Bible Dictionary: Antelope

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ATS Bible Dictionary

Antelope

See under ROE.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

(n.) One of a group of ruminant quadrupeds, intermediate between the deer and the goat. The horns are usually annulated, or ringed. There are many species in Africa and Asia.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ANTELOPE

an'-te-lop (RV; the King James Version "wild ox," te'o (Deuteronomy 14:5), and "wild bull," to (Isaiah 51:20)); orux (The Septuagint in Codex Vaticanus has hos seutlion hemiephthon, literally, "like a half-cooked beet-root"): The dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas) is widely distributed in Syria, Palestine and Arabia.

The recently discovered Merrill's gazelle (Gazella Merrilli) inhabits the hilly country near Jerusalem and is not commonly distinguished from the dorcas gazelle. Probably the only other antelope within this range is the Arabian oryx (Oryx beatrix). Tristram cites two African species (the bubaline antelope, Bubalis mauretanica, and the addax, Addax nasomaculatus) as existing in the Sinaitic peninsula, southern Palestine and Arabia, but he did not collect specimens of either and was probably misled by statements of the Arabs which in both cases really referred to the oryx. The only naturalist who has ever penetrated into Northwest Arabia is Mr. Douglas Carruthers, who went in 1909 on a collecting expedition for the Syrian Protestant College at Beirut, his object being to obtain the oryx and any other large antelopes which might be found there. Through observation and repeated inquiry he became convinced that neither the addax nor the bubaline antelope is found in Arabia. Tristram says the addax is called maha' and the bubaline antelope baqar-ul-wachsh, both of which names are in fact used by the Arabs for the oryx, which is also according to Doughty called wadichah.

Tsebhi in the list of clean animals in Deuteronomy 14:5 (the King James Version "roebuck"; the Revised Version (British and American) "gazelle") is quite certainly gazelle, Arabic zabi (which see), so it is quite possible that te'o may be the oryx. It is noteworthy that it is rendered oryx (orux) in the Septuagint. It must be borne in mind that re'm or re'em, rendered "unicorn" (which see) in the King James Version and "wild ox" in the Revised Version (British and American), may perhaps also be the oryx. That the oryx should be called by two names in the Bible need not be considered strange, in view of the indefiniteness of Semitic ideas of natural history, which is directly evidenced by the three names now used for this animal by the Arabs.

The slightly different form [to'] (the King James Version "wild bull"; the Revised Version (British and American) "antelope") found in Isaiah 51:20 ("Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net") may quite as well refer to the oryx as to any other animal. According to Gesenius the word is derived from the verb ta'ah, "to outrun," which would be appropriate for this or any antelope.

The accompanying illustration is from a photograph of a well-grown female oryx in the zoological gardens at Cairo, which is 35 inches high at the shoulder and whose horns are 21 inches long. An adult male measures 40 inches at the shoulders, 59 inches from tip of nose to root of tail, and the longest horns known measure 27 1/4 inches. The color is pure white with dark brown or black markings. It is a powerful animal and its horns may inflict dangerous wounds. It inhabits the deserts of Arabia and its remarkably large hoofs seem well adapted to traversing the sands. It feeds upon grasses and upon certain succulent roots, and the Bedouin declare that never drinks. Under its name of maha' it is celebrated in Arabic poetry for the beauty of its eyes. Compare the Homeric "ox-eyed goddess Hera" (Boopis potnia Ere). Baqar-ul-wachsh, the name most commonly used by the Bedouin, means "wild cow" or "wild ox," which is identical with the translation of te'o in the King James Version.

Alfred Ely Day

Greek

5000. Tabitha -- "gazelle," Tabitha (also called Dorcas), a ...
... Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration: Tabitha Phonetic Spelling:
(tab-ee-thah') Short Definition: Tabitha, antelope Definition: antelope ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5000.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

8377. teo -- antelope
... antelope. Transliteration: teo Phonetic Spelling: (teh-o') Short Definition: antelope.
Word Origin from taah Definition antelope NASB Word Usage antelope (2). ...
/hebrew/8377.htm - 6k

1788. dishon -- mountain goat (a cermonially clean animal)
... An antelope -- pygarg. From duwsh; the leaper, ie An antelope -- pygarg. see
HEBREW duwsh. 1787, 1788. dishon. 1789 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/1788.htm - 6k

8476. tachash -- perhaps porpoise (a kind of leather or skin)
... Tahrea. Probably of foreign derivation; a (clean) animal with fur, probably a species
of antelope -- badger. 8475, 8476. tachash. 8477 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/8476.htm - 6k

Library

On the Animals
... The fawn is Christ, or the saint because of the multiplicity of his graces; in Solomon:
my little brother, you are like a little antelope or like the fawn of a ...
/.../eucherius/the formulae of st eucherius of lyons/iv on the animals.htm

