Lurking Lions and Hidden Herds: Concealed Wisdom in the Hebrew Bible

: This article presents evidence for a previously unrecognized literary device in the Book of Proverbs, in which texts that cluster references to animals also contain additional paronomastic allu‑ sions to animals. This device accords with the proverbs’ instruction to search for hidden knowledge, and resonates with their emphasis on the study of wild animals as a source of divine wisdom. The device also appears in psalms and prophecies, where it generally entails references to domesticated animals; here, the function appears to be rhetorical or performative. These groupings of concealed allusions to animals also add to the growing number of examples of the textual device of clustering.


Introduction
As has long been appreciated, the Book of Proverbs shows a profound interest in animal life. Mammals, birds, and insects of all kinds appear in numerous similes and metaphors and periodically occur as objects of study (Forti 2008, pp. 25-86). Indeed, the proverbs repeatedly teach that their behavior imparts wisdom if properly understood. With this in mind, we here present evidence for a hitherto-unrecognized literary device in Proverbs that involves paronomastic allusions to animals hidden in texts that cluster direct references to animals. 1 These paronomastic allusions indirectly reference animals, and thus populate the text in suggestive ways. 2 Our use of the term "cluster" builds upon the observations of Greenfield (1990), who used it to describe the poetic strategy found at Ugarit and Israel of culling from the repertoire of word pairs and associations to create new meaningful contexts. Since the strategy involves groupings or constellations of these devices, he referred to them as clusters. Since then, it has become clear that several other poetic features also occur in clusters, including the one examined here. 3

Discussion
We divide our study into four sections. In the first, we provide evidence for the hidden animal device in Proverbs. In the second, we contextualize the device by examining the role that the animal kingdom plays in transmitting divine wisdom. In the third section, we offer additional examples of the device beyond Proverbs. In the conclusion, we discuss the import of our findings and suggest avenues for future research. My son, if you have stood surety for your fellow, given your hand for another, You have been trapped by the words of your mouth, snared by the words of your mouth, Do this, then, my son, to extricate yourself, for you have come into the power of your friend: go, prostrate yourself and press your fellow.

Hidden Animal Life in Proverbs
Do not give sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids. Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a hand or a bird from a snare.
Our first example applies the language of animal and bird trapping 4 to the words of a man's mouth in order to teach that one should not offer to provide collateral for another person. The language of trapping is especially fitting since just prior, the verb for "standing in surety" ‫ב(‬ ‫רַ‬ ‫)עָ‬ paronomastically suggests ‫ב‬ ‫ֹרֵ‬ ‫ע‬ "raven." Moreover, the repeated lexeme ‫ר‬ ‫מֶ‬ ‫אֵ‬ "word," also paronomastically resounds the word ‫ר‬ ֵ ‫מּ‬ ‫אִ‬ "lamb" (cf. Hos 13:2), and both words are identical in the construct plural formation. The poet then refers to a ‫י‬ ‫בִ‬ ‫צְ‬ "gazelle" and ‫ֹר‬ ‫ו‬ ‫פּ‬ ‫צִ‬ "bird," in line 5, again in the context of trapping. The bird is paronomastically anticipated in the word "eyelids" (lit. "flutterers"), which resounds the word ‫ֹף‬ ‫עו‬ "bird." The language derived from hunting and trapping perhaps constitutes a clue to the reader/listener to be on the hunt for hidden creatures. 5 The intelligence of a man is his self-restraint. It is his glory when he passes over an offense.
A growl of a young lion is the rage of a king, but like dew upon the grass is his favor. 6 A calamity to his father is a foolish son; like a leaky roof dripping constantly is the nagging of a wife.
