Deer

Deer - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

DEER, n. Sing. And plu. [Gr. A wild beast. The primary sense is simply roving, wild, untamed; hence, a wild beast.] A quadruped of the genus Cervus, of several species, as the stag, the fallow deer, the roe-buck, the rane or rane-deer, _c. These animals are wild and hunted in the forest, or kept in parks. Their flesh called venison, is deemed excellent food.

Roe - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

(Heb. tsebi), properly the gazelle (Arab. ghazal), permitted for food (Deut. 14:5; comp. Deut. 12:15, 22; 15:22; 1 Kings 4:23), noted for its swiftness and beauty and grace of form (2 Sam. 2:18; 1 Chr. 12:8; Cant. 2:9; 7:3; 8:14).

The gazelle (Gazella dorcas) is found in great numbers in Palestine. "Among the gray hills of Galilee it is still the roe upon the mountains of Bether,' and I have seen a little troop of gazelles feeding on the Mount of Olives close to Jerusalem itself" (Tristram).

The Hebrew word (ayyalah) in Prov. 5: 19 thus rendered (R.V., "doe"), is properly the "wild she-goat," the mountain goat, the ibex. (See 1 Sam. 24:2; Ps. 104:18; Job 39:1.)

Roe - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

ROE,

RO'E-STONE, n. Called also oolite, which see.

Roebuck - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

ROEBUCK, n.

1. A species of deer, the Cervus capreolus, with erect cylindrical branched horns, forked at the summit. This is one of the smallest of the cervine genus, but of elegant shape and remarkably nimble. It prefers a mountainous country, and herds in families.

2. Roe, the female of the hart.

ROE, n.

The seed or spawn of fishes. The roe of the male is call soft roe or milt; that of the female, hard roe or spawn.

der ('ayyal, feminine 'ayyalah, and 'ayyeleth (compare Arabic, 'ayyal and 'iyal, "deer" and 'ayil, "ram," and Latin caper and capra, "goat," caprea, capreolus, "wild goat," "chamois," or "roe deer")); yachmur (compare Arabic, yachmur, "deer"); ya`alah, feminine of ya`el (compare Arabic, wa`l, "Pers wild goat"); tsebhi, and feminine tsebhiyah (compare Arabic, zabi and feminine zabiyah, "gazelle"); `opher (compare Arabic, ghafr and ghufr, "young of the mountain goat"):

Of the words in the preceding list, the writer believes that only the first two, i.e. 'ayyal (with its feminine forms) and yachmur should be translated "deer," 'ayyal for the roe deer and yachmur for the fallow deer. Further, he believes that ya`el (including ya`alah) should be translated "ibex," and tsebhi, "gazelle." `Opher is the young of a roe deer or of a gazelle.

'Ayyal and its feminine forms are regularly in English Versions of the Bible rendered "hart" and "hind," terms which are more commonly applied to the male and female of the red deer, Cervus elaphus, which inhabits Great Britain, the continent of Europe, the Caucasus and Asia Minor, but which has never been reported as far south as Syria or Palestine. The roe deer, Capreolus caprea, however, which inhabits the British Isles, the greater part of Europe, the Caucasus and Persia, is certainly found in Palestine. The museum of the Syrian Protestant College at Beirut possesses the skeleton of a roe deer which was shot in the mountains near Tyre. As late as 1890 it was fairly common in southern Lebanon and Carmel, but has now (1912) become very scarce. The fallow deer, Cervus dama, is a native of Northern Africa and countries about the Mediterranean. It is found in central Europe and Great Britain, where it has been introduced from its more southern habitat. A variety of the fallow deer, sometimes counted as a separate species under the name of Cervus Mesopotamicus, inhabits northeastern Mesopotamia and Persia. It may in former times have been found in Palestine, and Tristram reports having seen the fallow deer in Galilee (Fauna and Flora of Pal), but while Tristram was a remarkably acute observer, he appears sometimes to have been too readily satisfied, and his observations, when unaccompanied, as in this case, by specimens, are to be accepted with caution. Now 'ayyal (and its feminine forms) occurs in the Bible 22 times, while yachmur occurs only twice, i.e. in the list of clean animals in De 14:5, and in 1Ki 4:23, in the list of animals provided for Solomon's table. In both places the King James Version has "fallow deer" and the Revised Version (British and American) "roebuck." In view of the fact that the roe deer has within recent years been common in Palestine, while the occurrence of the fallow deer must be considered doubtful, it seems fair to render 'ayyal "roe deer" or "roebuck," leaving yachmur for fallow deer.

