Wolf
WOLF
WOLF (Heb. ?????), the Canis lupis, is frequently mentioned in the Bible and rabbinical literature as a wicked and cruel beast (Ezek. 22:27) found in desert regions (Jer. 5:6) which seizes its prey at night (Zeph. 3:3; Hab. 1:8). Wolves were a serious danger to flocks of sheep (cf. Isa. 11:6). The Mishnah states that "when there is a visitation of wolves," i.e., when they appear in packs, the shepherd cannot be held liable for the loss of the sheep of which he is in charge (bm 7:9). Wolves are stated on an occasion to have killed 300 sheep (tj, Be?ah 1:160a), and to have torn to pieces two children in Transjordan (Ta'an. 3:6). The wolf is like a big sheep dog (cf. Ber. 9b). According to the Mishnah, "a wolf and a dog," though similar, constitute *mixed species (Kil. 1:6). Even in recent times wolves have been known to attack flocks of sheep in Ere? Israel. It can get into the fold and strangle a number of sheep (on occasions sucking their blood, cf. Ezek. 22:27), but it carries off only one sheep, sometimes carrying it a considerable distance to its lair in the mountains of Transjordan. The Midrash to Psalms 10:14 mentions the legend of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a she-wolf.
bibliography:
S. Bodenheimer, Ha-?ai be-Ar?ot ha-Mikra, 2 vols. (1949–56), index; J. Feliks, Animal World of the Bible (1962), 35. add. bibliography: Feliks, Ha-?ome'a?, 223.
[Jehuda Feliks]