And the mountains of Gilead and the valleys of Elam do not give green herbs for the goats and the sheep that graze there, nor for the beasts of the wilderness – the deer, the wild goats, and the gazelles.
1 Meqabyan (also known as 1 Ethiopian Maccabees and 1 Ethiopic Maccabees) is canonical scripture for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. While “Meqabyan” is the Ge’ez equivalent of “Maccabees,” the content is completely different from 1 Maccabees. The only complete copies of 1 Meqabyan are available in Ge’ez (Classical Ethiopic), here used with permission by the Bible Society of Ethiopia.
The translation into English was provided by Haileyesus Woldemariam (UBS).
Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “steppe”
Yakan: “the lonely place” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a land where no people lived” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “the place with no inhabitants” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Cherokee: inage or “far away downstream” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)
Matumbi uses various term: lubele (desert, sandy place without water) — used in John 11:54, lupu’ngu’ti (a place where no people live, can be a scrub land, a forest, or a savanna) — used in Mark 1:3 et al.), and mwitu (a forest, a place where wild animals live) — used in Mark 1:13 et al.) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Chichewa Contemporary translation (2002/2016): chipululu: a place uninhabited by people with thick forest and bush (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Adioukrou: loj or “savannah” — “land that is not village, nor forest, nor field (source: Hill 2006)
Isthmus Mixe: “dry country” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place,” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
“Sheep are known throughout most of the world, even though, as in Central Africa, they are a far cry from the fleecy wool-producing animals of colder climates. Where such animals are known, even by seemingly strange names, e.g. ‘cotton deer’ (Yucateco) or ‘woolly goat’ (Inupiaq), such names should be used. In some instances, one may wish to borrow a name and use a classifier, e.g. ‘an animal called sheep.’ In still other instances translators have used ‘animal which produces wool’, for though people are not acquainted with the animals they are familiar with wool.” (Source: Bratcher / Nida)
In Dëne Súline, it is usually translated as “an evil little caribou.” To avoid the negative connotation, a loan word from the neighboring South Slavey was used. (Source: NCEM, p. 70)
Note that the often-alleged Inuktitut translation of “sheep” with “seal” is an urban myth (source Nida 1947, p. 136).
The wild goat found in the land of Israel is the Nubian Ibex Capra ibex nubiana. It has existed in the mountains of this region from time immemorial and until fairly recently it was a very common animal. It was and to some degree still is found in the mountainous parts of Israel the Sinai Peninsula Arabia and Egypt. A closely related species Capra walie is found in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
However the ibex is the only type of wild goat now found in Israel. One other type once lived there but disappeared in the Stone Age long before the time of Abraham. Both ya‘el and ’aqo are the Hebrew names for this animal. Thus versions which include two types of wild goat in the list of clean animals in Deuteronomy 14:5 are probably not correct.
The Nubian ibex is a fairly large wild goat, with adults being about ninety centimeters (3 feet) high at the shoulder. It is a grayish color for most of the year but turns browner in winter. Males have thick long horns over 130 centimeters (4 feet) in length which curve backwards in a semicircle. The horns of the females are much slimmer and shorter, reaching a length of only about 40 centimeters (15 inches). Only the last few centimeters of the horns are smooth, the rest being ringed with ridges. These ibexes live in small herds in the mountains and prefer cliffs and crags, where they live off the bushes that grow on the ledges. Ibex meat is moister and more tender than that of gazelle or deer, and they have been a favorite game animal for many centuries.
The “Wild Goat Rocks” mentioned in 1 Samuel 24:2 is probably the rocky area around the pools and streams of Nahal Arugot near En Gedi. The area has been declared a nature reserve, and the ibexes and other indigenous animals are protected there. The name En Gedi itself, which means “Oasis of the Kid” or “Spring of the Kid”, probably refers to a young ibex.
The ibex is closely associated with remote high mountains and in both Hebrew and Arabic culture it became viewed as the most remote of all animals (compare Job 39:1). This is probably the reason why so many English translations render ya‘el as “mountain goat”. Although not referred to in the Bible ibexes are also known for their surefootedness on rocky ledges.
