Topical Bible: Mountains: Abounded With: Wild Beasts

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Mountains in biblical times were often depicted as remote and untamed regions, frequently associated with wild beasts. These areas, characterized by their rugged terrain and isolation, provided a natural habitat for various animals, some of which posed threats to humans. The presence of wild beasts in mountainous regions is mentioned in several biblical passages, highlighting both the majesty and the danger of these landscapes.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the desolation that will come upon the land, where wild animals will inhabit the ruins. Isaiah 13:21-22 states, "But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. There the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about. Hyenas will howl in her fortresses, and jackals in her luxurious palaces." This passage illustrates the transformation of once-inhabited areas into wilderness, where wild beasts roam freely.

The book of Job also references the mountains as a dwelling place for wild animals. In Job 39:1 , God questions Job, "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?" This rhetorical question emphasizes God's sovereignty over creation, including the life cycles of animals that inhabit the mountainous regions.

The Psalms further reflect on the presence of wild beasts in the mountains. Psalm 104:18 notes, "The high mountains are for the wild goats, the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers." This verse acknowledges the natural habitat provided by the mountains for these creatures, underscoring the diversity of life that thrives in such environments.

In the New Testament, the wilderness, often associated with mountainous areas, is depicted as a place of solitude and testing. While not explicitly mentioning wild beasts in the mountains, the Gospel of Mark describes Jesus' time in the wilderness, where He was "with the wild animals, and angels attended Him" (Mark 1:13). This account highlights the untamed nature of the wilderness, a setting that includes the presence of wild creatures.

The imagery of wild beasts in the mountains serves as a powerful symbol throughout Scripture. It represents the untamed and often perilous aspects of creation, contrasting with the order and safety found in cultivated lands. The biblical narrative uses these images to convey themes of desolation, divine provision, and the majesty of God's creation, reminding believers of the vastness and complexity of the world God has made.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Songs 4:8
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Habakkuk 2:17
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover you, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The visit to Media.
... spectacles and parades in which the Median court abounded. ... through the forests and
among the mountains in this ... with javelins, as men do with wild beasts in the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/abbott/cyrus the great/chapter iii the visit to.htm

Different Degrees of Knowledge.
... good and mild knowledge, like the wild olive, engrafted ... greatest antiquity, as we
have shown, abounded most, as ... angels, and one on the mountains, honoured with ...
/.../the stromata or miscellanies/chapter xv different degrees of knowledge.htm

Epistle Lxiii. Limenius, Bishop of Vercell??, Having Died, the See ...
... Elisha, for feeding the prophets with wild and bitter ... 3742] in hollows and thickets
of mountains, amongst pathless ... them in whom the riches of faith abounded. ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/epistle lxiii limenius bishop of.htm

Matt. viii. 23, 24
... and they that run about the mountains, are gone ... the guardian care of God had abounded,
to curb ... all too that imitate him, like fierce wild beasts escaped from ...
/.../homilies on the gospel of saint matthew/homily xxviii matt viii 23.htm

Psalm L.
... that Israel saith, The beasts are God's, those wild beasts which I ... taken; Mine are
also the cattle on the mountains which are ... "Thy mouth hath abounded in malice ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm l.htm

Treatise ii. On the Dress of virgins.
... cross, or the sword, or the wild beasts, that she ... great works with miracle, wherewith
he abounded in spiritual ... to ascend the hills and the tops of mountains! ...
/.../cyprian/the treatises of cyprian/treatise ii on the dress.htm

On his Father'S Silence, Because of the Plague of Hail.
... and every means which was possible, when it ran wild and bore ... with fatness: why have
valleys lamented and not abounded in corn, the mountains not dropped ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xvi on his fathers.htm

The Rise of the Assyrian Empire
... bank of the Tigris to the province of Lulume in the Zagros mountains. ... the rivers,
and sycamores, beeches, limes, and plane trees abounded, besides several ...
/.../chapter iithe rise of the.htm

The First Chaldaean Empire and the Hyksos in Egypt
... The mountains, rivers, towns, and fortresses in Palestine and Coele-Syria are ... in
which herds of elephants still roamed,** and wild beasts, including lions and ...
/.../chapter ithe first chaldaean empire.htm

A Discourse
... of his house in Lebanon, to look 'from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the ...
'The violence of Lebanon shall cover thee; and the spoil of beasts which made ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/a discourse.htm