ibex / wild goat / mountain goat

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.”

Nubian Ibex, Wikimedia Commons

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

complete verse (Job 39:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 39:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do you know when the goats of the bush give birth
    or have you seen when the eland/gazelle gives birth to a calf?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Do you know when wild goats give birth?
    Have you seen a female deer give birth to a baby deer?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Do you (sing.) know when the wild goats give-birth? Have- you (sing.) -watched when the deer were-born?” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then Yahweh said to Job,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Job 39:1

39.1-4 forms a unit describing the birth and growth of mountain goats.

Do you know when the mountain goats bring forth?: the word translated as when is deleted by Dhorme and others in order to improve the meter of this line. The word is said to be an unintended repetition of the last two consonants of the phrase translated as Do you know. With its deletion the sense is “Do you know the bringing forth (giving birth) of mountain goats?” Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation retain the word so that the reference is to the time when they give birth. The reference may be to the season of the year and is so handled by Bible en français courant; New Jerusalem Bible says “Do you know the season when the mountain goats give birth?”

Mountain goats is literally “goats of the rock.” New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, New American Bible, Revised Standard Version, and Good News Translation have “mountain goats,” Moffatt “wild goats,” Dhorme “antelopes of the rock,” and Pope translates “ibex.” Bring forth means “to give birth.” This refers to the female goat giving birth to her young. Good News Translation shifts the focus to the young by asking “… when mountain goats are born?”

In language areas where wild mountain goats are unknown, it may be possible to substitute another animal of a similar nature. If domestic goats are known, it is usually possible to use the same term and qualify them as “wild” or, for example, “goats that run loose in the hills.” This line may be rendered “Do you know the time of the year when wild goats have their young?” or “… give birth to their young?”

Do you observe the calving of the hinds? asks if Job spends his time in the isolated mountains where these wild animals are seldom seen, especially at the time when they give birth to their young. Calving means “to give birth to a calf,” the young of certain kinds of animals such as cows and deer. The word hinds in Hebrew refers to the adult female deer. The matching units of lines a and b are “know … observe,” “female wild goats … female wild deer,” “giving birth … calving.” In translation it may be necessary to substitute another wild animal for the deer if one is known. Line b shifts the thought to a more concrete act. As Good News Translation says, “Have you watched wild deer give birth?” In both lines of verse 1, it is possible to speak of “small wild animals” and “big wild animals” if no substitute animals are available.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .