5. "I'^SIJ, tsaphir', occurs in 2 Chron. xxix, 21, and in Dan. viii, 5, 8; it is followed by Q"'""'7, and signi- fies a " he-goaf" of the goats. Gesenius derives it from IS JC, tsaj>har', to leap, indicative of the sex. It is a word found only in the later books of the O. T. In Ezra vi, 17, we find the Chald. form of the word, "l^S^, tsephir' .
G. UTI, ta'yish, a huclc, is from a root TU'^Fl, to strike. It is invariably rendered "he-goat" (Gen. xxx, 35; xxxii, 15 ; Prov. xxx, 31 ; 2 Chron. xvii, 11).
7. In the N. T. the words rendered goat in Matt. XXV, 32, 33, are tpi^oQ and tpt(pioi' = a. young goat or hid; and in Heb. ix, 12, 13, 19, and x,4, TpdyoQ=he-- goat. Goatskins, in Heb. xi, 37, are in the Greek a'lyna cipfiara ; and in Judg. ii, 17, a'iyec is rendered goats.
8. For the undomesticated species several Heb. terms are employed : (1 .) b;.)^, ya'el' , only in the plur. C'^p"';', wild or mountain goats, rendered "wild goats" in the p;issages of Scripture in which the word occurs, viz. 1 Sam. xxiv, 2; Job xxxix, 1; and Psa. civ, 18. The word is from a root '^V'^, to ascend or
climb, and is the Heb. name of the ibex, which abounds in the mountainous parts of the ancient territory of Moab. In Job xxxix, 1, the Sept. have TpayiXadiov ttc- Tpai. In Prov. v, 19, the fem. ^5".!', yaalah', "roe" occurs. See Roe. (2.) IpX, akko' , rendered wild goat in Deut. xiv, 5, and occurs onlj^ in tliis passage. It is a contracted form of nipIN, accord- ing to Lee, who renders it gazelle, but it is probably larger, more nearly approaching the tragelaphus or goat-deer (Shaw, Siip- plement, p. 7G). — Smith, s. v. See Wild Goat.
9. Other terms less directly significant of this animal are, (1.) rj'^lljri, chasipW, a flock, I. e. little flock: "two little flocks of kids" (1 Kings xx, 27); and (2.) r^^,^ seh, one of the flock of sheep and goats
mixed (Lev. xxii, 28, and frequently "goat" or "kid" in the margin). See Flock.
"10. For the ^TXT^, Azazel' (" scape-goat," Lev. xvi, 8, 10, 2G), see Azazel.
Tiie races either known to or kept by the Hebrew people were prohablj', 1. The domestic Syrian long- eared breed, with horns rather small and variously bent ; the ears longer than the head, and pendulous ; hair long, often black. 2. The Angora, or rather An- adoli breed of Asia Minor, with long hair, more or less fine. 3. The Egyptian breed, with small spiral horns, long brown hair, very long ears. 4. A breed from Up- per Egypt, without horns, having the nasal bones sin- gularl}' elevated, the nose contracted, with the lower jaw protruding the incisors, and the female with udder vorj' low, and purse-shaped.— Kitto.
There appear to be two or three varieties of tbe
Long-eared Syrian Goat.
common goat {Hircus (vgngi-iis) at present bred in Pal- estine and Syria, but whether they are identical with those which were reared hy the ancient Hebrews it is not possible to say. The most marked varieties are the Syrian goat {Capra Mambrica, Linn.), with long, thick, pendent ears, which are often, says Russell {Nat. Hist, of Aleppo, ii, 150, 2d edit.), a foot long, and the Angora goat {Capra Angorensis, Liun.), with fine long hair. The Syrian goat is mentioned by Aristotle {Hist. An. ix, 27, § 3). There is also a variety that differs but little from British specimens. Goats have from the earliest ages been considered important animals in ru-
Common SjTi.an Goat.
ral econom}', both on account of the milk they aflTord and the excellency of the flesh of the young animals. The goat is figured on the Egyptian monuments (see Wilkinson's Ancirnt Egypt, i, 223). Col. Ham. Smith (Griffiths, An. King, iv, 308) describes three Egyptian breeds : one with long hair, depressed horns, ears small and pendent ; another with horns very spiral, and ears longer than the head ; and a third, which occurs in Upper Egypt, without horns. — Smith.
Besides the domestic goats. Western Asia is possess- ed of one or more wild species — all large and vigorous mountain animals, resembling the ibex or bouquetin of the Alps. Of these. Southern Syria, Arabia, Sinai, and the borders of the Red Sea contain at least one spe- cies, known to the Arabs by the name of Beden or Bed- dan, and Taytal— the Capra Jcela of Ham. Smith, and Capra Sinaitica of Ehrenberg. V,"c take this animal
GOAT
899
GOAT
to be that noticed under the name of ^"^, yael or jaal (1 Sam. xxiv, 2 ; Job xxxix, 1 ; Psa. civ, 18 ; Prov. v, 19). The male is considerably taller and more robust than the larger he-goats, the horns forming regular curves backwards, and with from 15 to 24 transverse elevated cross-ridges, being sometimes near three feet long, and exceedingly ponderous : there is a beard un- der the chin, and the fur is dark brown ; but the limbs are white, with regular black marks down the front of the legs, with rings of tlie same color above the knees and on the pasterns. The females are smaller than the males, more slenderly made, brighter rufous, and with the white and black markings on the legs not so distinctly visible. This species live in troops of 15 or 20, and plunge down precipices with the same fearless impetuosit)'' that distinguishes the ibex. Their horns are sold by the Arabs for knife handles, etc. ; but the animals themselves are fast diminishing in number. See Ibex.