Syrian Asses.
Syrian Asses. (Prov. xxvi. 3) In the East, the Ass has always played a much more important part than among us Westerns, and on that account we find it so frequently mentioned in the Bible. In the first place, it is the universal saddle-animal of the East.
The Leopard by the Way. (Hos. xiii. 7)
The Leopard In the New Testament this animal is only mentioned once, and then in a metaphorical rather than a literal sense. In the Old Testament it is casually mentioned seven times, and only in two places is the word Leopard used in the strictly literal sense.
Jesus carrying the cross
Jesus carrying his cross
Oxen bearing the Yoke. (Lam. iii. 27)
Oxen
Christ on the Mount of Olives
Trial proof of the key block of Christ on the Mount of Olives, after Bassano. National Gallery of Art
Bears descending from the Hills. (Prov. xxviii. 15)
The Hebrew word is Dôb, and it is a remarkable fact that the name of this animal in the Arabic language is almost identical with the Hebrew term, namely, Dubh. The peculiar species of Bear which inhabits Palestine is the Syrian Bear (Ursus Isabellinu s), and, though it has been variously described by different eye-witnesses, there is no doubt that the same species was seen by them all.
John Wesley
John Wesley, Methodist minister
The Wanderoo
There is one species of monkey, which is extremely likely to have been brought to Palestine, and used for the adornment of a luxurious monarch's palace. This is the Wanderoo, or Nil-Bhunder (Silenus veter). The Wanderoo, or Ouanderoo, as the name is sometimes spelled, is a very conspicuous animal, 7on account of the curious mane that covers its neck and head, and the peculiarly formed tail, which is rather long and tufted, like that of a baboon, and has caused it to be ranked among those animals by several writers, under the name of the Lion-tailed Baboon.