Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
(Heb. namer, so called because spotted, Cant. 4:8), was that great spotted feline which anciently infested the mountains of Syria, more appropriately called a panther (Felis pardus). Its fierceness (Isa. 11:6), its watching for its prey (Jer. 5:6), its swiftness (Hab. 1:8), and the spots of its skin (Jer. 13:23), are noticed. This word is used symbolically (Dan. 7:6; Rev. 13:2).
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1863)
(Heb. namer) is invariably given by the Authorized Version as the translation of the Hebrew word, which occurs in the seven following passages: (Song of Solomon 4:8; Isaiah 11:6; Jeremiah 5:6; 13:23; Daniel 7:6; Hosea 13:7); Habb 1:8 Leopard occurs also in Ecclus. 28:23 and in (Revelation 13:2) From (Song of Solomon 4:8) we learn that the hilly ranges of Lebanon were in ancient times frequented by these animals. They are now not uncommonly seen in and about Lebanon and the southern maritime mountains of Syria.
Under the name namer, which means “spotted,” it is not improbable that another animal, namely the cheetah (Gueparda jubata), may be included; which is tamed by the Mohammedans of Syria, who employ it in hunting the gazelle.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898) & Schaff's Bible Dictionary
LEOP'ARD (Heb. spotted). In the Bible there Is frequent reference to this fierce animal, which still lurks among the forests of Gilead, the jungles of the Jordan, and more rarely among the thickets of Tabor and Carmel. Jer 13:23. The local names Nimrim, "leopard," and Beth-Nimrah, "house of the leopard" (perhaps) are to be remembered. " It is the habit of the leopard to wait patiently hour after hour that it may pounce upon cattle. Jer 5:6; Hos 13:7. Isa 11:6 alludes to its cruelty, and Dan 7:6 to its power.
But it is thought there is reference under the same name in Hab 1:8 to the cheetah, a similar but smaller animal still found in Palestine, the rush of which upon its prey exceeds in swiftness the motion of any other carnivorous animal.