We all saw or heard about the famous movie the lion’ king; there is no kid that didn’t heard the words timon, pumbah, simba and muphasa!yet we all have to ask the question why the lion is the king of the animals? Is there any connection to the bible and to this saying about him?

The first appearance of the lion is as a symbol to tribe of Judah. When Jacob blessed all his sons before he died, all assumed that the first born Reuben will get the best blessings. But always as it happens – the first is being actually the last!

On the other hand, Judah is being blessed in those words, as written in Genesis 49:8-9

“יְהוּדָה, אַתָּה יוֹדוּךָ אַחֶיךָ–יָדְךָ, בְּעֹרֶף אֹיְבֶיךָ; יִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְךָ, בְּנֵי אָבִיךָ. גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה, מִטֶּרֶף בְּנִי עָלִיתָ; כָּרַע רָבַץ כְּאַרְיֵה וּכְלָבִיא, מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ.”

“Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?”

Judah is the first lion. From his tribe came King David and also the messiah will be, according to Judaism, the son of David. However Judah is not the only tribe that has the symbol of the lion, also Dan has it as written in Deuteronomy 33:22-

“וּלְדָן אָמַר, דָּן גּוּר אַרְיֵה; יְזַנֵּק, מִן-הַבָּשָׁן.”

“And of Dan he said: Dan is a lion’s whelp that leapeth forth from Bashan”

I think that every lion (Judah) has a son (Dan, the whelp), but the only lion that is really the king is the one above.

Next time we will see more stories and verses with the lion!

 Main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

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