SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY. 



THE LEOPARD. 



THE Hebrew name (Nimrali) of this animal is taken from its 

 spotted color. By the English it is almost indiscriminately called 

 the Panther, or Leopard of Senegal, where it is chiefly found. Its 

 length is about four feet from the nose to the origin of the tail, 

 which is about two feet long. The predominant color is yellow- 

 ish, and the spots with which it is covered are black. The head is 

 of a moderate length, the ears are pointed, the eyes are of u pale 

 yellow, and its whole aspect is fierce and cruel. Its disposition is 

 said nearly to resemble that of the tiger, yet it is generally con- 

 eidered^o be the less fierce of the two. The manner in which the 

 leopard' seizes its prey is, however, similar to that of the lion ; 

 rushing from its concealment, it at once bounces on its victim, with 

 a horrid roar. Its voice, at this time, is said to be hideous beyond 

 conception. 



The scripture references to this animal are not numerous, but 

 like all its other references they are founded on the strictest pro- 

 priety. Jeremiah refers in one place to its spotted skin, (ch. xii. 23), 

 and in another (ch. v. 6,) to its artful ambuscades ; a feature in its 

 character to which Hosea also alludes, (ch. xiii. 7) ; as a leopard 

 by the way will I observe them' doubtless, to punish them for 

 their flagrant and unrcpented crimes. Habakkuk, describing the 

 rapid march of the Chaldeans upon Jerusalem, compares the 

 movement of their horses to the extraordinary swiftness of this 

 animal: * Their horses also are swifter than leopards,' ch. i. 8. 

 But the most beautiful allusion to this creature is in Isaiah's 

 prophecy of the happy times of the Messiah's reign: 



