Topic
Bear
14 passages cited, from 4 classic reference works.
These works date from 1884–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- 2 Samuel 17:8Easton · Smith · ISBE · Nave Ferocity of
For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
- 2 Kings 2:24Easton · ISBE · Nave Two destroy the young men of Beth-el who mocked Elisha
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
- Proverbs 17:12Easton · ISBE · Nave Ferocity of
Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
- Proverbs 28:15Easton · ISBE · Nave Ferocity of
As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
- Isaiah 59:11Easton · ISBE · Nave Ferocity of
We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
- Lamentations 3:10Easton · ISBE · Nave Ferocity of
He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
- 1 Samuel 17:34–37Easton · ISBE
And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by…
- Isaiah 11:7ISBE · Nave Ferocity of
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
- Hosea 13:8Easton · ISBE
I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
- 1 Samuel 17:34Smith
And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
- Daniel 7:5ISBE
And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
- Hosea 3:3Nave Ferocity of
And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.
Show 2 more
- Amos 5:19 ISBE
- Revelation 13:2 ISBE
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 9 references
A native of the mountain regions of Western Asia, frequently mentioned in Scripture. David defended his flocks against the attacks of a bear (1 Sam. 17:34-37). Bears came out of the wood and destroyed the children who mocked the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 2:24). Their habits are referred to in Isa. 59:11; Prov. 28:15; Lam. 3:10. The fury of the female bear when robbed of her young is spoken of (2 Sam. 17:8; Prov. 17:12; Hos. 13:8). In Daniel’s vision of the four great monarchies, the Medo-Persian empire is represented by a bear (7:5).
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 2 references
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 16 references
bar (dobh; compare Arabic dubb): In 1Sa 17:34-37, David tells Saul how as a shepherd boy he had overcome a lion and a bear. In 2Ki 2:24 it is related that two she bears came out of the wood and tore forty-two of the children who had been mocking Elisha. All the other references to bears are figurative; compare 2Sa 17:8; Pr 17:12; 28:15; Isa 11:7; 59:11; La 3:10; Da 7:5; Ho 13:8; Am 5:19; Re 13:2. The Syrian bear, sometimes named as a distinct species, Ursus Syriacus, is better to be regarded as merely a local variety of the European and Asiatic brown bear, Ursus arctos. It still exists in small numbers in Lebanon and is fairly common in Anti-Lebanon and Hermon. It does not seem to occur now in Palestine proper, but may well have done so in Bible times. It inhabits caves in the high and rugged mountains and issues mainly at night to feed on roots and vegetables. It is fond of the chummuc or chick-pea which is sometimes planted in the upland meadows, and the fields have to be well guarded. The figurative re ferences to the bear take account of its ferocious nature, especially in the case of the she bear robbed of her whelps (2Sa 17:8; Pr 17:12; Ho 13:8). It is with this character of the bear in mind that Isaiah says (Is 11:7), "And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together."
Alfred Y. Day
In the topical indexes
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.