Today, the lion continues to hold importance as an identity marker for the Jewish people both politically and spiritually. Municipal Flag of Jerusalem which features the Lion of Judah This is how he justified his assertion that he could kill the giant Goliath. Another example is when King David claims to have killed a lion in protection of his sheep (1Kings 17:36). They roamed the hills and would often attack herds. It mentions the existence of lions in the wilderness surrounding the cities and towns of Israel. There are several mentions of lions in the Hebrew Bible.

There is evidence that images of lions were prominent in both the Solomonic temple and the rebuilt second temple after the return from exile under Ezra and Nehemiah. In ancient Israel, the lion was an important symbol of power, courage, justice and God’s protection. Modern Jews are the ancestors of these Hebrews, and it is from their religious beliefs that Judaism is derived. However, rather than being completely absorbed, some Hebrews were left in the land, and a number of exiles eventually returned under the rule of the Medo-Persian empire that succeeded the Babylonians. The southern kingdom, comprised of only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, took the name Judah.Īfter the conquest and absorption of the northern kingdom into the Assyrian empire, the southern kingdom of Judah survived until it’s conquest by the Babylonians. The northern kingdom comprised 10 tribes and kept the name Israel. Several centuries later, the Kingdom of Israel, having been united under King David and his son Solomon, was divided into northern and southern kingdoms in 922 BCE. Thus, the tribe of Judah became identified with the symbol of the lion. When Jacob, also known as Israel, blesses his son Judah, he calls him, “a lion’s cub” and says that “ he crouches as a lion and as a lioness” (Genesis 49:9). Each of the sons is a namesake for one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Lion of Judah originates in the Book of Genesis where Jacob is found blessing his twelve sons from his deathbed.

Lion in hindi meaning