Wolf

There can be little doubt that the wolf of Palestine is the common Canis lupus , and that this is the animal so frequently mentioned in the Bible. (The wolf is a fierce animal of the same species as the dog, which it resembles. The common color is gray with a tinting of fawn, and the hair is long and black. The Syrian wolf is of lighter color than the wolf of Europe it is the dread of the shepherds of Palestine. --ED.) Wolves were doubtless far more common in biblical times than they are now, though they are occasionally seen by modern travellers. The following are the scriptural allusions to the wolf: Its ferocity is mentioned in (Genesis 49:27; Ezekiel 22:27); Habb 1:8; Matt 7:15 Its nocturnal habits, in (Jeremiah 5:6; Zephaniah 3:3); Habb 1:8 Its attacking sheep and lambs, (Matthew 10:16; Luke 10:3; John 10:12) Isaiah (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25) foretells the peaceful reign of the Messiah under the metaphor of a wolf dwelling with a lamb: cruel persecutors are compared with wolves. (Matthew 10:16; Acts 20:29)

Wolf

The wolf is rather larger than our largest dogs, and looks somewhat like them; but he seems more wild, savage and cruel. The wolves go in large companies, making a terrible howling noise; and though they are in general cowardly, yet when they are very hungry they attack large animals, and even men. They almost always go out by night, and the Bible refers to this when it says, "Their horses are more fierce than the evening wolves." Jacob, just before his death, said of one of his sons, "Benjamin shall raven as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at evening he shall divide the spoil."

There were once a great many wolves in New England and in other parts of the United States, and some are left yet, although many have been killed or driven away. There are still great numbers of them in some countries. In England the month of January used to be called Wolf- monat, or wolf-month; "because," as an old book says, "people are wont in that moneth to be more in danger to be devoured of wolves than in any season els of the yeare, for that through the extremity of cold and snow those ravenous creatures could not find other beasts sufficient to feed upon."

A sad story is told of something that happened in Russia a few years since. A woman was one day riding on a sledge with her three children over a lonely road, when suddenly she heard the noise of wolves behind her. She was not very far from home, and tried to urge her horse on, to get out of their reach; but they gained upon her every moment, and were just on the point of rushing on the sledge, when the poor woman, to save the lives of the rest, caught up one of the children and threw it to the wolves. This stopped them but a short time; they devoured it at once and again ran howling after the sledge. The mother threw out a second child, hoping to escape with the other; but in vain. Again the cruel animals were close behind her, and to save her own life, hardly knowing what she did, she threw over her only remaining child. She succeeded in reaching home herself, in safety, but where were her children? She told the terrible story; but while she was endeavoring to excuse herself by telling of her exceeding fright and danger, a man who stood by struck her on the head with an axe and killed her at one blow-saying that a woman who would thus give up her children to save her life, was not fit to live.

The Bible tells us of a time yet to come, when "The wolf shall feed with the lamb." Perhaps this will be exactly true of the animals in those days, though it now seems so unlikely; but I suppose it means also that wicked and cruel men shall become holy and Christ-like. Then all will be peace on earth, and "none shall hurt or destroy in all" God's "holy mountain."

Wolf

A ferocious wild animal, the Canis Lupus of Linnaeus, belonging to the dog genus. Indeed, it closely resembles the dog; and it is only by a few slight differences of shape that they are distinguished. Wolves never bark, but only howl. They are cruel, but cowardly animals; they fly from man, except when impelled by hunger; in which case they prowl by night in great droves through villages, and destroy any persons they meet, Jeremiah 5:6 Ezekiel 22:27 Habakkuk 1:8.

They are swift of foot, strong enough to carry off a sheep at full speed, and an overmatch for ordinary dogs. In severe winters, wolves assemble in large troops, join in dreadful howlings, and make terrible devastation. They are the peculiar object of terror to shepherds, as the defenselessness and timidity of the sheep render it an easy prey to wolves, Luke 10:3 John 10:12. So persecutors and false teachers have been "grievous wolves" to the flock of Christ, Matthew 10:16 Acts 20:29. The wolf inhabits the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Driven in general from the populous parts of the country, he is yet everywhere found in large forests and mountainous regions.