The Arabs call the roe deer both 'ayyal and wa`l. Wa`l is the proper name of the Persian wild goat, Capra aegagrus, and is also often used for the Arabic or Sinaitic ibex, Capra beden, though only by those who do not live within its range. Where the ibex is at home it is always called beden. This looseness of nomenclature must be taken into account, and we have no reason to suppose that the Hebrews were more exact than are the Arabs. There are many examples of this in English, e. g. panther, coney, rabbit (in America), locust, adder and many others.

Ya`el (including ya`alah) occurs 4 times. In Job 39:1; Ps 104:18; 1Sa 24:2, English Versions of the Bible render ya`el by "wild goat." For ya`alah in Pr 5:19, the King James Version has "roe," while the Revised Version (British and American) has "doe," which is non-committal, since the name, "doe," may be applied to the female of a deer or of an ibex. Since the Arabic, wa`l, which is etymologically closely akin to ya`el, means the Persian wild goat, it might be supposed that that animal was meant, were it not that it inhabits the plains of the Syrian desert, and not the mountains of Southern Palestine, where the ibex lives. At least two of the passages clearly indicate the latter locality, i.e. Ps 104:18: "The high mountains are for the wild goats," and 1Sa 24:2: "Saul .... went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats." The conclusion then seems irresistible that ya`el, and consequently ya`alah, is the ibex.

Tsebhi (including tsebhiyah) is uniformly rendered "roe" or "roebuck" in the King James Version, while the Revised Version (British and American), either in the text or in the margin, has in most cases "gazelle." In two places "roe" is retained in the Revised Version (British and American) without comment, i.e. 2Sa 2:18: "Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe," and 1Ch 12:8: "were as swift as the roes upon the mountains." 'Ayyal and tsebhi occur together in De 12:15,22; 14:5; 15:22; 1Ki 4:23; So 2:9,17, i.e. in 7 of the 16 passages in which we find tsebhi. If therefore it be accepted that 'ayyal is the roe deer, it follows that tsebhi must be something else. Now the gazelle is common in Palestine and satisfies perfectly every passage in which we find tsebhi. Further, one of the Arabic names of the gazelle is zabi, a word which is etymologically much nearer to tsebhi than appears in this transliteration.

'Opher is akin to `aphar, "dust," and has reference to the color of the young of the deer or gazelle, to both of which it is applied. In So 2:9,17 and 8:14, we have `opher ha- 'ayyalim, English Versions of the Bible "young hart," literally, "fawn of the roe deer." In So 4:5 and 7:3, we have `opharim te'ome tsebhiyah, the King James Version "young roes that are twins," the Revised Version (British and American) "fawns that are twins of a roe," the Revised Version, margin "gazelle" (for "roe"). For further reference to these questions, see ZOOLOGY.

With the exception of mere lists of animals, as in De 14 and 1Ki 4, the treatment of these animals is highly poetical, and shows much appreciation of their grace and beauty.

Alfred Ely Day

do. See DEER.

fon.

See DEER.

ro, ro'-buk: the King James Version has "roe" and "roebuck" for tsehi, tsebhiyah. the Revised Version (British and American) usually substitutes "gazelle" in the text (De 12:15, etc.) or margin (Pr 6:5, etc.), but retains "roe" in 2Sa 2:18; 1Ch 12:8; So 3:5; 7:3. So the Revised Version (British and American) has "gazelle" for the King James Version "roe" in Sirach 27:20 (dorkas). the Revised Version (British and American) has "roe-buck" for yachmur (De 14:5; 1Ki 4:23), where the King James Version has "fallow deer." In the opinion of the writer, 'ayyal English Versions of the Bible "hart," should be translated "roe-buck," yachmur "fallow deer," and tsebhi "gazelle."

See DEER; GAZELLE.

Alfred Ely Day

Definition

A deer is a large, graceful, four-legged animal that lives in forests or on mountains. The male animal has large horns or antlers on its head.

• The term “doe” refers to a female deer and a “fawn” is the name of a baby deer.
• The terms “buck” and "stag" refer to a male deer.
• A “roebuck” is the male of the specific variety called “roe deer.”
• Deer have strong, thin legs that help them jump high and run fast.
• Their feet have split hooves which help them walk or climb easily on most any terrain.

(See also: How to Translate Unknowns)

Bible References

• 2 Samuel 22:34
• Genesis 49:21
• Job 39:2
• Psalms 18:33
• Song of Songs 2:7

Word Data

• Strong’s: H0354, H0355, H0365, H3180, H3280, H6643, H6646