Hebrew word · H3280
יַעֲלָה
veya'alat-
doe
The female ibex, Capra nubiana, a wild goat of the cliffs of the Judean desert and the Negev. The male is yāʿēl, which is also the woman's name Jael.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
female mountain goat
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Proverbs 5:19
- Range of meaning
The female ibex, Capra nubiana, a wild goat of the cliffs of the Judean desert and the Negev. The male is yāʿēl, which is also the woman's name Jael.
- Against the English
KJV 'roe', BSB 'fawn' and WEB/NLT/ESV 'deer/doe' all turn her into another deer. 'Fawn' also makes her a baby animal, which does not fit a picture of an adult wife's beauty.
- How it drifted
Earlier translators may not have known the animal, or preferred a familiar European deer to a goat, which sounds unflattering in English.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Job 39:1 pairs 'the mountain goats (yaʿălê-selaʿ)' with 'the does (ʾayyālôt)', so the two animals are a standard pair. Ps 104:18: 'the high mountains are for the wild goats'. The place name Ein Gedi ('spring of the kid') reflects the ibex herds that still live there.
Where it appears
Proverbs · 1
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Proverbs 5:19 וְֽיַעֲלַ֫ת־ and a goat of
A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.
Here: The female Nubian ibex, a wild goat of the desert cliffs, known for its elegant, sure-footed leaping. She is an adult animal, not a baby. The pair 'does' and 'ibexes' also appears together in Job 39:1.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.