In this example, the poet employs the hiphil form of the verb ְ ‫ך‬ ‫רַ‬ ‫אָ‬ to suggest the word ‫י‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫א‬ "lion" just before referencing the ‫יר‬ ‫פִ‬ ְ ‫כּ‬ "young lion." 7 This unusual choice of verb over noun also draws attention to the lines. 8 The usual idiom is a nominal construct formation: ‫ִם‬ ‫ַי‬ ‫פּ‬ ‫אַ‬ ְ ‫ך‬ ‫רֶ‬ ‫אֶ‬ (e.g., Prov 14:29, 15:18). The author thus required the use of the hiphil conjugation for the allusion to ‫י‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫א‬ to be effective. Of course, ְ ‫יך‬ ‫ֱרִ‬ ‫א‬ ‫הֶ‬ cannot here mean "lion," but we hear and see the lion lurking in the text after encountering the ‫יר‬ ‫פִ‬ ְ ‫.כּ‬ The recognition of the hidden beast thus prepares us for line 13, in which the construct form ‫ֹת‬ ּ ‫ו‬ ‫הַ‬ "calamity" echoes ‫ֹת‬ ‫ּו‬ ‫י‬ ‫הַ‬ "wild animals" and the expression ‫יו‬ ‫בִ‬ ‫אָ‬ ‫לְ‬ "to his father" resounds ‫יא‬ ‫ָבִ‬ ‫ל‬ "lion." 9 The finding of these concealed creatures puts into practice the directions given in Prov 1:6 that to obtain wisdom one must listen closely ‫ם‬ ‫ֹתָ‬ ‫יד‬ ‫ְחִ‬ ‫ו‬ ‫ים‬ ‫ָמִ‬ ‫ֲכ‬ ‫ח‬ ‫י‬ ‫רֵ‬ ‫בְ‬ ִּ ‫ד‬ ‫ָה‬ ‫יצ‬ ‫לִ‬ ‫ּמְ‬ ‫ו‬ ‫ל‬ ָ ׁ ‫ש‬ ‫מָ‬ ‫ין‬ ‫בִ‬ ‫הָ‬ ‫לְ‬ "to discern a proverb and its figure, the words of wise men and their riddles." From a literary perspective, the paronomasia contrasts self-restraint with rage and places the father in the role of the lion, who must restrain his urge to growl at his foolish son and contentious wife. A growl like a young lion is the terror of a king. He who provokes his anger risks his life.
It is honorable for a man to cease from strife, but every fool quarrels. In winter the lazy man does not plow, at harvest time he seeks and there is nothing. Deep waters are counsel in a man's mind, but a man of understanding draws them out. 10 Here, the teacher follows the reference to the ‫יר‬ ‫פִ‬ ְ ‫כּ‬ "young lion" with the expression ׁ ‫יש‬ ‫ָאִ‬ ‫ל‬ "for a man," which imitates the sound for yet another term for "lion" ׁ ‫ִש‬ ‫ַי‬ ‫.ל‬ Next, we encounter the ‫י‬ ‫אִ‬ "jackal" hidden in ‫ת‬ ‫ימַ‬ ‫אֵ‬ "terror." ‫ת‬ ‫ימַ‬ ‫אֵ‬ appears only here in Proverbs. In the next stich we find ‫ִיל‬ ‫ֱו‬ ‫א‬ "fool," which suggests ‫ִל‬ ‫י‬ ‫אַ‬ "ram," an animal that a lion might attack. 11 Line 5 then employs the expression ׁ ‫יש‬ ‫ֶב-אִ‬ ‫ל‬ ‫בְ‬ "man's mind," which resonates ‫יא‬ ‫ָבִ‬ ‫ל‬ "lion." The two allusive references to lions contrast the rage of a king with one who resists his anger. The fool is identified with the ram, and thus, with prey. Your eyes blink at it (wealth), then it is no more. It surely makes wings for itself and like a raptor, it flies heavenward.
The ‫ר‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ֶש‬ ‫נ‬ "raptor" is here surrounded by verbs (both marked with Qere/Kethib) that resound the word ‫ֹף‬ ‫עו‬ "bird." The first ‫יף[‬ ‫עִ‬ ‫ֲתָ‬ ‫]ה‬ ‫ּף‬ ‫עו‬ ‫ֲתָ‬ ‫ה‬ is a hiphil form of the verb ‫ּף‬ ‫עו‬ "fly," while the latter ‫ּף[‬ ‫ָעו‬ ‫]י‬ ‫ֵף‬ ‫י‬ ‫עָ‬ is a qal conjugation. The former usage recalls the word ‫ִם‬ ‫ַי‬ ‫פ‬ ‫עַ‬ ‫פְ‬ ‫עַ‬ "eyelids," and suggests the meaning "in the blink of an eye." 12 In the end it bites like a snake, it spits like a basilisk. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will speak distorted things. You will be like one lying in bed on high seas, like one lying on top of the mast.
