Antelope

See under ROE.\par

a term apparently corrupted from the epithet “antholops” (Gr. ἄνθος, ornament, and ῶψ, the eye), applied by the ancients to the gazelle from the proverbial beauty of its eyes. It is now the name (antilopus) of a division of the hollow-horned ruminants (genus Clavicorna), distinguished by certain peculiarities of the horn, the maxillary glands, and their slight figure (Brande’s Dict. s.v.). Although the word does not occur in our version of the Scriptures, yet there can be no doubt that in the Hebrew text several ruminants to which it is applicable are indicated under different denominations. In scientific nomenclature, the term antelope, at first applied to a single species, has gradually become generic, and is now the designation of a tribe, or even of a family of genera, containing a great many species. According to present usage, it embraces some species that are of considerable size, so as to be invariably regarded by’ the natives as having some affinity to cattle, and others delicate and rather small, that may be compared with young deer, to which, in truth, they bear a general resemblance. SEE DEER.

The antelopes, considered as a family, may be distinguished from all others by their uniting the light and graceful forms of deer with the permanent horns of goats, excepting that in general their horns are round, annulated, and marked with strim, slender, and variously inflected, according to the subdivision or group to which they belong. They have usually large, soft, and beautiful eyes, tear-pits beneath them, and round tails. They are often provided with tufts of hair, or brushes, to protect the fore-knees from injury; they have inguinal pores; and are distinguished by very great powers of speed. Among the first of the subordinate groups is the subgenus oryx, consisting of five or six species, of which we have to notice at least three. The oryges are all about the size of the stag of Europe, or larger, with long, annulated, slender horns, rising in continuation of the plane of the forehead, slightly divergent, regularly but not greatly curved, entirely straight or lyrated, and from three feet to three feet eight inches in length. The head is rather clumsy, and more or less pied with black and white; the neck ewed, or arched, like that of the camel; the carcass bulky, compared with the legs, which are slender, firm, and capable of sustaining great action; the tail extends only to the heel, or hough; the hair on the shoulders and neck is invariably directed forward, thus, no doubt, keeping the animal cool in flight (see Penny Cyclopaedia, s.v.; Heuglin, Antilope Nordost-Africa’s, Jen. 1864)

1. The yachmur’ (יִחְמוּר, Deu 14:5; 1Ki 4:23) is not, as in our Auth. Vers. “the fallow-deer” (Sept. δορκάς, Vulg. caprea), but the oryx leucoryx of the moderns, the true oryx of the ancients, and of Niebuhr, who quotes R. Jona, and points out the Chaldaic jachmura, and describes it as a great goat. The Eastern Arabs still use the name jazmur. The leucoryx, as the name implies, is white, having a black mark down the nose, black cheeks and jowl, the legs, from the elbow and heel to the pastern joints, black, and the lower half of the thighs usually, and often the lower flank, bright rufous. The species now resides in pairs, in small families, and not unfrequently singly, on the mountain ranges along the sandy districts in the desert of Eastern Arabia, and on the banks of the Lower Euphrates; and may extend as far eastward as the west bank of the Indus, feeding on shrubby acacias, such as tortilis and Ehrenbergi. It was, no doubt, formerly, if not at present, found in Arabia Petraca, and in the eastern territories of the people of Israel; and from the circumstance of the generic name of wild cow or bull being common to this, as to other allied species, it was equally caught with nets and with the noose, and styled תאו(tao, to, theo). To this species may be referred more particularly some of the notions respecting unicorns, since, the forehead being narrow, and the horns long and slender, if one be broken off near the root, the remaining one stands so nearly on the medial line, that, taken in connection with its white-colored hair, to uncritical inspection, a single-horned animal might appear to be really present. By nature vicious and menacing, from what may be observed in the Egyptian paintings of the industry which imposture exercised, we may conclude that human art, even in early ages, may have contributed to make artificial unicorns; and most probably those seen by some of the earlier European travelers were of this kind. SEE FALLOW DEER.

