the hebrew word for lion is ariy, and is used 80 times in the Old Testament. 


Isaiah 29:1-2

Ah, Ariel, Ariel,
   the city where David encamped!
Add year to year;
   let the feasts run their round.
Yet I will distress Ariel,
   and there shall be moaning and lamentation,
   and she shall be to me like an Ariel.

here, Ariel is the proper hebrew noun 'Ari'el, literally translated "lion of God" or "lioness of God."
only other place 'Ari'el is used in the Scriptures is in ezra as the name of one of the leaders in the return from exile. 


2 Samuel 23:20

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels ('ariy'el) of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.

this is the common noun version. the king james version translates ariy-el as "lion-like men." would it make more sense to mean, "lions of the gods of moab?" i'm tempted to think that benaiah ben jehoiada slew two demon-possessed moabite warriors. Yahweh has sampson, who conquers lions. would not other gods try to copy this? 


Ezekiel 43:13-17
"These are the measurements of the altar (mizbeach) by cubits (the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth): its base shall be one cubit high and one cubit broad, with a rim of one span around its edge. And this shall be the height of the altar (mizbeach): from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; and the altar hearth (ari'eyl) , four cubits; and from the altar hearth (ari'eyl) projecting upward, four horns. The altar hearth (ari'eyl) shall be square, twelve cubits long by twelve broad. The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all around. The steps of the altar (lit. "his steps") shall face east."

these are the only three uses of ari'eyl in Scripture. Yahweh our God is a lion, and in the mouth of the God-lion is a consuming fire. 


Daniel 6:7
All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions (aryeh).
(so throughout the passage, every time we see lions is aryeh)

Daniel 7:4
The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.

these two chapters contain the only 10 uses of aryeh in Scripture. seems to be a babylonian lion, what with the nebuchadnezzar allusion of 7:4, and with the fact that daniel is in babylon when he's thrown into the pit. 

Genesis 14:1-2

In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

Daniel 2:12-16, 24-25

Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, "Why is the decree of the king so urgent?" Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king....   Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation." Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: "I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation."

arioch means "lion-like," and is the name of only these two men in the Bible. the babylonian arioch seems to be the answer to the old -- no longer is the sword lifted up against the Yahweh's people (genesis 14 is about abraham saving lot from chederlaomer's and arioch's armies). now arioch comes doing the bidding of a king but provides safety for Yah's people, safety which, like abraham's deliverance of lot, saves also the lives of the gentiles around the chosen. arioch's actions immediately save daniel, but also the other wise men of babylon. yet these same men will not learn their lesson and will later try to turn lions against daniel in ch. 6. 


suffice it to say, lions are a big deal to the Lord. also to daniel, who spends much of his time being attacked/accused by lions. good thing that Elohim is his judge (daniel = God, El, is my judge).