A lazy man says, "There's a lion cub on the road, a lion in the squares." The second line in this passage contains two different words for lions: ‫ל‬ ‫חַ‬ ַ ׁ ‫ש‬ and ‫י‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫.א‬ The careful listener cannot help but hear in the words ׁ ‫יש‬ ‫אִ‬ ‫יתָ‬ ‫אִ‬ ‫רָ‬ "you see a man" (l. 12) an echo of the word ׁ ‫ִש‬ ‫י‬ ַ ‫תּ‬ "he-goat," an animal that is potential prey for a lion. Abetting the allusion is the conjunctive accent ṭ arḥ ā c just before the word "man" (i.e., ׁ ‫ִש‬ ‫י‬ ‫אָ‬ ‫יתָ‬ ‫אִ‬ ‫,)רָ‬ which invites us to read the two words together. In essence, the lazy man who is wise in his own eyes cannot see that he is merely prey to predators about whom he chooses to do little other than pointing a finger. That the lion and he-goat are mutually associative is confirmed later in the book when the two are brought together again (Prov 30:29-31): There are three that are stately of stride, four that carry themselves well: The lion is mightiest among the beasts, and recoils before none. The saluki, the he-goat, the king whom none dares resist. The wicked flee though no one gives chase, but the righteous are as confident as a young lion.
When there is rebellion in the land, many are its rulers, but with a man who has understanding and knowledge, stability will last.
Here, again, we encounter the ‫יר‬ ‫פִ‬ ְ ‫כּ‬ "young lion," which naturally evokes its word pair ‫י‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫.א‬ This time we find it in the following hiphil form of the verb ְ ‫ך‬ ‫רַ‬ ‫.אָ‬ 14 Thus, unlike Prov 19:11-13, where the allusion precedes the animal, the direct reference to the ‫יר‬ ‫פִ‬ ְ ‫כּ‬ alerts the reader to be on the lookout for hidden beasts. In addition, the literary context is also different. In this passage, the righteous is both the confident lion who does not flee, and the one who remains steadfast in a time of rebellion.
Prov 28:13-14 He who covers up his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and abandons (them) will find mercy.
Happy is the man fearing constantly, but he who hardens his heart will fall into evil.
A prince who lacks discernment is very oppressive. He who hates unlawful gain will live long.
This passage couples the ‫י‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫א‬ "lion" and ‫ֹב‬ ‫ד‬ "bear" in line 15, and follows them with ְ ‫יך‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫ַא‬ ‫,י‬ which again paronomastically contains the ‫י‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫א‬ "lion." The ambiguity of ‫ע‬ ָ ׁ ‫ש‬ ‫רָ‬ in this sentence gives one pause when reading. As it is, it can be a substantive "wicked man" or adjective "wicked." If it is an adjective, it modifies the participle ‫ל‬ ֵ ׁ ‫ֹש‬ ‫מ‬ "ruling," permitting the translation above "a wicked man who rules." However, if it is a substantive, we must read ‫ל‬ ֵ ׁ ‫ֹש‬ ‫מ‬ as another participle meaning "be like, resemble" (here with a plural antecedentnot unknown, cf. Gen 27:29, Num 24:9, Isa 3:12, Mic 1:9, Prov 3:18), and render "A growling lion and an attacking bear resemble a wicked man . . . " The amphiboly here forces one to ponder whether the teacher has created a simile or metaphor, and to consider the polysemy of ‫ל‬ ֵ ׁ ‫ֹש‬ ‫.מ‬ 16 The reading "ruling," is confirmed by the parallelism of the next line that begins with ‫ִיד‬ ‫ָג‬ ‫נ‬ "prince." The literary context here creates a contrast between the wicked ruler as a vicious lion, and the one who rejects unlawful gain and receives long life. The lion concealed in ְ ‫יך‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫ַא‬ ‫י‬ creates a chiasm with the ‫י‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫א‬ in the previous verse, thus heightening the contrast.
There is a generation that lifts its eyes and lifts up its eyelids.
There is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose molars are knives to eat the poor from the earth and the needy from the mankind.
The leech has two daughters: "Give!" and "Give!" There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, "Enough!" Sheol, the (barren) womb, land that is not satisfied for water, and fire does not say, "Enough!" The eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to mother: the ravens of the wadi will peck it out and the young vultures will eat it.
