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What Is Stronger Than a Lion?: Leonine Image and Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East
Revised thesis (Ph.D.) - Princeton Theological Seminary, 2001.
587 pages, Hardcover
First published June 7, 2005
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About the author
Brent A. Strawn
31 books18 followersBrent A. Strawn (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is professor of Old Testament at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia. He has authored or coedited various volumes and is on the editorial board of Catholic Biblical Quarterly and Journal of Biblical Literature.
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August 19, 2022
Brent Strawn’s comprehensive work on leonine imagery in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East (ANE) is ambitious, and yet well-researched and well-written. In order to better understand the metaphorical use of the lion in the Hebrew Bible, Strawn not only looks at the literature of Israel and its ancient neighbors, but he also surveys a remarkable amount of pictorial depictions of lions from the ANE (there are well over 400 illustrations and images reproduced in this book). The visual imagery comes from both the land of Israel and the surrounding regions (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Hatti, etc.) and examples of the lion in art and iconography are included from many different time periods, but primarily from the end of the Late Bronze Age through the Persian Period.
In the Hebrew Bible, leonine imagery is applied primarily to YHWH, but also the righteous, the wicked, and even mighty ones/monarchs (though Israelite kings are hardly ever associated with lions, and if they are, it is usually negatively [see Ezekiel 19]). Because leonine imagery is very common in the Hebrew Bible, understanding this metaphor (especially when it is applied to YHWH) is of great importance. While the image of the lion may bring to mind a handful of associations today (e.g., “lion = bravery”), it is Strawn’s goal to better understand leonine imagery and metaphor in its original context. It may be that in some instances in the Hebrew Bible, the formula “lion = bravery” holds true (e.g., Prov 28:1; Job 10:16); however, this does not account for all (or even most) instances. The use of leonine imagery (especially in relation to YHWH) raises a number of questions, such as, “[E]xactly how is God like a lion? which kind of lion? what aspects or behaviors of God are like those of lions? and, in turn, how are lions like God?” (15).
Strawn not only finds these questions (and their potential answers) mentally intriguing, but also theologically important. Ultimately, Strawn concludes that the lion was a rather unambiguous image in the ANE, representing primarily threat and power; but the image is “open to multiple uses” (284), as can be clearly seen in the Hebrew Bible’s use of this imagery not only for one’s God, but also one’s enemies. And while “the image of God as a lion evokes a side of Yahweh that is not often heard within the walls of a church or synagogue[,] … it is a highly pronounced and highly developed metaphor in Israel’s speech about God” (286), and is therefore important and worthy of study and consideration.
This study helps readers better understand and imagine the metaphorical use of the lion in the Bible, and gives readers greater appreciation for Israel’s use of animal imagery for their God. YHWH, like Aslan of Narnia, is not tame, but he is good (287–288), and leonine imagery captures this quite nicely.
In the Hebrew Bible, leonine imagery is applied primarily to YHWH, but also the righteous, the wicked, and even mighty ones/monarchs (though Israelite kings are hardly ever associated with lions, and if they are, it is usually negatively [see Ezekiel 19]). Because leonine imagery is very common in the Hebrew Bible, understanding this metaphor (especially when it is applied to YHWH) is of great importance. While the image of the lion may bring to mind a handful of associations today (e.g., “lion = bravery”), it is Strawn’s goal to better understand leonine imagery and metaphor in its original context. It may be that in some instances in the Hebrew Bible, the formula “lion = bravery” holds true (e.g., Prov 28:1; Job 10:16); however, this does not account for all (or even most) instances. The use of leonine imagery (especially in relation to YHWH) raises a number of questions, such as, “[E]xactly how is God like a lion? which kind of lion? what aspects or behaviors of God are like those of lions? and, in turn, how are lions like God?” (15).
Strawn not only finds these questions (and their potential answers) mentally intriguing, but also theologically important. Ultimately, Strawn concludes that the lion was a rather unambiguous image in the ANE, representing primarily threat and power; but the image is “open to multiple uses” (284), as can be clearly seen in the Hebrew Bible’s use of this imagery not only for one’s God, but also one’s enemies. And while “the image of God as a lion evokes a side of Yahweh that is not often heard within the walls of a church or synagogue[,] … it is a highly pronounced and highly developed metaphor in Israel’s speech about God” (286), and is therefore important and worthy of study and consideration.
This study helps readers better understand and imagine the metaphorical use of the lion in the Bible, and gives readers greater appreciation for Israel’s use of animal imagery for their God. YHWH, like Aslan of Narnia, is not tame, but he is good (287–288), and leonine imagery captures this quite nicely.
Displaying 1 of 1 review