Hebrew word · H6082

עֹ֫פֶר

le'ofer

fawn

The young of a gazelle or deer, a fawn. It occurs only in the Song: 2:9, 17 and 8:14 ("a young stag," literally "fawn of the deer," said of the man), plus 4:5 and 7:3 (the woman's breasts).

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

deer, fawn, stag, young hart

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 Song of Songs 4:5

Range of meaning

The young of a gazelle or deer, a fawn. It occurs only in the Song: 2:9, 17 and 8:14 ("a young stag," literally "fawn of the deer," said of the man), plus 4:5 and 7:3 (the woman's breasts).

Against the English

"Fawns" in BSB, WEB, YLT, ESV, NASB and NIV is accurate. The KJV's "young roes" brings in a European deer and an archaic word (see drift).

Used elsewhere in the period

Gazelles and fawns are common in ancient Near Eastern art and love poetry. An Egyptian love song wishes the lover would come "like a gazelle bounding over the desert" (Chester Beatty I). In Hebrew poetry the gazelle stands for speed and grace (2 Sam 2:18; Prov 6:5; Isa 35:6).

Where it appears

Song of Songs · 5

  1. Song of Songs 2:9 לְעֹ֣פֶר <to> [the] fawn of

    My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.

    Here: "To a young one of." The word means the young of the deer family. It stresses youthful vigour and springiness. In this phrase it is a young male, so "young stag" fits better than a newborn "fawn."

  2. Song of Songs 2:17 לְעֹ֥פֶר <to> [the] fawn of

    Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

    Here: 'To a young one of'. A young male deer full of energy. In 4:5 the same word in the plural describes the woman's breasts ('like two fawns'), which matters when deciding what the 'mountains' are.

  3. Song of Songs 4:5 עֳפָרִ֖ים fawns

    Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.

    Here: Young wild animals: soft, small, alive, shy. Elsewhere in the Song the same word describes the man, "a young stag" (2:9, 17; 8:14), so the woman's body now carries the gazelle imagery that was earlier used for him.

  4. Song of Songs 7:3 עֳפָרִ֖ים fawns

    Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.

  5. Song of Songs 8:14 לְעֹ֣פֶר <to> [the] fawn of

    Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

    Here: A young deer, full of energy and agile. In 4:5 and 7:3 the same word describes the woman's breasts ('two fawns'), so the image is already charged with love language within the Song.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.