Three things there are too wonderful for me, four that I do not know them: The way of a raptor in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the heart of the sea, and the way of a man with a woman.

The Animal Kingdom as Transmitters of Divine Wisdom
Numerous biblical passages identify animals as numinous creatures and sources for obtaining divine wisdom. 20 Proverbs is particularly clear on this. Thus, it advises the lazy: "Go to the ant, sluggard, and look at its ways, and be wise ‫ָם(‬ ‫ֲכ‬ ‫")ח‬ (Prov 6:6). Proverbs also instructs us that the actions of the ant, hyrax, locust, and lizard make them ‫ים‬ ‫ָמִ‬ ‫כּ‬ ‫חֻ‬ ‫מְ‬ ‫ים‬ ‫ָמִ‬ ‫ֲכ‬ ‫ח‬ "wisest among the wise" (Prov 30:24). Wild creatures whose behavior signaled changes in season were deemed especially wise, as Jeremiah prophesies (Riede 2002, pp. 1-28): Yea, the stork in the sky knows its appointed time, See also Job's words to his friends: Ask the beasts, and they will teach you, and the birds of the air, and they will tell you . . . or speak to the fish of the sea, and they will inform you. Who does not know among these that the hand of Yahweh has done this? (Job 12:7-9) The author of Kings considered it important enough to include the knowledge of all animals, birds, and fish as constituting a portion of Solomon's wisdom (1 Kgs 5:12-13). According to Othmar Keel and Silvia Schroer: "Observation of animals offered people the possibility of becoming wise, of coming closer to the divine order (of nature) and thus to God himself" (Keel and Schroer 2015, p. 50). Thus, when Yahweh asks Job from the whirlwind "who put wisdom in the ibis and gave the wild rooster understanding?" (Job 38:36), the implicit answer is that he did. 22 We find it meaningful that many of the concealed creatures are lions. Given the close association generally in the ancient Near East of lions with royal power, 23 one must consider the possibility that, as a manual of statecraft, Proverbs teaches that one should always be on the lookout for kings, whose actions and informants may sometimes be furtive.
We also observe that all of the cases of hidden beasts that we have examined involve wild animals, not domesticated. This is because, throughout the Near East generally, wild animals were understood as numinous creatures that stood between God and humans. Consequently, biblical texts depict wild beasts as divine agents, portray them as numinous beings that humans cannot control without divine assistance, and contain similes and metaphors that depict Yahweh as a wild animal, and never as a domesticated one. 24 We contend that the belief in wild animals as sources of divine wisdom, coupled with the poetic strategy of proverbs generally to conceal wisdom in its turns of phrase, paronomasia, and polysemy, offers a context for understanding the device. The discovery of hidden animals is essentially a discovery of sources of divine wisdom. With each reveal, one must consider the behavior of these animals and the insights that it imparts to the text. In many ways, the device functions like some Hebrew acrostics that employ the name of the consonant or a paronomastic reflection of it in the line to which it belongs, thus offering clues to the letters of the acrostic. 25

Hidden Animals beyond Proverbs
The presence of this device in Proverbs naturally encourages one to look elsewhere in the Bible for additional cases. We opine that one should be especially encouraged to do so in texts that cluster direct references to animals. We offer below a few candidates in full recognition that it is likely, if not probable, that future researchers will discover additional examples. The psalmist compares evil people who surround him to both dogs and lions. After hearing the word "lion," the astute hearer is forced to rethink ‫ים‬ ‫ָבִ‬ ‫ל‬ ְ ‫כּ‬ "dogs" as the phrase ‫ים‬ ‫אִ‬ ‫בִ‬ ‫לְ‬ ְ ‫כּ‬ "like lions." 26 The line encourages the connection by employing the preposition ְ ‫כּ‬ "like" with "lion," thus forcing the hearer/reader to reconsider the ְ ‫כּ‬ on ‫ים‬ ‫ָבִ‬ ‫ל‬ ְ ‫כּ‬ also as the preposition-another device of repetition and variation involving prepositions found elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible (See Noegel 2021, pp. 303-5). The paronomasia forces one to consider that the "dogs" who surround the poet are really "lions," and thus greater threats than they first seemed. 27 Man does not abide in honor. He is like the beasts that perish.
