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聖 經 中 獅 子 和 羔 羊 的 隱 喻
作 者 : 柏 德 遜 （ Richard D. Patterson ）
Richard D. Patterson, Lion and Lamb as Metaphors of Divine-Human Relationships. Copyright © Spring 2008 Biblical Studies Press, reprinted with permission from(www.bible.org)
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聖經常以獅子和羔羊的特性作為隱喻，形成強烈的對比。獅子以其力氣和兇猛聞名，羔羊卻是一種溫馴和依賴的動物。聖經很多時描述牠們與人及神的工作相關；這篇專論文正是研究聖經中的經文，如何以這兩個隱喻描繪神及基督的工作，並當中帶來的果效。 |
有關獅子的隱喻
古代近東的獅子形象
獅子顯著的特性，令古代近東和非洲一帶的人民特別感興趣。1獅子因氣力強大及勇猛，亞述君王尤其喜歡捕獵。2有被些捕的獅子被關起來（但六7），3「把獅子關起來，在古代美索不達米亞的碑銘和亞述君王的浮雕都可找到證據。他們讓獅子走出籠子，並加以追捕。」4亞述王 Ashurnasipal 二世（約公元前883至859年）在 Nimrud 養殖獅子，而在埃及 Ramses 二世（約公元前1290年至1224年），據推測也曾帶同寵愛的獅子上戰場。5
有代表性的獅子雕像，在一些重要的公共場所均可找到。6城門就特別適合於這種擺設。巴比倫尼布甲尼撒二世，在著名的 Ishtar 城門所擺設的獅像，尤其值得注意。7在獅像前有一條遊行路線，「以琺瑯彩磚獅像作為裝飾」。8此外，Shalmaneser 三世征服 Til Barsip 後，把 「兩隻強大、刻有戰爭記錄的玄武岩獅子」放在該城南門。9
寺廟、王宮和王座，也會採用獅子的形象和雕塑作裝飾。10一個很好的例子是 Tiglath Pileser 三世在 Kalhu 王宮的入口處，擺設「獅子和公牛巨像，其外形造得極奇巧妙、滿有權威，令人感到驚訝。」11國王顯然被獅子的威儀所吸引，常描述自己擁有獅子般的素質。因此亞述王 Adad Nirari 二世（公元前911至891年）宣布：「我強大、我是最強大的！我是英明的、我像獅子般勇敢！我是果斷的、我是至高的、我是高貴的！」12同樣 Assur-nasir-pal 二世（公元前883至859年）大膽地宣稱，「我是獅子，我是勇敢的！我 Assur-nsir-pal，大能的王、亞述的王，為罪惡所揀選，為 Anu 最喜歡的，為 Adad 所喜愛的，在眾神中顯出大能。我是攻擊敵人無情的武器！」13赫人君王 Hattusilis 一世同樣對他的兒子及繼承人 Muršiliš 說：「你要敬拜牠。 ……在獅子的地方，[神只會建立]（另一）獅子。」14連神明也不時與獅子比較。因此，埃及神衹 Amun-Re 被描繪成為獅子，他「愛牠所擁有的！」另一）獅子。」15迦南死亡之神Mot，被描繪成為擁有「獅子咽喉」 的貪婪野獸。另一）獅子。」16
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Although it is beyond the scope of this study, it should be noted that lions were also known in earlier times in Greece as represented abundantly in Greek art. T.L.B. Webster (From Mycenae To Homer [London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1977], 27) maintains that in the realm of art the lion theme was “foreign to the Minoan-Mycenaen world.” Nevertheless, lion representations were common enough in subsequent Greek art. As an example even from the earlier Mycenaean era, mention should be made of the famed Lion Gate at Mycenae, which served as the principal entrance to the citadel. Here the lions were “perhaps a heraldic symbol of the royal family,” (Carl Roebuck, The World of Ancient times [New York :Scribner’s Sons, 1966], 114). T.L.B. Webster（From Mycenae To Homer [London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1977], 27） |
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See the illustrations of Assyrian lion hunts in A. Parrot, Nineveh and the Old Testament (New York: Philosophical Library, 1955), 73; James B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures (Princeton: University Press, 1965), illustration #40; and A.T. Olmstead, History of Assyria (Chicago: University Press, 1951), frontal piece and figure # 154, opposite p. 495. R. K. Harrison (“Lion,” in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, rev. ed., ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley et al. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986] 3:141) remarks, “Assyrian palaces were not infrequently decorated with bas-reliefs showing the king and his courtiers engaged in a lion hunt.”），) |
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See further, “Nēšu,” in The Assyrian Dictionary, N II, eds. Erica Reiner and Robert D. Biggs (Chicago The: Oriental Institute, 1980), 195. |
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Lois E. Hartman and Alexander A. Di Lella, The Book of Daniel, The Anchor Bible (Garden City: Doubleday, 1978), 199. )。 |
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R. K. Harrison, “Lion, “ 3:141. See also, G. S. Cansdale, “Lion,” in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, eds. M.C. Tenney and Steven Barabbas (Grand Rapids; Zondervan, 1975), 3:940); and Reiner and Biggs, 193-97. |
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See H. W. F. Saggs, The Might That W as Assyria (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1984), 182 and plate 19b; and J.B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Bear East: A New Anthology of Texts and Pictures (Princeton: University Press, 1975), illustration # 88. |
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See Pritchard, Ancient Near East, 1965), illustration # 193. |
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A. Parrot, Babylon and the Old Testament (NewYork: Philosophical Library, 1956), 27. See further, the interesting illustrations of lions on pp. 28 and 29. |
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Olmstead, History of Assyria, 119. |
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See Robert C. Stallman, “,” in New International Dictionary of Theology and Exegesis, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 1:516. See further the representation of Gilgamesh and a lion in the palace of King Sargon of Assyria in Olmstead, History, figure #112, opposite p. 275. |
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Olmstead, History, 202. Note also the lion statue set up in Sarugi as “a provincial imitation of the lions from Kalhu,,” illustration #67, opposite p. 120. |
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Daniel David Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia (Chicago: University Press, 1926-27), 1:110. |
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Ibid, 110. |
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Gary Beckman, “Bilingual Edict of attušili I,” in The Context of Scripture, eds. W. W. Hallo, and K. Lawson Younger, Jr. (Leiden: Brill, 1997, 2000, 2002), 2:80. |
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M. Lichtheim, “The Report of Wenamun, “ in Context, 1:91. |
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Dennis Pardee, “The Balu Myth,” in Context, 1:264. Note that Michael David Coogan (Stories from Ancient Canaan [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978], 107) translates the Ugaritic line as “My appetite is like that of a lioness,” a reading supported by the original Ugaritic text. See Cyrus H. Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook (Rome: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1965), 178 (text #67:1, line 14). |
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