Hart

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Ayal . The male of the stag, Cervus Duma . Resorting to the mountains ( Song of Solomon 8:14); sure-footed there ( 2 Samuel 22:34;  Habakkuk 3:19). Monogamous and constant in affection ( Proverbs 5:19). In  Psalms 42:1 the verb is feminine; the hind therefore, not the hart, is meant; her weakness intensifies her thirst. The emblem of activity ( Isaiah 35:6). So Naphtali is described by Jacob prophetically ( Genesis 49:21), "a hind let loose." His active energy was shown against Jabin the Canaanite oppressor ( Judges 4:6-9;  Judges 5:18). The Targums say he first told Jacob that Joseph was yet alive; "he giveth goodly words." The Hebrew Sheluchim , "the apostles," answers to Shelucha "let loose." So the prophecy hints at what Isaiah ( Isaiah 52:7) more clearly unfolds, "how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings."

Easily agitated ( Song of Solomon 2:7;  Song of Solomon 3:5), so that the hunter must advance on them with breathless caution if he would take them; an emblem of the resting ( Zephaniah 3:17) but easily grieved Holy Spirit ( Ezekiel 16:43;  Matthew 18:7;  Ephesians 4:30). The thunder so terrifies them that they prematurely bring forth ( Psalms 29:9). The case of their parturition, through the instinct given them by God's care, stands in contrast to the shepherd's anxiety in numbering the months of the flock's pregnancy, and is an argument to convince Job ( Job 39:1-3) of God's consummate wisdom; why then should he harbour for a moment the thought that God, who cares so providentially for the humblest creature, could be capable of harshness and injustice toward His noblest creature, man?

The masculine Ayal , Septuagint Elafos , is the fallow deer ( Dama Commonis ) or the Barbary deer ( Cervus Βarbarus ) according to Appendix, Smith's Bible Dictionary Timid and fleet especially when seeking and not able to find pasture ( Lamentations 1:6); emblem of Zion's captive princes at Babylon. Septuagint and Vulgate read Eylim , "rams." Ajalon abounded in the Ayal , whence it took its name. Αijeleth , "the hind," in the title Psalm 22 symbolizes one shot at by the archers and persecuted to death, namely, Messiah; as the persecutors are symbolized by "bulls," "lions," "dogs."

The addition "of the morning" ( Shahar ) implies prosperity dawning after suffering. The hind is emblematic of the grace, innocence, and loveliness ( Song of Solomon 2:9) of the Antitype to Joseph ( Genesis 49:23-24). The hind's sure footing in the rocks typifies the believer's preservation in high places and difficulties. The Arabs call a deer by a like name to the Hebrew, ( Iyal ). The deer is represented on the slabs at Nineveh, and seems to have abounded anciently in Syria, though not there now.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Hart, Hind .  Psalms 42:1. The former is the male stag, one of the most graceful and beautiful of all animals. It was clean by the Levitical law,  Deuteronomy 12:15;  Deuteronomy 14:5, and the grace and agility of its motions are alluded to in  Song of Solomon 2:9;  Isaiah 35:6. The stag lolls or pants like the dog, and is Boon exhausted by hunger.  Jeremiah 14:5;  Lamentations 1:6. The hind is the female stag. She is smaller and weaker than her mate, the hart, and has no horns. She is sure and swift of foot, and leaps fearlessly among the rocks and precipices.  2 Samuel 22:34;  Psalms 18:33;  Habakkuk 3:19. The instinctive affection of the hart and hind is alluded to,  Proverbs 5:18-19, and  Song of Solomon 2:7;  Song of Solomon 3:5. The figurative prediction of Jacob respecting Naphtali,  Genesis 49:21, would be more appropriately rendered, "Naphtali is a deer roaming at large; he shooteth forth noble antlers." The antlers or horns indicate the strength and health of the stag, and the whole metaphor expresses the increase of the tribe and the fertility of their portion in Judæa.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

