Gazelle

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

GAZELLE ( zebî , tr. [Note: translate or translation.] 2 Samuel 2:18 , 1 Chronicles 12:8 etc. in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘roe’; in Deuteronomy 14:5 etc. ‘roebuck,’ but in RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘gazelle’). The gazelle (Arab. [Note: Arabic.] ghazal , also zabi ) is one of the commonest of the larger animals of Palestine; it is one of the most beautiful and graceful of antelopes. It is fawn and white in colour; it is much hunted ( Proverbs 6:5 , Isaiah 13:14 ); it is noted for its speed ( 2 Samuel 2:13 , 1 Chronicles 12:8 ); its flesh is considered, at least in towns, a delicacy.

Ghazaleh (‘female gazelle’) is a favourite name for a girl among the Yemin Jews, as Dorcas and Tabitha , with the same meaning, were in NT times ( Acts 9:36; Acts 9:40 ).

E. W. G. Masterman.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

See ROE.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Antilope dorcas), an animal of the genus Antelopide, probably designated by the Gr. term δορκάς (comp. Acts 9:36) and the Heb. צְבַי, tsebi' (rendered "roe" in 2 Samuel 2:18; 1 Chronicles 12:8; Proverbs 6:5; Song of Solomon 2:7; Song of Solomon 2:9; Song of Solomon 2:17; Song of Solomon 3:5; Song of Solomon 8:14, Isaiah 13:14; and "roebuck" in Deuteronomy 12:15; Deuteronomy 12:22; Deuteronomy 14:5; 1 Kings 4:23), or in the feminine form צְבַיָּה, tsebiyah' ("roe," Song of Solomon 4:5; Song of Solomon 7:3); "both terms, however, being applicalale to the whole group; and the Hebrew name is by distant nations now used for allied species which are unknown in Arabia and Syria. Of this sub-genus gazella at least one species, but more probably four or five, still inhabit the uplands and deserts of Egypt, Arabia, and the eastern and southern borders of Palestine. All these species are nearly allied, the largest not measuring more than two feet in height at the shoulder, and the least, the corinna, not more than about twenty inches. They are graceful and elegant in form, with limbs exceedingly slender, and have large and soft eyes, lyrated horns, black, wrinkled, and striated most robust in sub-gutturosa and kevella, most slender in corrina, and smallest in cora. Their livery is more or less buff and dume, white beneath, with small tufts of hair or brushes on the fore-knees; they have all a dark streak passing from each ear through the eyes to the nostrils, and a hand of the same color from thee elbow of the fore-leg along the sides to the flank, excepting the corinna, whose markings are more rufous and general colors lighter. Most, if not all, have a feeble bleating voice, seldom uttered, are unsurpassed in graceful timidity, gregarious in habit, and residents on the open deserts, where they are unceasingly watchful, and prepared to flee with such speed that greyhounds are liable to be killed by over-exertion in the chase." They roam over the plains of Syria sometimes in herds of a thousand (Russell, Aleppo, 2:14): Their flesh is lean, but highly prized (Prosp. Alpin. Hist. nat. AEg. 4:9). They are often made the symbol of female beauty (Song of Solomon 2:9; Song of Solomon 2:17; Song of Solomon 8:14) by Orientals (Seth, ad ben Zohair, page 98 sq.; Dopke, Comment. z. Hohesl. page 97; Rosenmü ller, AMorgenl. 4:129): See Thomson, Land and Book, 1:251 sq.; Kelly's Syria, page 38 sq. (See Antelope); (See Deer).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ga - zel ´ ( צבי , cebhı̄ , and feminine צביה , cebhı̄yāh  ; compare Ταβειθά , Tabeithá ( Acts 9:36 ), and Arabic ẓabi  ; also Arabic ghazâl  ; Δορκάς , Dorkás (Acts 9:36 ); modern Greek ζαρκάδι , zarkádi ): The word "gazelle" does not occur in the King James Version, where cebhı̄ and cebhı̄yāh , in the 16 passages where they occur, are uniformly translated "roe" or "roebuck." In the Revised Version (British and American) the treatment is not uniform. We find "gazelle" without comment in Deuteronomy 12:15 , Deuteronomy 12:22; Deuteronomy 14:5; Deuteronomy 15:22; 1 Kings 4:23 . We find "roe," with marginal note "or gazelle," in Proverbs 6:5; Song of Solomon 2:7 , Song of Solomon 2:9 , Song of Solomon 2:17; Song of Solomon 4:5; Song of Solomon 8:14; Isaiah 13:14 . We find "roe" without comment in 2 Samuel 2:18; 1 Chronicles 12:8; Song of Solomon 3:5; Song of Solomon 7:3 . In the last passage cited, Song of Solomon 7:3 , while the American Standard Revised Version has no note, the English Revised Version refers to Song of Solomon 4:5 , where "gazelle" is graven in the margin. In the opinion of the writer, the rendering should be "gazelle" in all of these passages. It must be acknowledged, however, that the gazelle and the roe-deer are of about the same size, and are sometimes confused with each other. The Greek dorkas may refer to either, and in Syria the roe-deer is sometimes called ghazâl or even wa‛l , which is the proper name of the Persian wild goat.

The gazelle is an antelope belonging to the bovine family of the even-toed ruminants. There are more than twenty species of gazelle, all belonging to Asia and Africa. The species found in Syria and Palestine is the Dorcas gazelle ( Gazella dorcas ). It Isaiah 2 ft. high at the shoulders. Both sexes have unbranched, lyrate, ringed horns, which may be a foot long. The general coloration is tawny, but it is creamy white below and on the rump, and has a narrow white line from above the eye to the nostril. Several varieties have been distinguished, but they will not bear elevation to the rank of species, except perhaps Gazella merilli a form of which a few specimens have been obtained from the Judean hills, having distinctly different horns from those of the common gazelle. The gazelle is found singly or in small groups on the interior plains and the uplands, but not in the high mountains. It is a marvel of lightness and grace, and a herd, when alarmed, makes off with great rapidity over the roughest country ( 2 Samuel 2:18; 1 Chronicles 12:8; Proverbs 6:5; Song of Solomon 8:14 ). The beauty of the eyes is proverbial. The skin is used for floor coverings, pouches or shoes, and the flesh is eaten, though not highly esteemed. See Deer; Goat; Zoology .