HART, HIND,

HART, HIND, Ps 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, Deut 12:15; Deut 14:5, and the grace and agility of its motions are alluded to in Song 2:9; Isa 35:6. The stag lolls or pants like the dog, and is soon exhausted by hunger. Jer 14:5; Lam 1:6. It is uncertain whether this word denotes the true fallow-deer, the red deer, or the Barbary deer, or whether it embraces all of them. These three species doubtless formerly lived in Palestine or adjoining districts. The fallow-deer alone is still seen, and that rarely, in the wooded districts of the country. 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 Sam 22:34; Ps 18:33; Hab 3:19. The instinctive affection of the hart and hind is alluded to Prov 5:18-19, and Song 2:7; Song 3:5. The figurative prediction of Jacob respecting Naphtali, Gen 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 Judaea. See Fallow-deer, Roe.