Leopards in the Bible
Hebrew: נָמֵר —transliteration: namer (pronunced naw-mare’) —meaning: a leopard
…May you come with me from Lebanon.
Journey down from the summit of Amana,
From the summit of Senir and Hermon,
From the dens of lions,
From the mountains of leopards. —Song of Songs 4:8 NASB excerpt
This great spotted feline was common in the ancient mountains of Syria, and is scientifically called a panther (Panthera pardus).
Scripture notices the leopard’s…
- fierceness (Isa. 11:6)
- its watching for its prey (Jer. 5:6)
- its swiftness (Hab. 1:8)
- the spots of its skin (Jer. 13:23)
The leopard is now locally extinct in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Libya, and Tunisia.
The offspring of a lion with a leopard is called a liard, lipard, or leopon.
The Hebrew word for leopard is used symbolically in prophecies in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation (Dan. 7:6; Rev. 13:2).
More information