Topic
Hyena
10 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 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 They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently.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.
- Genesis 10:19ISBE
And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
- Genesis 14:2ISBE
That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
- Genesis 36:2ISBE
Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
- Genesis 36:14ISBE
¶ And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.
- Genesis 36:20ISBE
¶ These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah,
- 1 Samuel 13:18ISBE
And another company turned the way to Beth-horon: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
- 1 Chronicles 1:38ISBE
And the sons of Seir; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan.
- Nehemiah 11:34ISBE
Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
- Jeremiah 12:9ISBE
Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
- Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 13:18ISBE
What agreement is there between the hyena and a dog? and what peace between the rich and the poor?
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 16 references
hi-e'-na (tsabhua` (Jer 12:9); Septuagint huaine (Jer 12:9; Ecclesiasticus 13:18); compare Arabic dab` or dabu`, "hyaena"; compare tsebho`im, Zeboim (1Sa 13:18; Ne 11:34); also compare tsibh`on, Zibeon (Ge 36:2,14,20; 1Ch 1:38); but not tsebhoyim, Zeboiim (Ge 10:19; 14:2, etc.)): English Versions of the Bible does not contain the word "hyena," except in Ecclesiasticus 13:18, "What peace is there between the hyena and the dog? and what; peace between the rich man and the poor?" In Jer 12:9, where the Hebrew has ha-`ayiT tsabhua` (the Revised Version (British and American) "a speckled bird of prey"), Septuagint has spelaion huaines, "a hyena's den," as if from a Hebrew original having me`arah, "cave," instead of ha-`ayiT, "bird." The root tsabha` may mean "to seize as prey" (compare Arabic seb`, "lion" or "rapacious animal"), or "to dip" or "to dye" (compare Arabic cabagh, "to dye"), hence, the two translations of tsabhua` as "hyena" and as "speckled" (Vulgate versicolor).
The hyena of Palestine is the striped hyena (Hyaena striata) which ranges from India to North Africa. The striped, the spotted, and the brown hyenas constitute a distinct family of the order of Carnivora, having certain peculiarities of dentition and having four toes on each foot, instead of four behind and five in front, as in most of the order. The hyena is a nocturnal animal, rarely seen though fairly abundant, powerful but cowardly, a feeder on carrion and addicted to grave-robbing. The last habit in particular has won it the abhorrence of the natives of the countries which it inhabits. In the passage cited in Ecclus, it is to be noted that it is to the hyena that the rich man is compared. The jaws and teeth of the hyena are exceedingly strong and fitted for crushing bones which have resisted the efforts of dogs and jackals. Its dens are in desolate places and are littered with fragments of skeletons. "Is my heritage unto me as a speckled bird of prey?" (Jer 12:9) becomes a more striking passage if the Septuagint is followed, "Is my heritage unto me as a hyena's den?"
Shaqq-ud-Diba`, "Cleft of the hyenas," is the name of a valley north of Wadi-ul-Qelt, and Wadi-Abu-Diba` (of similar meaning) is the name of an affluent of Wadi-ul-Qelt. Either of these, or possibly Wadi-ul-Qelt itself, may be the valley of Zeboim (valley of hyenas) of 1Sa 13:18.
The name of Zibeon the Horite (Ge 36:2, etc.) is more doubtfully connected with "hyena."
Alfred Ely Day
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.