Anticipating ‫ֹת‬ ‫מו‬ ‫הֵ‬ ְ ‫בּ‬ "beasts" in the second stich is the expression ‫ר‬ ‫יקָ‬ ִ ‫בּ‬ "in honor," which suggests by dint of sound ‫ר‬ ‫ָקָ‬ ‫ב‬ "cattle, herd." 28 Complicating the passage is a clever case of polysemy. The niphal form ‫ל‬ ַ ׁ ‫ש‬ ‫ִמְ‬ ‫נ‬ can mean "he is like" or "he will be ruled." Thus, we may render the second half of the verse also as "he will be ruled like the beasts that perish." The paronomastic allusion to "cattle, herd," thus embodies the line's content by identifying the passing "honor" of humankind with the beasts to which he is likened. As if to draw attention to the line's devices, the psalmist repeats the verse with some interesting changes as the concluding line of the poem ( Like flocks to Sheol they appoint Death, who shepherds them. The upright will rule over them in the morning, and their image will waste away in Sheol (far) from his (Yahweh's) lofty abode.
The same Psalm again employs the device in line 15, this time with variation. The passage starts with reference to ‫ֹאן‬ ‫צ‬ "flocks," and personifies Sheol and Death as ‫ם‬ ‫עֵ‬ ‫ִרְ‬ ‫י‬ "(the one who) shepherds them," and shortly afterwards employs the noun ‫ר‬ ‫ֹקֶ‬ ‫בּ‬ "morning," which similarly evokes ‫ר‬ ‫ָקָ‬ ‫ב‬ "cattle, herd." 30 The verse refers to those who place their confidence in wealth. As in Ps 49:13, the psalmist connects their fate with those of beasts. I claim no bull from your estate, no he-goats from your pens. For mine is every animal of the forest, the beasts on a thousand mountains. I know every bird of the mountain, and the creatures of the field are subject to me.
Several animals are directly referenced here: ‫ָר‬ ‫פ‬ "ox," ‫ר‬ ‫ָעַ‬ ‫ֹ-י‬ ‫ְתו‬ ‫י‬ ‫חַ‬ "animal of the forest," ‫ֹת‬ ‫מו‬ ‫הֵ‬ ְ ‫בּ‬ "beasts," ‫ֹף‬ ‫עו‬ "bird," and ‫ִיז‬ ‫ז‬ "creature." It is within this cluster of animals that we find ‫ֶף‬ ‫ל‬ ‫,אָ‬ which here means "thousand," but also recalls ‫ֶף‬ ‫ל‬ ‫אֶ‬ "cattle," especially following ‫ֹת‬ ‫מו‬ ‫הֵ‬ ְ ‫.בּ‬ 31 In fact, the latter also would appear as ‫ֶף‬ ‫ל‬ ‫אָ‬ in pause, as it is here. The passage, which appears to quote Yahweh, separates the domesticated animals of sacrifice from the animals in the wild. The former belong to Israel, the latter to Yahweh. The phrase ‫ֶף‬ ‫ל‬ ‫י-אָ‬ ‫רֵ‬ ‫רְ‬ ‫הַ‬ ְ ‫בּ‬ "a thousand mountains," offers a bridge between the two, and puts form into function, as one must here distinguish between the "thousand mountains" that provide habitat for Yahweh's wild creatures and domesticated "cattle." The meadows are clothed with the flocks, the valleys mantled with grain. They raise a shout; indeed, they sing.
The psalmist here personifies the meadows and valleys as praising Yahweh. Preceding the direct reference to ‫ֹאן‬ ‫צ‬ "flocks" are ‫ים‬ ‫ָרִ‬ ‫כ‬ "meadows," which also suggests ‫ים‬ ‫ָרִ‬ ‫כ‬ "rams," a fitting allusion given the presence of herds. As the final verse of the Psalm, it combines the promise of fertile crops and herds that embodies Yahweh's response to the faithful. He rained upon them meat like dust, and like the sand of the seas, winged birds.
