disaster is compared to a leopard, which pounces suddenly on its prey.
• The prophet Daniel and the apostle John tell about visions in which they saw a beast that looked like a leopard.

(See also: How to Translate Unknowns)

(Translation suggestions: Translate Names)

(See also: beast, Daniel, prey, vision)

Bible References

• Daniel 7:6
• Hosea 13:7
• Revelation 13:1-2
• Song of Songs 4:8

Word Data

• Strong’s: H5245, H5246