2. The teo’ (תְּאוֹ, Deu 14:5, “wild ox;” Sept. ὄρυξ, Vulg. oryx) or to’ (תּוֹא, Isa 51:20, “wild bull;” Sept. σευτλίον, Vulg. oryx; the oryx tao, or Nubian oryx, of Ham. Smith) is either a species or distinct variety of leucoryx. The male, being nearly four feet high at the shoulder, is taller than that of the leucoryx; the horns are longer, the body comparatively lighter, and every limb indicative of vigor and elasticity; on the forehead there is a white spot, distinctly marked by the particular direction of the hair turning downward before the inner angle of the eye to near the mouth, leaving the nose rufous, and forming a kind of letter A. Under the eye, toward the cheek, there is a darkish spot, not very distinct; the limbs, belly, and tail are white; the body mixed white and red, most reddish about the neck and lower hams. It is possible that the name tao or teo is connected with the white spot on the chaffron. This species resides chiefly in the desert west of the Nile, but is most likely not unknown in Arabia; certain it is that both are figured on Egyptian monuments (the Antilope defassa of Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. 3, 18, cut 327), the leucoryx being distinguished by horns less curved, and by some indications of black on the face. SEE WILD OX.

3. The oryx addax may have been known to the Hebrews by the name of דִּישׁוֹן (dishon’, Deu 14:5, “pygarg;” Sept. πύγαργος, Vulg. pygargus). It is three feet seven inches at the shoulder, has the same structure as the others, but is somewhat higher at the croup; it has a coarse beard under the gullet, a black scalp and forehead, divided from the eyes and nose by a white bar on each side, passing along the’ brows and down the face to the cheek, and connected with one another between the eyes. The general color of the fur is white, with the head, neck, and shoulders more or less liver-color gray; but what distinguishes it most from the others are the horns, which in structure and length assimilate with those of the other species, but in shape assume the spiral flexures of the Indian antelope. The animal is figured on Egyptian monuments, and may be thepygarg or dishon, uniting the characters of a white rump with strepsicerotine horns, and even those which Dr. Shaw ascribes to his “lidmee.” SEE PYGARG.

A subgenus of the antelope family is the gazella, of which one or more species appear to be designated in Scripture by the terms צְבִי, tsebi’, δορκάς. SEE GAZELLE; SEE ZOOLOGY.

By: Gerson B. Levi

One of a variety of ruminants resembling the deer in many respects. The Revised Version of the Bible has the word "Antelope" twice as a translation for "" (Deut. xiv. 5, Isa. li. 20); but this translation can not be justified. For want of other sources tradition alone can establish the identity of the animal; and tradition translates teo as wild ox (Tosef., Kil. i. 9; Ḥul. 80a).

Antelope (Oryx Addax).(From a photograph.)

ANTELOPE (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ).—A doubtful translation of te’ô, Deu 14:5 and Isa 51:20. Tradition, our only guide here, is in favour of ‘Ox’ [wh. see].

E. W. G. Masterman.

an´tē̇-lōp (RV; the King James Version “wild ox,” תּאו, t^e’ō (Deu 14:5), and “wild bull,” תּוא, to (Isa 51:20); ὄρυξ, órux (The Septuagint in Codex Vaticanus has ὡς σευτλίον ἡμίεφθον, hós seutlı́on hēmı́ephthon, literally, “like a half-cooked beet-root”): The dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas) is widely distributed in Syria, Palestine and Arabia. The recently discovered Merrill’s gazelle (Gazella Merrilli) inhabits the hilly country near Jerusalem and is not commonly distinguished from the dorcas gazelle. Probably the only other antelope within this range is the Arabian oryx (Oryx beatrix). Tristram cites two African species (the bubaline antelope, Bubalis mauretanica, and the addax, Addax nasomaculatus) as existing in the Sinaitic peninsula, southern Palestine and Arabia, but he did not collect specimens of either and was probably misled by statements of the Arabs which in both cases really referred to the oryx. The only naturalist who has ever penetrated into Northwest Arabia is Mr. Douglas Carruthers, who went in 1909 on a collecting expedition for the Syrian Protestant College at Beirût, his object being to obtain the oryx and any other large antelopes which might be found there. Through observation and repeated inquiry he became convinced that neither the addax nor the bubaline antelope is found in Arabia. Tristram says the addax is called maha’ and the bubaline antelope baḳar-ul-waḥsh, both of which names are in fact used by the Arabs for the oryx, which is also according to Doughty called waḍı̂ḥaȟ.

