Wolves in Scripture by Henry Chichester Hart 1888
See also The Wolf in the Bible By John George Wood 1883 and Nebuchadnezzar the Biblical Werewolf by Christopher Wordsworth 1871 and Nebuchadnezzar & the History of Lycanthropy by Edward M. Merrins 1905
The Hebrew word zeeb is always translated 'wolf.' Its Arabic equivalent of the present day is deeb.
The wolf is mentioned in the Bible as a type of ferocity and voracious greediness, and almost always in connection with its ravages amongst the flocks. Its habit of attacking its prey at eventide is often referred to; but although the animal is mentioned thirteen times in the Bible, and was certainly very abundant, we have nowhere an actual individual introduction of a wolf in any of the Scriptures, nor any allusion to an occurrence in which a wolf takes part, as we have of most of the other large animals. The wolf is always spoken of in a metaphorical sense, and used as a type to illustrate cruelty or some such quality. Like a sheep-hunting dog, the wolf delights in slaughter, and will kill sheep till he is tired before his bloodthirstiness is appeased and he satisfies his hunger. Mutton is their natural food.
With reference to its hours of foraging we read, 'a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them' (Jer. 5:6), 'their horses are fiercer than evening wolves' (Hab. 1:8), 'Her princes are lions, her judges are evening wolves' (Zeph. 3:3). These passages also refer to its fierceness, as do also others in Gen. 49:27, Ezek. 23:27; and its devastations amongst the lambs are singled out for illustration by the prophet Isaiah, and also by our Lord in the New Testament, 'the wolf catcheth and scattereth the sheep' (John 10:12), 'I send you forth as lambs among wolves' (Luke 10:3).
The Hebrew word zeeb is always translated 'wolf.' Its Arabic equivalent of the present day is deeb.
The wolf is mentioned in the Bible as a type of ferocity and voracious greediness, and almost always in connection with its ravages amongst the flocks. Its habit of attacking its prey at eventide is often referred to; but although the animal is mentioned thirteen times in the Bible, and was certainly very abundant, we have nowhere an actual individual introduction of a wolf in any of the Scriptures, nor any allusion to an occurrence in which a wolf takes part, as we have of most of the other large animals. The wolf is always spoken of in a metaphorical sense, and used as a type to illustrate cruelty or some such quality. Like a sheep-hunting dog, the wolf delights in slaughter, and will kill sheep till he is tired before his bloodthirstiness is appeased and he satisfies his hunger. Mutton is their natural food.
With reference to its hours of foraging we read, 'a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them' (Jer. 5:6), 'their horses are fiercer than evening wolves' (Hab. 1:8), 'Her princes are lions, her judges are evening wolves' (Zeph. 3:3). These passages also refer to its fierceness, as do also others in Gen. 49:27, Ezek. 23:27; and its devastations amongst the lambs are singled out for illustration by the prophet Isaiah, and also by our Lord in the New Testament, 'the wolf catcheth and scattereth the sheep' (John 10:12), 'I send you forth as lambs among wolves' (Luke 10:3).
The wolf (Canis lupus) is probably not uncommon in Palestine, but its extreme stealth and nocturnal habits render it seldom seen. There is so little cover of a nature to suit it that it can hardly now multiply to any considerable extent, and it is less likely to escape being harassed in Palestine than in forested countries, where it is still harder to observe. The only occasion upon which I met with wolves was near the summit of Lebanon, by the Damascus road, where a couple were regaling themselves upon a dead camel in heavy snow. They were fearless enough, and hardly took the trouble to retire at our approach. Their tracks were often shown to me, but they are frequently confounded with those of the hyena.
The wolf, on account of its superior craftiness and greater strength, is much more dreaded by the shepherd than the jackal. Although they do not appear to hunt in packs in Syria, as they do in other places, they nevertheless are most destructive from their cunning in eluding the vigilance of both shepherd and dogs by night and seizing the sheep by stealth.
The wolf, strange to relate, was worshipped by the Egyptians, who named a city after it (Lycopolis). By all other nations the wolf was detested. It was probably the same principle of dread veneration which induced the Egyptians to hold the crocodile sacred that made them view the wolf in the same light.
There are several well-marked races or varieties of the wolf, and in one or other of these it is found all over the northern hemisphere, except where, as in Britain, it has been exterminated. They vary chiefly in their colour, and are to be regarded as races due to climate and other geographical causes.
Wolves are, as we have seen, particularly addicted to mutton, but it is a well-authenticated fact that they delight in eating their brother dog, and still worse, they do not hesitate to devour their own fallen comrades. When driven by hunger they are most dangerous to man, and it is strange to read now of the terrorism occasionally caused by wolves in the woody mountainous regions of France, when we reflect how long we have been free from them in this country. In the time of Athelstan (a.d. 925) a retreat was built at Flixton, in Yorkshire, as a refuge to save travellers from becoming a prey to hunting wolves. They were last heard of in these islands as late as 1710 in Ireland, when a presentment for killing them was made in Cork.
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