“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions!
She lay among young lions; 1 she reared her cubs.
35:4 I will lay waste your cities;
and you will become desolate.
Then you will know that I am the Lord!
1 sn Lions probably refer to Judahite royalty and/or nobility. The lioness appears to symbolize the Davidic dynasty, though some see the referent as Hamutal, the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah. Gen 49:9 seems to be the background for Judah being compared to lions.