Bear

A large, furry mammal that can stand on its back legs, eats plants and small animals, and is dangerous when provoked.

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Bear

About Bear

A large, heavy, big-headed mammal with short, strong limbs, a short tail, and small eyes and ears. Bears walk on the whole foot (both the sole and heel), as humans do.

The Palestinian bear is a Syrian version of the brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus). It can grow to a height of 1.8 meters (six feet) and may weigh as much as 227 kilograms (500 pounds). It is still found in Syria and Turkey but no longer in Israel.

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Bear (Astronomy) Article

The constellation of stars also called Ursa Major or the Big Dipper. It is mentioned in Job 9:9 and 38:32 . See Astronomy .

The animal itself Article

Habits, distribution, and how translators render the term across languages.

Key References

2 Kings 2:24

Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

1 Samuel 17:36

Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

Revelation 13:2

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.

All Scripture References (23)

Genesis (3)
Genesis 6:19

And you are to bring two of every living creature into the ark—male and female—to keep them alive with you.

Genesis 37:20

“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”

Genesis 37:33

His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”

Leviticus (1)
Leviticus 26:6

And I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to fear. I will rid the land of dangerous animals, and no sword will pass through your land.

1 Samuel (3)
1 Samuel 17:34

David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,

1 Samuel 17:36

Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

1 Samuel 17:37

David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”

2 Samuel (1)
2 Samuel 17:8

He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will not spend the night with the troops.

2 Kings (1)
2 Kings 2:24

Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

Proverbs (2)
Proverbs 17:12

It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.

Proverbs 28:15

Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.

Isaiah (2)
Isaiah 11:7

The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

Isaiah 59:11

We all growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but find none, for salvation, but it is far from us.

Lamentations (1)
Lamentations 3:10

He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush.

Ezekiel (4)
Ezekiel 5:17

I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

Ezekiel 14:15

Or if I send wild beasts through the land to leave it childless and desolate, with no man passing through it for fear of the beasts,

Ezekiel 14:21

For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it both man and beast?

Ezekiel 34:25

I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.

Daniel (1)
Daniel 7:5

Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’

Hosea (1)
Hosea 13:8

Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast tearing them apart.

Amos (1)
Amos 5:19

It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.

Mark (1)
Mark 16:18

they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

Revelation (1)
Revelation 13:2

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.