< Mosiah 20 >
v. 10 And it came to pass that the battle became exceedingly sore, for they fought like lions for their prey.
Lions, tigers, and elephants oh my
Scholars like John Sorenson, Brant Gardner, Dennis Largey, and Kerry Hull generally explain this as: a known animal metaphor translated into the closest biblical equivalent.
In other words:
Why this is NOT a problem:
The purpose of the phrase is symbolic, not zoological.
Just like:
No one argues literal rocks or lamb attributes. “Fight like lions” communicates: fearless, relentless, overwhelming violence in battle
That meaning works perfectly in both Old World and New World contexts.
Lions, tigers, and elephants oh my
Scholars like John Sorenson, Brant Gardner, Dennis Largey, and Kerry Hull generally explain this as: a known animal metaphor translated into the closest biblical equivalent.
In other words:
- Nephites may have said something like “they fought like jaguars”
- Mormon records the event
- Joseph Smith translates it into biblically familiar imagery → “lions”
- horses
- steel
- swords
- dragons
Why this is NOT a problem:
The purpose of the phrase is symbolic, not zoological.
Just like:
- God is called a “rock”
- Jesus is called a “lamb”
- Armies “flow” like water
No one argues literal rocks or lamb attributes. “Fight like lions” communicates: fearless, relentless, overwhelming violence in battle
That meaning works perfectly in both Old World and New World contexts.