A lion out of the forest. — The imagery is vivid in itself. The three forms of animal ferocity, lion, wolf, leopard — representing, perhaps, the three phases of simple fierceness, ravenousness, and cunning; possibly even three oppressors in whom those attributes were to be impersonated — are brought together to embody the cruelty of the invader. The three animals were all common in Palestine, but it seems a weak rendering of the prophet’s words to take them literally as simply predicting that the land would be ravaged by the beasts of prey.
A wolf of the evenings. — Better, as in the margin, of the deserts; but the term “evening,” as applied to the habits of the beast of prey prowling in the darkness, is supported by Habakkuk 1:8; Zephaniah 3:3. The same three animals appear in the symbolism of the first canto of Dante’s Inferno, and the coincidence can hardly be thought of as accidental.
A leopard shall watch... — There is no adequate reason for substituting “panther.” The leopard finds its place in the Fauna of Syria (Hosea 13:7; Habakkuk 1:8). The “watching” is that of the crouching beast making ready for its spring.