This Psalm recounts the divine arrival of quails in the desert. We suggest that here the expression ‫ים‬ ִ ‫ַמּ‬ ‫י‬ ‫ֹל‬ ‫חו‬ "sand of the seas," also suggests "Phoenix of days." This bird has been spotted in Job 29:18, and there too it appears with days: ‫ֶה‬ ‫בּ‬ ‫רְ‬ ‫אַ‬ ‫ֹל‬ ‫ַחו‬ ‫ְכ‬ ‫ו‬ ‫ָע‬ ‫ְו‬ ‫ג‬ ‫אֶ‬ ‫ּי‬ ‫נ‬ ‫ם-קִ‬ ‫עִ‬ ‫ר‬ ‫ֹמַ‬ ‫ָא‬ ‫ו‬ ‫ים‬ ‫ָמִ‬ ‫י‬ "And I said, I will perish with my nest, but like the Phoenix I will multiply days" (See Dahood 1974, pp. 85-88). The allusion would be even more clear in the pre-Masoretic text. 32 The Psalmist employs the polysemy here to register both the abundance of quails and their role in preserving the Israelites' lives in the desert. 33 Appearing in a long list of Yahweh's miracles performed during the exodus and wandering, the polysemy underscores the continual renewal and prosperity of the Israelites, despite their constant defiance and transgressions during this time. This is, after all, the central theme of the Psalm. The reference to the ‫ים‬ ‫אֵ‬ ‫רְ‬ "wild ox" in line 11 finds an allusive counterpart in line 12 in the odd expression ‫י‬ ‫ּרָ‬ ‫ו‬ ׁ ‫ש‬ "my ambushers." In fact, its peculiarity draws our attention. 34 After just encountering the wild ox one cannot help but hear in the expression the word ‫ֹר‬ ‫שו‬ "bull." Visually this would be even more obvious in the pre-Masoretic text. Enhancing the passage is parasonance between ‫ם‬ ‫רֶ‬ ָ ‫תּ‬ and ‫ים‬ ‫אֵ‬ ‫רְ‬ ִ ‫,כּ‬ and among ‫ָן‬ ‫ֲנ‬ ‫ע‬ ‫רַ‬ "fresh," ‫ִי‬ ‫ינ‬ ‫עֵ‬ "my eye," and ‫ים‬ ‫עִ‬ ‫רֵ‬ ‫מְ‬ "wicked." The psalmist contrasts himself as a wild bull with his enemies who hide in ambush, but who are here paronomastically transformed into domesticated bovids. So rain will be provided for the seed with which you sow the ground, and the bread that the ground brings forth will be rich and fat. Your livestock, in that day, will graze in broad pastures.
As for the cattle and the asses that till the soil, they will partake of the salted fodder that has been winnowed with shovel and fan.
Again we find a cluster of animal terms including ָ ‫ֶיך‬ ‫נ‬ ‫קְ‬ ִ‫"מ‬your livestock," ‫ים‬ ‫ָפִ‬ ‫ֲל‬ ‫א‬ ָ‫"ה‬cattle," and ‫ים‬ ‫ָרִ‬ ‫ֲי‬ ‫"ע‬asses." As in Psalm 65, the prophet again exploits the word ‫ַר‬ ּ‫"כ‬meadow," which resounds ‫ַר‬ ּ‫"כ‬ram." Though ‫ַר‬ ּ‫כ‬can only mean "meadow" here, the prophecy guarantees the fecundity of Israel's agriculture and herds, and so the allusion to "ram" is fitting. Behold, like a raptor he flies up. He soars and spreads his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of Edom's warriors in that day will be like the heart of a woman in travail.
Concerning Damascus: Hamath and Arpad are ashamed for they have heard the evil news. They quake, anxiety in the sea that cannot rest.
These verses represent both the end of the prophet's harangue against Edom, which starts much earlier (Jer 49:7), and the start of his prophecy against the Aramaean cities. Animal images appear in line 16, in which the cliff dwelling Edomites are likened to the ‫ר‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ֶש‬ ּ ‫נ‬ "raptor" that nests in high places. Jeremiah then compares Yahweh's approach to an ‫ֵה‬ ‫י‬ ‫רְ‬ ‫אַ‬ "lion" that emerges from the jungle of the Jordan (49:19). Among those who will suffer are the young boys of the ‫ֹאן‬ ‫צ‬ "flocks" (49:20). It is at this juncture that the highlighted text commences likening Yahweh to a soaring ‫ר‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ֶש‬ ּ ‫נ‬ "raptor." Embedded amongst the cluster of animal similes is the expression ‫ה‬ ָ ּ ׁ ‫ש‬ ‫אִ‬ ‫ֵב‬ ‫ל‬ ְ ‫כּ‬ "like the heart of a woman" (49:22), in which we hear ‫יא‬ ‫ָבִ‬ ‫ל‬ "lion." The prophet then likens the quaking sea to the ‫ָה‬ ‫ג‬ ‫אָ‬ ְּ ‫ד‬ "anxiety" felt by Hamath and Arapad. The jumbled syntax places ‫ָה‬ ‫ג‬ ‫אָ‬ ְּ ‫ד‬ immediately after ‫ָם‬ ּ ‫י‬ ַ ‫בּ‬ "sea," thus encouraging one to hear in their anxiety the word ‫ג‬ ָּ ‫ד‬ "fish." The device here functions to emphasize the speed (raptor) and power (lion) that will fall upon Edom and the Aramaean cities, who will find themselves unawares and anxiously teeming like fish in a quaking sea. For thus says the Lord Yahweh, "Here am I! I am going to search for my flock and I will seek them out.
