“WHere did prides of lions run among humans in either Bavel or Eretz Yisroel?”
2000 years ago Lions where found in both Bavel and Eretz Yisroel.
It is interesting to me that this is the opart that struck you as strabge and not the “two slabs of meat fell from heaven.”
Keep in mind knowing what to take literately depend on a lot of things including context and familiarity with culture. For example If I said “I have a frog in my throat” or “butterflies in my stomach” Presumably you know there isnt actually an amphibian in my pharynx nor an insect in my stomach (depending on the context of course). Someone not familiar with these Idioms even if fluent in English, may need some help knowing what to take literaly and what not. Understanding the language and meaning of the words isnt allways enough.
That isnt to say I am at fault for using ambiguous wording even though some English speakers (let alone non-english speakers )may not understand