Nicodemus.
... like the mole. No training can possibly make the tortoise as swift as
the antelope, or the antelope as strong as the lion. If a ...
/.../dods/the expositors bible the gospel of st john vol i/vii nicodemus.htm

Zion Awakened
... Thy sons have fainted, They lie at the top of all the streets, As an antelope in
a net; They are full of the fury of the LORD, The rebuke of thy God. JEHOVAH. ...
/.../various/select masterpieces of biblical literature/zion awakened.htm

On Admonition and Repentance.
... And if thou shouldst hear a mocker by chance, when thou art not desiring it, sign
thyself with the cross of light, and hasten from thence like an antelope. ...
/.../hymns and homilies of ephraim the syrian/on admonition and repentance.htm

Lions Lacking --But the Children Satisfied
... It hath a keen scent, and knoweth where to find its prey. It scenteth the fountain,
and knoweth that the antelope will go there to drink. ...
/.../spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/lions lackingbut the children satisfied.htm

The Evolution of a Father
... in Norway at the end of September; the badger in October; the Capra pyrenaica in
November; the chamois, the musk-deer, and the orongo-antelope in November and ...
/.../the lowell lectures on the ascent of man/chapter ix the evolution of.htm

Acts ix. 26, 27
... has informed us of the woman's name, but to show that the name she bore (pheronumos
en) matched her character; as active and wakeful was she as an antelope. ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily xxi acts ix 26.htm

How the Books were Written.
... Testament. The whole is written on fine vellum made from antelope skins
into the largest pages known in our ancient manuscripts. ...
/.../gladden/who wrote the bible/chapter xii how the books.htm

The Struggle for the Life of Others
... The cat-tribe excepted, nearly all live together in herds or troops"the elephant,
for instance, the buffalo, deer, antelope, wild-goat, sheep, wolf, jackal ...
/.../the lowell lectures on the ascent of man/chapter vii the struggle for.htm

Striking Similes
... bloom. The guides sniffed, like chamois, the air [chamois = extremely agile
goat antelope]. The heavens are like a scroll unfurled. ...
/.../kleiser/fifteen thousand useful phrases/section viii striking similes.htm

Thesaurus

Antelope (2 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ANTELOPE. ... Probably the only other antelope
within this range is the Arabian oryx (Oryx beatrix). ...
/a/antelope.htm - 11k

Ox (197 Occurrences)
... margin "rhinoceros"). the Revised Version (British and American) has everywhere
"wild-ox" (margin "ox-antelope," Numbers 23:22). The ...
/o/ox.htm - 43k

Pygarg (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Hebrews dishon, "springing", (Deuteronomy 14:5), one of
the animals permitted for food. It is supposed to be the Antelope addax. ...
/p/pygarg.htm - 9k

Zoology
... 1) Bovidae, Domestic Cattle, Wild Ox or Unicorn, Sinaitic Ibex (sv GOAT), Persian
Wild Goat (sv CHAMOIS), Gazelle, Arabian Oryx (sv ANTELOPE), Chamois (2 ...
/z/zoology.htm - 18k

Gazelle (12 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) One of several small, swift, elegantly formed
species of antelope, of the genus Gazella, esp. G. dorcas ...
/g/gazelle.htm - 13k

Unicorn (6 Occurrences)
... Described as an animal of great ferocity and strength (Numbers 23:22, RV, "wild
ox, " marg., "ox-antelope;24:8; Isaiah 34:7, RV, "wild oxen"), and untamable ...
/u/unicorn.htm - 10k

Oryx (2 Occurrences)
... (n.) A genus of African antelopes which includes the gemsbok, the leucoryx, the
bisa antelope (O. beisa), and the beatrix antelope (O. beatrix) of Arabia. ...
/o/oryx.htm - 7k

Dishan (5 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Antelope, the youngest son of Seir the Horite, head
of one of the tribes of Idumaea (Genesis 36:21, 28, 30). Int. ...
/d/dishan.htm - 8k

Chamois (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (n.) A small species of antelope (Rupicapra tragus),
living on the loftiest mountain ridges of Europe, as the Alps, Pyrenees, etc. ...
/c/chamois.htm - 9k

Wild (147 Occurrences)
... margin "rhinoceros"). the Revised Version (British and American) has everywhere
"wild-ox" (margin "ox-antelope," Numbers 23:22). The ...
/w/wild.htm - 50k

Bible Concordance

Antelope (2 Occurrences)

Deuteronomy 14:5 the hart, and the gazelle, and the roebuck, and the wild goat, and the ibex, and the antelope, and the chamois.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 51:20 Your sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net; they are full of the wrath of Yahweh, the rebuke of your God.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Antelope

Related Terms

Ox (197 Occurrences)

Pygarg (1 Occurrence)

Zoology

Gazelle (12 Occurrences)

Unicorn (6 Occurrences)

Oryx (2 Occurrences)

Dishan (5 Occurrences)

Chamois (1 Occurrence)

Wild (147 Occurrences)