As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some (animals) in his flock have gotten separated, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of cloud and gloom.

KI.MIN ina mah-ri-šú u 8 -a an-ha-ku-ma qí-b[i]
Likewise, he (the chief), said in his presence: "Alas, am I tired!" Our final example comes from an Akkadian text known as the Poor Man of Nippur. Baruch Ottervanger observed a particularly clever use of allusive paronomasia in the text's use of the interjection ua "woe, alas" (Ottervanger 2016, p. 36). The scribe has employed the sign u 8 in the interjection, because it also is a logogram for lahru "sheep," and thus, a fitting follow-up to the pasillu-sheep, which the poem mentions in the preceding line.

Conclusions
The evidence gathered here demonstrates that there is a high propensity for finding creatures hidden in biblical texts that cluster or feature direct references to animals. This is especially the case in Proverbs, which places great emphasis on the observation of wild animals to obtain divine wisdom and instructs would-be learners to search for hidden wisdom in the proverbs' figures and riddles. However, we also find the device in a number of psalms and prophecies, not all of which one can classify as "wisdom texts." 36 The exemplar from the Akkadian Poor Man of Nippur also reveals that the device predated Israel. 37 One of the most salient differences of the animals hidden in texts other than Proverbs is that most of them are domesticated. Only in Jer 49:22-23 do we find wild animals, and if one accepts the reference to the Phoenix in Ps 78:27, we have a mythological creature. 38 The latter is especially interesting as it is our only case involving polysemy as well. All others are alluded by means of paronomasia. This suggests that the motives informing the concealment of animals in Proverbs are not the same as those behind the device in other books. Certainly, Ps 22:17 outwardly bears a resemblance to Proverbs in that it hides the word "lions" within the word "dogs." Yet, there is little that appears numinous here, as both animals describe the psalmist's enemies. It would appear then, that the device merely aims to force one to see the dogs as lions in retrospect, as greater threats than they once appeared. The passage in Jer 49:22-23 also resembles Proverbs in that it depicts Yahweh as a raptor and embeds a lion into the text, both in keeping with the numinous understanding of wild animals. However, the text is a prophecy that describes the downfall of city-states as a sudden and surprise attack. Therefore, the raptor and hidden lion appear to emphasize these aspects of Yahweh's actions. The hidden Phoenix in Ps 78:27 also functions differently. It emphasizes the central theme of the poem that Yahweh continually renewed Israel, even in the face of their nearly constant defiance during the exodus and wandering.
All the cases involving domesticated animals similarly appear to be rhetorical, or perhaps performative, in function. Three of them (Ps 49:13,49:15, embed the word ‫ר‬ ‫ָקָ‬ ‫ב‬ "cattle, herd," but in different ways, and two others (Ps 65:14, Isa 30:23-24) employ the polyseme ‫ָר‬ ‫כּ‬ "meadow" or "ram," suggesting that paronomasia on these words was more frequent in common parlance. 39 The passage in Isaiah occurs in a prophecy that promises the fertility of Israel's crops and animals. Therefore, it cleverly combines the two. Our final two examples (Ps 50:9-11, 92:11-12) embed allusions to ‫ֶף‬ ‫ל‬ ‫אֶ‬ "cattle" and a ‫ֹר‬ ‫שו‬ "bull," respectively. The former occurs in a passage placed in Yahweh's voice that literally forces one to distinguish the domesticated animals of sacrifice from "every animal of the forest, the beasts on a thousand mountains," which belong to him. The paronomastic allusion in Psalm 92 also functions to contrast the psalmist as wild bull, with his now defeated (domesticated) ambushers.
