Notice all the "wild beasts" which would "tear" and "devour"
Israel:
A LION: Babylon, which destroyed Judah.
A WOLF: Assyria, which destroyed Israel (cp v
11).
A WOLF FROM THE DESERT: Literally, in Hebrew, a "zeeb"
of the "ereb" (Arabs?): referring to the marauders whom Gideon routed (Jdg
7:25).
A LEOPARD: Medo-Persia (cp Dan 7:6), watching over the
desolate cities of the land (made so by Babylon and Assyria).
The wolf, the leopard, and the lion all appear also in Isa
11:6 -- a beautiful picture of the coming glories of God's eternal Kingdom: "The
wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf
and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead
them."
Jer 5:22
Yahweh's control of the waters at creation -- a commentary on
the Canaanite "sea chaos" myth: see Lesson, Leviathan -- esp the
"Creation".