שַׁ֫חַל H7826
shachal -- lion (poetic); a fierce, mature lion in wisdom and prophetic imagery
One of several Hebrew words for 'lion,' shachal belongs to the elevated poetic register and appears exclusively in Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Hosea -- never in prose narrative. It evokes the fierce, full-grown predator: God pursues Job 'like a lion' (Job 10:16), and the roar of the shachal is silenced when God breaks the teeth of the wicked (Job 4:10). The Psalmist promises the righteous will tread on the shachal and the young lion (Ps 91:13), and the sluggard protests there is a lion in the road (Prov 26:13). Hosea uses it twice for God's judgment on Israel -- 'I will be like a lion to Ephraim' (Hos 5:14; 13:7). Spanish and French both render it simply as leon/lion, while German uses Lowe, with no further differentiation from other lion terms.
Senses
1. lion (fierce/mature) — A poetic term for a lion, specifically evoking fierceness and mature power, used only in elevated literary contexts (Job 4:10; 10:16; 28:8; Ps 91:13; Prov 26:13; Hos 5:14; 13:7). It parallels other lion terms like 'aryeh and kephir but carries a distinct register of awe and danger. God himself is compared to a shachal pouncing on wayward Israel (Hos 5:14), while Job describes being hunted 'like a fierce lion' (Job 10:16). Spanish leon, French lion, and German Lowe show no lexical differentiation from other lion terms, but the Hebrew poetic tradition reserves shachal for contexts of dread and divine power. 7×
AR["أَسَدٌ", "أَسَدٍ", "الأَسَدُ", "اللَّيْثِ", "الْأَسَدِ", "كَالأَسَدِ"]·ben["বাঘের", "সিংহ", "সিংহের-মতো", "সিংহের-মতো-"]·DE["[כשחל]", "[שחל]", "der-Löwe"]·EN["a-fierce-lion", "a-lion", "like-lion", "lion", "the-lion"]·FR["lion"]·heb["כ-שחל", "שחל"]·HI["गर्जनेवाले-सिंह-की", "जवान-शेर", "शेर", "शेर-जैसा", "सिंह", "सिंह-की-तरह"]·ID["seperti-singa", "singa", "singa-muda", "singa-tua"]·IT["[כשחל]", "[שחל]", "come-il-like-lion", "leone", "un-fierce-leone", "un-leone"]·jav["kados-macan-tutul", "kados-singa", "singa", "singa-enom", "singa-nem"]·KO["같으니라-사자에", "사나운-사자의", "사자-같이", "사자-와", "사자가", "사자에"]·PT["como-leão", "leão", "leão-feroz", "leão.", "o-leão"]·RU["как-лев", "лев", "льва", "львицы"]·ES["como-león", "león", "león-joven", "león-viejo"]·SW["kama-simba", "simba", "simba-mchanga"]·TR["aslan", "aslan-gibi", "genç-aslanın"]·urd["ببر شیر", "ببر-شیر", "ببر-کی", "جیسے-شیر", "شیر", "شیر-کی-طرح"]
Related Senses
H6629 1. flock, sheep/goats (small livestock) (274×)H1241 1. cattle, herd (bovine livestock) (183×)H0352a 1. ram (male sheep) (156×)H6499 1. young bull, bullock (130×)H3532 1. lamb, young male sheep (105×)H2543 1. donkey (male ass) (96×)H7794 1. ox, bull (79×)H7462b 1. shepherd (agent noun) (76×)H5795 1. she-goat(s), female goat(s) (68×)H7462b 2. to shepherd, tend, pasture (60×)H1581 1. camel (domestic animal) (54×)H0738b 1. lion (46×)G4263 1. sheep (39×)H5739 1. flock or herd of livestock (38×)H5695 1. calf, young bull (35×)H0738a 1. lion (large predatory feline) (34×)H0860 1. female donkey (34×)H3611 1. dog (animal) (32×)H3715a 1. young lion, lion cub (31×)G0721 1. Lamb (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
שַׁ֫חַל n.m. lion (poet.);—abs. שׁ׳ Ho 5:14 +, שָׁ֑חַל Jb 4:10 +;—lion, sim. of י׳, toward Israel Ho 5:14 (‖ כְּפִיר), 13:7 (‖ נָמֵר); of guilty men Jb 4:10 (‖ אַרְיֵה, כְּפִירִים); fig. of foes ψ 91:13 (‖ כְּפִיר); lion, as hunted Jb 10:16 (in sim.); lit. 28:8; Pr 26:13