איל ,  Deuteronomy 12:15;  Deuteronomy 14:5;  Psalms 42:1;  Isaiah 35:6 , the stag, or male deer. Dr. Shaw considers its name in Hebrew as a generic word including all the species of the deer kind; whether they are distinguished by round horns, as the stag; or by flat ones, as the fallow deer; or by the smallness of the branches, as the roe. Mr. Good observes that the hind and roe, the hart and the antelope, were held, and still continue to be, in the highest estimation in all the eastern countries, for the voluptuous beauty of their eyes, the delicate elegance of their form, or their graceful agility of action. The names of these animals were perpetually applied, therefore, to persons, whether male or female, who were supposed to be possessed of any of their respective qualities. In  2 Samuel 1:19 , Saul is denominated "the roe of Israel;" and in the eighteenth verse of the ensuing chapter, we are told that "Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe:" a phraseology perfectly synonymous with the epithet swift-footed, which Homer has so frequently bestowed upon his hero Achilles. Thus again: "Her princes are like harts which find no pasture; they are fled without strength before their pursuers,"   Lamentations 1:6 . The Lord Jehovah is my strength; he will make my feet like hinds' feet; he will cause me to tread again on my own hills,"  Habakkuk 3:19 . See Hind .

Morrish Bible Dictionary

ayyal. A species of deer which is not now definitely known. Many suppose it to be the red deer, the Cervus elaphus. It was a clean animal, and was one supplied to Solomon's table.  Deuteronomy 12:15,22;  1 Kings 4:23 . Its desire for the water-brooks is used as a symbol of a soul's panting after God.  Psalm 42:1 . The bride in the Canticles compares the bridegroom to a young hart.  Song of Solomon 2:9,17;  Song of Solomon 8:14 . In predicting God's blessing upon Israel in a future day it is said, "the lame man shall leap as a hart."  Isaiah 35:6 . The deer are remarkable for their pleasing form, their graceful movements, and their great agility.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Psalm 42:1 (a) David uses this animal and its habit to describe his own deep longing for the living GOD from whom comes the living water. This heart desire of David is expressed in several ways, and by several figures. (The hart is the male member of the red deer family. The hind is the female of the species).

 Isaiah 35:6 (a) Isaiah uses this type to show the great grace and power of GOD in making a poor, lost, helpless sinner to rejoice in a new-found Saviour, and in His forgiveness.

 Lamentations 1:6 (a) By this figure the prophet is telling us that the nobles and the leaders of Israel have become wanderers with no certain dwelling place, and with no provision for their comfort.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Hart. The Male Stag. The word denotes some member of the deer tribe either the fallow deer or the Barbary deer. The hart is reckoned among the clean animals,  Deuteronomy 12:15;  Deuteronomy 14:5;  Deuteronomy 15:22, and seems, from the passages quoted, as well as from,  1 Kings 4:23, to have been commonly killed for food.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Deuteronomy 12:15 14:5 15:22 1 Kings 4:23 Isaiah 35:6 Song of Solomon 2:8,9 Lamentations 1:6 Psalm 42:1

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Or STAG, a species of deer, clean by the Levitical law,  Deuteronomy 12:15 , and celebrated for its elegance, agility, and grace, Song of  Song of Solomon 2:9   Isaiah 35:6 . See Hind and ROE.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Psalm 42:1 Isaiah 35:6Animals

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) A stag; the male of the red deer. See the Note under Buck.

King James Dictionary

H`ART, n. A stag or male deer, an animal of the cervine genus.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

The word thus translated is Ajail (it occurs in;; ), and differs only by the feminine termination from that rendered 'hind' in many other passages of Scripture. There is, upon the whole, no reason to doubt that the male and female of a species of deer are really intended by these words. It is indeed true that the existence of animals of the deer kind in Asia has been denied, and Cuvier for some time doubted whether any could be found in Africa. Yet, although never abundant where water is scarce, the existence of deer from Morocco and the Nile has now been satisfactorily established, and there are traces of their presence in Syria, where they were probably more numerous formerly than at present. The Cervus Barbatus, or Barbary Stag, is the African species; and an individual of this species was obtained by a friend of the writer in the region east of the Jordan. This species is in size between our red and fallow deer, distinguished by the want of a bis-antler, or second branch in the horns reckoned from below, and for a spotted livery which is effaced only in the third or fourth year. There is also in Asia the Persian stag, or Maral of the Tartar natives, and Gewaze of the Armenians. This is larger than the stag of Europe, has a heavy mane, and is, like the former, destitute of bis-antlers. This species seems, under the name of Söegur, to extend its habitat to the northern frontier of Syria and Palestine; but taking all circumstances into account, it seems less probable that this should be the 'hart' of Scripture than the Cervus Barbatus.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Hart'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/h/hart.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.