, C^ebhı̄ in the list of clean animals in Deu 14:5 (the King James Version “roebuck”; the Revised Version (British and American) “gazelle”) is quite certainly gazelle, Arabic ẓabı̄ (which see), so it is quite possible that , t^e’ō may be the oryx. It is noteworthy that it is rendered oryx (ὄρυξ) in the Septuagint. It must be borne in mind that rē’m or r^e’ēm, rendered “unicorn” (which see) in the King James Version and “wild ox” in the Revised Version (British and American), may perhaps also be the oryx. That the oryx should be called by two names in the Bible need not be considered strange, in view of the indefiniteness of Semitic ideas of natural history, which is directly evidenced by the three names now used for this animal by the Arabs.

The slightly different form tō’ (the King James Version “wild bull”; the Revised Version (British and American) “antelope”) found in Isa 51:20 (“Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net”) may quite as well refer to the oryx as to any other animal. According to Gesenius the word is derived from the verb tā’āh, “to outrun,” which would be appropriate for this or any antelope.

The accompanying illustration is from a photograph of a well-grown female oryx in the zoological gardens at Cairo, which is 35 inches high at the shoulder and whose horns are 21 inches long. An adult male measures 40 inches at the shoulders, 59 inches from tip of nose to root of tail, and the longest horns known measure 27 1/4 inches. The color is pure white with dark brown or black markings. It is a powerful animal and its horns may inflict dangerous wounds. It inhabits the deserts of Arabia and its remarkably large hoofs seem well adapted to traversing the sands. It feeds upon grasses and upon certain succulent roots, and the Bedouin declare that never drinks. Under its name of maha’ it is celebrated in Arabic poetry for the beauty of its eyes. Compare the Homeric “ox-eyed goddess Hera” (Βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη). Baḳar-ul-waḥsh, the name most commonly used by the Bedouin, means “wild cow” or “wild ox,” which is identical with the translation of t^e’ō in the King James Version.

Antelope. Antelope are cud-chewing, hollow horned animals related to goats. Early European Bible translators were not acquainted with antelope, which roam the grassy plains and forests of Asia and Africa; so they called the antelope deer instead. Antelope are listed among clean wild game (Deu 14:5), and among King Solomon’s table provisions (1Ki 4:23).

When threatened, antelope flee in breathtaking leaps. So speedy were they that hunters in Bible times sometimes needed nets to catch them (Isa 51:20). Sometimes a grazing herd of antelope is joined by other animals that profit from their ability to spot an enemy or smell water at a great distance.

Various Bible translations mention three types of antelopes. The addax is a large, light-colored antelope with spiral horns. The oryx is a large African antelope, whose long horns are nearly straight. Most familiar to Bible writers was the gazelle, which stands less than a yard (approximately one meter) high at the shoulders.

The word gazelle is Arabic for "affectionate." Young gazelles were taken as pets. Poets made much of their dark, liquid eyes and delicate beauty. King David’s soldier, Asahel, gifted with both speed and endurance, was "as fleet of foot as a wild gazelle" (2Sa 2:18). The woman of good works whom Peter raised to life was called Tabitha (Hebrew for gazelle), or Dorcas (Act 9:36). The dorcas gazelle, once common, almost became extinct. Protected by the modern nation of Israel, it is now an agricultural nuisance.

A fast-running animal that looks similar to a deer.

Several antelope-like creatures are referred to in the Scriptures. One seems to be the white oryx (Oryx leucoryx), referred to as "antelope" in Deuteronomy 14:5 and Isaiah 51:20. The oryx was probably the antelope. Its long horns made it easy to catch. So, it was a common food source.

Another antelope mentioned in the Bible is the addax (Addax nasomaculatus). It is probably the “antelope” of Deuteronomy 14:5 ("pygarg" in the King James Version). It lives in North Africa. It has grayish-white hind parts, a white patch on its forehead, and twisted, ringed horns. The word “pygarg” comes from a Greek word meaning “white rump.” The addax is about the size of a donkey. Its body is closely covered with short hair. It has a short mane on the underside of its neck that makes the head look somewhat like that of a goat. The hooves are broad and flat, and the tail resembles that of a donkey. It is common in Africa and in Arabia, where Arabs hunt it with falcons and dogs.

Antelopes are very graceful and run with their heads held high. Both sexes have long, permanent, hollow horns. Oryx horns go straight back while addax horns twist into rings. Antelope are alert, skittish, and perceptive. They are usually found in herds of from two to a dozen. If injured or cornered, an antelope attacks with its head down. Its sharp horns point forward. Antelopes feed on grasses and shrubs, drinking from streams and water holes. When there is not much water, they eat melons and juicy bulbs. Both addax and oryx were clean in Jewish law.

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