This study has presented numerous examples of a hitherto-unrecognized device that involves paronomastically embedding the names of animals in texts that feature and/or cluster direct references to animals. Its use in Proverbs is distinctive and relates to the notion that one can derive divine wisdom from wild animals and their behavior. Its use elsewhere is rhetorical, and perhaps even performative. By way of conclusion, we feel it important to emphasize again that our finds add to a growing list of textual devices that exploit or employ clusters. Therefore, we aver that there is great propriety in looking for paronomasia on objects hidden in texts that feature a particular theme or cluster of connected objects, even those beyond the animal kingdom. Nevertheless, it is likely that if researchers are attentive to a text's use of wildlife imagery, they will find many more lions between the lines.
Author Contributions: All authors have equal contributions to the paper, and read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.

Conflicts of Interest:
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
14 We note also the homoeopropheron between ְ ‫יך‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫ַא‬ ‫י‬ and ‫ץ‬ ‫רֶ‬ ֶ‫א‬in this verse. 15 Elsewhere biblical authors exploited the polysemous root ‫רחם‬ to mean "rain" as well. See (Rendsburg 1983). 16 On amphiboly, see (Noegel 2021, pp. 233-39). 17 On additional devices operative in these crafty proverbs, see (Noegel and Nichols 2019 19 We note additional anagrammatic paronomasia between ‫ָי‬ ‫ינ‬ ‫עֵ‬ "my eyes" (30:13) and ‫ִים‬ ּ ‫ִי‬ ‫ֲנ‬ ‫ע‬ "poor" (30:14). 20 On the numinous nature of wild animals and their relationship to God and humankind in the Hebrew Bible, see (Noegel 2019, pp. 95-133). Evidence also suggests that animals existed in a close enough relationship to humankind to praise God. See (Strawn and LeMon 2007, pp. 451-85;Atkins 2020, pp. 500-13). 21 On the identification of ‫ּר‬ ‫גו‬ ‫ְעָ‬ ‫ו‬ ‫ּס‬ ‫סו‬as a single bird ("golden oriole") here and in Isa 38:14, see (Rendsburg 1992). 22 The rhetorical queries constitute a corrective retort to Job's previous statement: "Wisdom, whence does it come, and where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of every living being, and concealed even from the birds of the sky" (Job 28:20-21). (Pope 1973, pp. 290, 302), renders "Who put wisdom in Thoth? Who gave Sekwi understanding?" He takes Sekwi to reflect an Egyptian word for the planet Mercury. 23 Nevertheless, as (Strawn 2005, p. 55) also notes, " . . . there are surprisingly few references to Israelite monarchs as lions." Italics are his. 24 For a comprehensive treatment concerning the taxonomy of animals in the Hebrew Bible, see (Noegel 2019, pp. 95-133). With regard to the horse embedded in Prov 23:32, there is no reason to assume a horse is domesticated unless it is explicitly described as such. Since horses continued to exist in the wild and resisted domestication, it is likely that the Israelites viewed them as partially wild. Compare, for example, the comparison of horses to wild animals in Hab 1:8. 25 Acrostics too are a form of cluster. See (Noegel 2021, pp. 225-26, 269). 26 On animal imagery in the Psalms, see (Forti 2018). 27 (Dahood 1966, p. 141), does not read ‫י‬ ‫ֲרִ‬ ‫ָא‬ ‫כּ‬ as "like a lion," but as "piercing," as if derived from the root ‫.כרי‬ 28 (Dahood 1966, p. 299 (Dahood 1966, p. 300), proposes that we emend the text to read "into his gullet like a calf." We do not suggest that the text requires emendation, but that it successfully alludes to the animal as is. 31 (Dahood 1966, pp. 307-8), reads here ‫ל‬ ‫י-אֵ‬ ‫רֵ‬ ‫רְ‬ ‫הַ‬ ְ ‫,בּ‬ and attaches the ‫פ‬ to the following line as an archaic conjunction. 32 We also note the poet's creation of homoeopropheron between ‫ֹף‬ ‫עו‬ and ‫ָר‬ ‫פ‬ ‫.עָ‬