WOLF

woolf

(1) ze'ebh (Genesis 49:27; 11:06; 65:25:00; Jeremiah 5:6; Ezekiel 22:27; Habakkuk 1:8; Zechariah 3:3; also as proper name, Zeeb, prince of Midian, Judges 7:25; Judges 8:3 Psalm 83:11); compare Arabic dhi'b, colloquial dhib, or dib;

(2) lukos (Matthew 7:15; Matthew 10:16 Luke 10:3 John 10:12 Acts 20:29; Ecclesiasticus 13:17; compare 2 Esdras 5:18, lupus);

(3) 'iyim, the Revised Version (British and American) "wolves" (Isaiah 13:22; Isaiah 34:14 Jeremiah 50:39):

While the wolf is surpassed in size by some dogs, it is the fiercest member of the dog family (Canidae), which includes among others the jackal and the fox. Dogs, wolves and jackals are closely allied and will breed together. There is no doubt that the first dogs were domesticated wolves. While there are local varieties which some consider to be distinct species, it is allowable to regard all the wolves of both North America, Europe, and Northern Asia (except the American coyote) as members of one species, Canis lupus. The wolf of Syria and Palestine is large, light colored, and does not seem to hunt in packs. Like other wolves it is nocturnal. In Palestine it is the special enemy of the sheep and goats. This fact comes out in two of the seven passages cited from the Old Testament, in all from the New Testament, and in the two from Apocrypha. In Genesis 49:27 Benjamin is likened to a ravening wolf. In Ezekiel 22:27, and in the similar Zechariah 3:3, the eiders of Jerusalem are compared to wolves. In Jeremiah 5:6 it is a wolf that shall destroy the people of Jerusalem, and in Habakkuk 1:8 the horses of the Chaldeans "are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves." Babylon and Edom (Isaiah 13:22; Isaiah 34:14 Jeremiah 50:39) are to be the haunts of 'iyim (the Revised Version (British and American) "wolves") and other wild creatures.

The name of Zeeb, prince of Midian (Judges 7:25; Judges 8:3), has its parallel in the Arabic, Dib or Dhib, which is a common name today. Such animal names are frequently given to ward off the evil eye.

See also TOTEMISM.

Alfred Ely Day

Hebrews zeeb, frequently referred to in Scripture as an emblem of treachery and cruelty. Jacob's prophecy, "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf" (Genesis 49:27), represents the warlike character of that tribe (see Judges 19-21). Isaiah represents the peace of Messiah's kingdom by the words, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb" (Isaiah 11:6). The habits of the wolf are described in Jeremiah 5:6; Habakkuk 1:8; Zephaniah 3:3; Ezek. 22:27; Matthew 7:15; 10:16; Acts 20:29. Wolves are still sometimes found in Palestine, and are the dread of shepherds, as of old.

1. (a.) Any one of several species of wild and savage carnivores belonging to the genus Canis and closely allied to the common dog. The best-known and most destructive species are the European wolf (Canis lupus), the American gray, or timber, wolf (C. occidentalis), and the prairie wolf, or coyote. Wolves often hunt in packs, and may thus attack large animals and even man.

2. (a.) One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvae of several species of beetles and grain moths; as, the bee wolf.

3. (a.) Fig.: Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation; as, they toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door.

4. (n.) A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries.

5. (n.) An eating ulcer or sore. Cf. Lupus.

6. (n.) The harsh, howling sound of some of the chords on an organ or piano tuned by unequal temperament.

7. (a.) In bowed instruments, a harshness due to defective vibration in certain notes of the scale.

8. (n.) A willying machine.

2061. zeeb -- a wolf
... << 2060, 2061. zeeb. 2062 >>. a wolf. Transliteration: zeeb Phonetic Spelling:
(zeh-abe') Short Definition: wolf. Word Origin from an ...
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2062. Zeeb -- "wolf," a leader in Midian
... << 2061, 2062. Zeeb. 2063 >>. "wolf," a leader in Midian. Transliteration:
Zeeb Phonetic Spelling: (zeh-abe') Short Definition: Zeeb. ...
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