ari · lion

What it means

ari (אֲרִי) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “lion”.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. The strongest cat of the region, which attacks flocks and people.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Lion, the animal; in the Bible, an image of strength, danger and majesty. There is another form of the same word, אַרְיֵה, which the Bible also uses.

• “A lion’s cub {is} Judah” Genesis 49:9
• The lion that attacks: Samson, David, the prophet from Judah Judges 14:51 Samuel 17:341 Kings 13:24
• Lions by Solomon's throne 1 Kings 10:19
• “A lion has roared; who will not fear?” Amos 3:8Amos 5:19
• “The lion, like the ox, will eat straw” Isaiah 11:7

How we translate it

“Lion” 62 times and “lions” 17. The two Hebrew forms are translated the same; other words for lions are kept apart, such as כְּפִיר, “young lion” (Judges 14:5).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• lion ×62
• lions ×17

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×2
• Numbers×2
• Deuteronomy×1
• Judges×5
• 1 Samuel×3
• 2 Samuel×3
• 1 Kings×13
• 2 Kings×2
• 1 Chronicles×2
• 2 Chronicles×2
• Job×1
• Psalms×5
• Proverbs×3
• Ecclesiastes×1
• Song of Songs×1
• Isaiah×7
• Jeremiah×8
• Lamentations×1
• Ezekiel×5
• Hosea×1
• Joel×1
• Amos×4
• Micah×1
• Nahum×4
• Zephaniah×1

• Genesis 49:9

  A lion’s cub is Judah; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down like a lion, and like a lioness; who dares rouse him?

• Numbers 23:24

  Look, a people rises like a lioness, and like a lion it lifts itself up; it does not lie down until it devours the prey and drinks the blood of the slain.”

• Numbers 24:9

  He crouched, he lay down like a lion, and like a lioness; who will rouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, and cursed is everyone who curses you.”

• Deuteronomy 33:22

  And of Dan he said, “Dan is a lion’s cub; he leaps from Bashan.”

• Judges 14:5

  Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and they came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and look, a young lion came roaring to meet him.

• Judges 14:8

  After some days he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion; and look, a swarm of bees was in the body of the lion, and honey.

• Judges 14:9

  He scraped it out into his palms and went on, walking and eating; and he went to his father and to his mother and gave to them, and they ate; but he did not tell them that from the body of the lion he had scraped out the honey.

• Judges 14:18

  And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.”

• 1 Samuel 17:34

  David said to Saul, “Your servant used to be a shepherd for his father with the flock; and when the lion came, or the bear, and carried off a lamb from the drove,

• 1 Samuel 17:36

  Both the lion and the bear your servant has struck; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has reproached the battle lines of the living Elohim.”

• 1 Samuel 17:37

  David said, “YHWH, who delivered me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may YHWH be with you.”

• 2 Samuel 1:23

  Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, and in their death they were not separated; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

• 2 Samuel 17:10

  And even he, the valiant man whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and valiant men are those who are with him.

• 2 Samuel 23:20

  Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the son of a valiant man, great in deeds, from Kabzeel; he struck the two Ariel of Moab; and he went down and struck the lion in the middle of the well on the day of the snow.

• 1 Kings 7:29

  And on the panels that were between the crossbars were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the crossbars likewise; above and below the lions and the oxen were wreaths, hanging work.

• 1 Kings 7:36

  And he engraved on the plates of its handles and on its panels cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, and wreaths all around.

• 1 Kings 10:19

  There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round at its back; and there were arms on this side and on that of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms.

• 1 Kings 10:20

  And twelve lions stood there on the six steps, on this side and on that; nothing like it was made in any kingdom.

• 1 Kings 13:24

  He went away, and a lion found him on the way and put him to death. And his corpse was thrown on the way, and the donkey was standing beside it, and the lion was standing beside the corpse.

• 1 Kings 13:25

  And there men were passing by, and they saw the corpse thrown on the way, and the lion standing beside the corpse; and they came and spoke of it in the city where the old prophet lived.

• 1 Kings 13:26

  When the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of Elohim who rebelled against the command of YHWH; so YHWH has given him to the lion, and it has mauled him and put him to death, according to the word of YHWH that he spoke to him.”

• 1 Kings 13:28

  He went and found his corpse thrown on the way, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the corpse; the lion had not eaten the corpse and had not mauled the donkey.

• 1 Kings 20:36

  He said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of YHWH, look, as you go from me, the lion will strike you.” He went away from beside him, and the lion found him and struck him.

• 2 Kings 17:25

  And it happened, at the beginning of their living there, that they did not fear YHWH; so YHWH sent against them the lions, and they were killing some among them.

• 2 Kings 17:26

  They spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you carried into exile and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he has sent against them the lions, and there they are, putting them to death, because they do not know the custom of the god of the land.”

• 1 Chronicles 11:22

  Benaiah son of Jehoiada, son of a valiant man, great in deeds, from Kabzeel: he struck the two Ariel of Moab; and he went down and struck the lion in the middle of the well on the day of the snow.

• 1 Chronicles 12:8

  From the Gadites there separated themselves and went to David, to the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty warriors, men of the army for war, who handled shield and spear; their faces were the faces of a lion, and they were like gazelles on the mountains in swiftness.

• 2 Chronicles 9:18

  There were six steps to the throne and a footstool of gold, attached to the throne, and arms on this side and on that side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms.

• 2 Chronicles 9:19

  Twelve lions stood there on the six steps, on this side and on that side; nothing like it was made for any kingdom.

• Job 4:10

  The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.

• Psalms 7:2

  lest he tear my soul like a lion, ripping it apart, with no one to deliver.

• Psalms 10:9

  He lies in wait in the hiding place like a lion in its lair; he lies in wait to seize the afflicted; he seizes the afflicted by dragging him into his net.

• Psalms 17:12

  His likeness is like a lion that longs to tear, and like a young lion sitting in hiding places.

• Psalms 22:13

  They have opened their mouth against me, a lion that tears and roars.

• Psalms 22:21

  Save me from the mouth of the lion, and from the horns of the wild bulls you have answered me.

• Proverbs 22:13

  The sluggard says, “A lion is outside! In the middle of the squares I will be murdered!”

• Proverbs 26:13

  The sluggard says, “A fierce lion is in the road! A lion among the squares!”

• Proverbs 28:15

  A roaring lion and a hungry bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

• Ecclesiastes 9:4

  For whoever is joined to all the living has confidence, for a living dog is better than the dead lion.

• Song of Songs 4:8

  With me from Lebanon, bride, with me from Lebanon you will come; you will look from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards.

And 39 more times.