However to both of the above-mentioned cultures the female ibex was a symbol of grace and beauty grace being associated with the perfect balance with which ibexes stand walk and jump on the cliff faces and beauty probably being associated with their large human-like eyes. In English and many other cultures this poses a problem in Proverbs 5:19, because in these cultures goats are not positive symbols of beauty. In some Tibeto-Burman cultures the wild serow goat is viewed as the ugliest of all animals. In these languages to refer to a woman as a “wild goat” would be an insult. This is the reason why the English versions have “doe” rather than “wild goat”.
In sub-Saharan Africa there are no true wild goats. The closest equivalent animal is a small cliff-dwelling antelope, the Klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus. The local name of this common, well-known animal has been used to translate ya‘el and ’aqo in many African translations.
In the remaining countries where no indigenous wild goats are found, or where specific words for such do not exist, a phrase equivalent to wild goat or wild mountain goat is usually used. The latter expression is probably the better choice, because in West Africa particularly bush goat is the word for the duiker, a small antelope not associated with mountains.
Proverbs 5:19: This verse occurs in the middle of a series of proverbs dealing with the value of sexual restraint and faithfulness within marriage. The writer/editor exhorts his readers to find sexual fulfillment with their wives alone. A wife is then referred to as “a lovable [or attractive] deer, a graceful ibex.”
As mentioned above in the Discussion: subsection of this section, there are many cultures in which to call a woman a “wild goat” would be an insult rather than a compliment. Where this is the case, a more suitable animal metaphor should be found which denotes gracefulness and can function as the parallel expression for “deer”.
Deuteronomy 14:4,5: The use of two words for wild goat in this list of clean animals should be avoided. However, it is advisable to translate ’aqo (that is, the seventh name in the list) as “ibex” or “wild goat.”
Both the Hebrew and Greek names are probably general terms for gazelle. At least two types of gazelle the Dorcas Gazelle Gazella dorcas and the Palestine or Arabian Gazelle Gazella arabica were found in the Middle East. They are still to be found in secluded areas.
Gazelles are small to medium sized plains antelopes, inhabiting savannah plains and semideserts. Both sexes have horns, except for the female impala, which is without horns. The horns of the gazelle species mentioned above are lyre-shaped about 25-50 centimeters (10-20 inches) in length. Gazelles are reddish brown with almost white underparts. They are long-legged and graceful and are expert jumpers. They live in small herds of up to about thirty. Females become sexually active at one year and bear young every year. This high rate of reproduction ensures their survival. They feed on both grass and the leaves of acacia and other bushes.
A breeding herd consists of one dominant breeding male and a group of females. The other males are chased from the herd when they become sexually active and they then form bachelor herds. These bachelor herds are the prime target for human and animal hunters since they provide a convenient source of meat while leaving the breeding cycle intact. In biblical times gazelles were trapped in nets or snares or were shot with bows and arrows.
The gazelle was seen as the cleanest of game animals since it met all the requirements of the Law concerning cloven hooves and cud-chewing. It was also a symbol of speed grace and beauty (the Hebrew root means beauty) and of female sexuality and fertility.
Where a language distinguishes between male and female animals, tsvi should be translated by the male form and tsviyah by the female form.
In East Africa where gazelles are well-known, a generic word for gazelles or the specific word for one of the smaller gazelles, such as the Thompson’s Gazelle Gazella thompsonii, is suitable. Elsewhere in Africa where the impala is known, the word for this antelope can be used.
Elsewhere, the word for a small antelope or deer that lives in herds can be used for the references that are literal, and the word for some swift, graceful antelope or deer can be used in the contexts where speed, grace, or beauty are being symbolized. As usual, in areas where gazelles, antelopes, and deer are unknown, a transliteration from the dominant international language or from the Hebrew original can be used. In such cases a description should be given in the glossary.
The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “goat” in English is translated in Cherokee as ahwi dinihanulvhi or “bearded deer.” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 18)
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