Greek word · G3917
πάρδαλις
pardalis
leopard
Leopard or panther. Known for speed and its spotted coat. The only New Testament use is this verse. It is taken with arkos (bear) and leōn (lion) because the three appear together.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
πάρδαλις, -εως, ἡ
[in LXX for נָמֵר, Song of Songs 4:8, Hosea 13:7, Isaiah 11:6, al. ;]
a panther, leopard: Revelation 13:2.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Revelation 13:2
- Range of meaning
Leopard or panther. Known for speed and its spotted coat. The only New Testament use is this verse. It is taken with arkos (bear) and leōn (lion) because the three appear together.
- Against the English
The English is accurate. What English readers miss is the source: the three animals come straight from Daniel 7, and the reader is expected to recognize them.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Daniel 7:4–7: lion with eagle's wings, bear, four-headed leopard, and a fourth terrible beast with ten horns. The Greek Daniel uses leaina/leōn, arkos and pardalis. Hosea 13:7–8 also has God's judgment come 'like a lion, like a leopard … like a bear'. 4 Ezra 12:11–12, a Jewish text from about the same time as Revelation (late 1st century AD), openly reinterprets Daniel's fourth beast as Rome.
Where it appears
Revelation · 1
-
Revelation 13:2 παρδάλει as a leopard
The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
Here: The third beast of Daniel 7:6, a fast, spotted predator. Here it gives the beast its main body.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.