Bible Dictionary
Ariel
Ariel can mean “lion of God” and has several biblical uses. It is the name of a man in Ezra, a symbolic name for Jerusalem, and a term for the altar hearth in Ezekiel.
Definition
Ariel means “lion of God,” or, in the supplied lexical explanation, “lioness of God.” The name is used for a man in Ezra, for Jerusalem, for the altar hearth in Ezekiel, and, in another passage, for a Moabite associated with Benaiah.
Biblical Usage
Ariel was one of the men sent by Ezra to secure temple ministers. Ariel is a symbolic name for Jerusalem in Isaiah and denotes the altar hearth in Ezekiel. The name may also refer to a Moabite whose sons were slain by Benaiah.
Historical Background
The explanations of Ariel as a symbolic name for Jerusalem are described as varied and chiefly conjectural. In Ezekiel the term is translated “altar hearth.”
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The lion of God. (1.) One of the chief men sent by Ezra to procure Levites for the sanctuary (Ezra 8:16). (2.) A symbolic name for Jerusalem (Isa. 29:1, 2, 7) as “victorious under God,” and in Ezek. 43:15, 16, for the altar (marg., Heb. ‘ariel) of burnt offerings, the secret of Israel’s lion-like strength.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(lion of God).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>a'-ri-el ('ariy'el or 'ari'el, "lioness of God"): But the word occurs in Eze 43:15,16, and is there translated in the Revised Version (British and American) "ALTAR HEARTH."</p><p>(1) According to the Revised Version (British and American) a man of Moab whose two sons were slain by David's warrior Benaiah the son of Jehoiada (2Sa 23:20; 1Ch 11:22). Here the King James Version translates "two lionlike men of Moab."</p><p>(2) A name applied to Jerusalem (Isa 29:1,2,7). The many explanations of the name are interesting, but mainly conjectural.</p><p>(3) One of the members of the delegation sent by Ezra to the place Casiphia, to secure temple ministers for his expedition to Jerusalem (Ezr 8:16).</p><p>Willis J. Beecher</p>