Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 13:24

"And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his body was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the body." — 1 Kings 13:24 (ASV)

A lion. The lion is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, especially in Southern Palestine: at Timnath (Judges 14:5); near Bethlehem (1 Samuel 17:34); at Kabzeel, in Judah (2 Samuel 23:20); near Aphek (1 Kings 20:36); in the thickets and forests of the Jordan valley (Jeremiah 4:7; Jeremiah 5:6), etc. The lion of Palestine is probably of the variety still regularly found near Babylon; and the prevalence of lions is shown by the occurrence of such names as Lebaoth, or Bethlebaoth, “the house of lions” , and by the many names for the lion used in Scripture, as, for example, in Job 4:10-11. Now that the forests have disappeared from Palestine, the lions have disappeared with them.