{"id":78513,"date":"2020-08-08T22:55:32","date_gmt":"2020-08-08T19:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=78513"},"modified":"2020-08-08T22:55:32","modified_gmt":"2020-08-08T19:55:32","slug":"whither-the-lion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/whither-the-lion\/","title":{"rendered":"Whither The Lion?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the aftermath of the battle, following the description in verse 11 of the inability of the Assyrians to protect their capital, Nahum begins to taunt Nineveh\u2019s leaders and nobility:<\/span><\/p>\n

What has become of that lions\u2019 den, That pasture of great beasts, Where lion and lion\u2019s breed walked, And lion\u2019s cub\u2014with none to disturb them? [Where is] the lion that tore victims for his cubs And strangled for his lionesses, And filled his lairs with prey And his dens with mangled flesh? (12\u201314)<\/span><\/p>\n

Lions were the traditional symbol of Assyria. Foreign visitors to the great city of Nineveh were greeted with large reliefs carved into walls that portrayed scenes of the Assyrian kings hunting lions, as a way of demonstrating their ferocity and their bravery. Pauline Albenda writes, \u201cThe visual arts of Assyria contain depictions of the royal hunt of wild animals. The most ferocious and challenging adversary for the Assyrian king was the lion. The chase of the lion\u2014from the chariot, on horseback, or on foot\u2014and its ultimate dispatch with bow, spear, or dagger demonstrated the royal individual\u2019s exceptional bravery and skill.\u201d Not only did the Assyrians depict their king and his warriors as brave warriors capable of hunting ferocious lions, they also depicted them as being like mighty lions themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Nahum takes that image and turns it against them, asking sarcastically, \u201cWhat has become of that lions\u2019 den?\u201d (2:12). Nahum subtly both combines the two metaphors and reverses them. If kings hunted lions and brought their hides as trophies to Nineveh, now lions run free throughout the city, carrying their prey back to their dens. The king whose job it was to hunt is nowhere in sight, while lions rampage throughout the city with no one to frighten them any longer. They tear their game and bring the prey back to their caves and dens for their young to devour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Assyrians had boasted that they were like lions. Now these Assyrian \u201clions\u201d are being hunted down, lying helpless while invaders kill her \u201cyoung cubs\u201d (2:13). Assyria\u2019s propensity to engage in \u201clion-like\u201d behavior has now come to an end. No longer could they despoil others, taking riches from their conquests like a lion returning with its prey in its mouth to give to its young.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fascinatingly, the midrashic understanding of this verse appropriates the lion imagery from Assyria and gives it back to Judah, whose tribal symbol is also the lion.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Temple is called a lion\u2026The monarchy of David is called a lion\u2026Israel is called a lion\u2026 Nebuchadnezzar is called a lion. He destroyed the Temple and took the monarchy of David and exiled Israel, and so God says, \u201cWhere is the home of the lions,\u201d where are My children? And then He roars for His home. (Exodus Rabbah 29:9).<\/span><\/p>\n

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