tion. These facts place in a very strong light, the extreme dangers which at one time compelled David to seek a refuge from the pursuit of his infatuated father-in-law, among the rocks of the wild goats; and, at the same time, the bitter and implacable spirit which prompted Saul to follow him into places so full of peril.

The wild goat seems to have been generally reckoned a beautiful creature by the ancient Israelites, and other eastern nations; for the wise man in one of his Proverbs, mentions it with the hind, as an object of esteem and attachment: "Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe." The original term, in the close of the quotation, is the same which in other places is rendered the ibex, or wild goat, which it properly signifies. The ibex is finely shaped, graceful in its motions, and amiable in its manners. The female is particularly celebrated by some natural historians, for tender affection to her young, and the incessant vigilance with which she watches over their safety. To these circumstances the wise man doubtless referred; and they sufficiently account for the regard which the ancients had for this animal, and the notice with which it is honoured by the royal teacher.

The Antelope.

The name of the antelope in the Hebrew Scripture, is (2) Tsebi; and in the version of the Seventy (Aogxas) Dorcas. In our version, the original term is translated roe and roebuck; but Dr. Shaw, and others, have proved by several conclusive arguments, that it is not the roe, but the antelope, which the sacred writers intend. The former is extremely rare in the oriental regions, while the latter is common in every part of the Levant. But is it to d Trav. vol. ii, p. 277.

c Prov. v, 19.

d

be supposed, that the sacred writers would borrow their figures from creatures which are either not known at all in Palestine and the surrounding countries, or but rarely seen; while they had not even a name for an animal, which, in large herds of several thousands, fed in their fields, and around their dwellings? Such a supposition would contradict some of the strongest laws which regulate the operations of the human mind, and is therefore quite inadmissible. It is equally absurd to suppose that the Jewish legislator, when he regulated by fixed laws the food of his people, would mention a creature which they probably had never seen, of which perhaps they had not even heard, which was not to be found in the deserts over which they had to travel, nor in the country they were to possess ; while he omitted one of daily occurrence, which was found every where, in the wilderness and in the cultivated field, on the mountains and in the plains; whose flesh was greatly esteemed, and, by consequence, could not fail to become an important article of subsistence. These considerations are of themselves sufficient to establish the superior claims of the antelope to a place in the sacred volume.

The arguments which have been drawn from the etymological meaning of the Hebrew terms x2x, and 2, and the authority of the Septuagint, although of inferior importance, are not destitute of weight. The first of these names suggests the idea of a very gregarious animal; but this is not the character of the roes, for, instead of associating in herds, they live in separate families; while the antelopes are commonly found in very large herds, sometimes to the number of two or three thousand together. The second term '2x, primarily signifies beauty; and when

f Russel's Hist. of Aleppo, vol. ii, p. 153.

put for the concrete, as in this instance, by a very common figure of speech in Hebrew, has the force of a superlative, and signifies a thing or animal of uncommon beauty. Thus the land of Canaan is, in the prophet, styled s prs, the land of beauty; or, as it is rendered by our translators, the glory of all lands. The tsebi, therefore, is an animał that excels in beauty; which exactly corresponds with all the accounts that natural historians have given us of the antelope. Both the roe and the antelope, it must be admitted, are, in the general opinion of mankind, very beautiful animals; but the preference is commonly given to the latter. Buffon says, the figure of the small antelopes is elegant, and their members are finely proportioned to their size; and make prodigious bounds.h

The Septuagint uniformly translate the terms, 2x and

, by dogxas; and the correctness of their translation is attested by Luke, for he mentions "a certain disciple" who resided “at Joppa, named Tabitha, which, by interpretation, is called Dorcas." The name Tabitha is formed by a slight alteration from the Chaldee noun (0) Tabia, and this from the Hebrew term (2) tsebi. The Hebrew term signifies, as has been already observed, a creature of surpassing beauty; Dorcas, its divinely attested equivalent, limiting somewhat the general signification, denotes a creature remarkable for the fineness of its eyes; and from this last circumstance, it is conjectured that Tabitha received her name. But while the eyes of the roe have attracted no particular attention, so far as the writer has ob served, the antelope has been celebrated for the fineness of its eyes in all the countries of the east. Their beauty, according to Dr. Shaw, is proverbial there to this day; and h Nat. Hist. vol. vii, p. 26.

8 Ezek. xx, 6, 15.

i

it is still the greatest compliment which, in these countries, can be paid to a fine woman, to say, "You have the eyes of an antelope." From Bochart, and other authors, we learn that it was equally celebrated by the ancients for the acuteness of its vision; its eyes, they pretend, never become bleared; it sees in the dark; it sleeps with both eyes open, or, as others will have it, with one eye open and another shut. These circumstances appear to be much more applicable to the antelope, which is a quadruped well known, than to the roe, which is either not known at all, or very rare, in those parts of the world.

The natives of Syria, make a distinction between the antelopes of the mountain, and those of the plain. Dr. Russel, who gives us this information, says, "the former is the most beautifully formed, its back and sides are of a dark brown colour, and it bounds with surprising agility; the latter is of a much lighter colour, its limbs are not so cleanly turned, and it is neither so strong, nor so active; both, however, are so fleet, that the grey-hounds, though reckoned excellent, cannot, without the aid of the falcon, come up with them, except in soft deep ground." This is probably the reason, that the sacred writers frequently mention the " antelope upon the mountains," and not simply the antelope, when they allude to surpassing beauty of form, or amazing rapidity of motion.

The swiftness of this beautiful creature, has been celebrated by writers of every age, in terms of high admiration. Its exquisite symmetry, its active form, and the

i Encyc. Britan. Shaw's Trav. vol. ii, p. 278. Niebuhr's Trav. vol. i, p. 131. Morier's Trav. vol. i, p. 206. Forbes's Orient. Mem. vol. iii, p. 97. Bochart. Hieroz. lib. iii, p. 924.

* Hist. of Aleppo, vol. ii, p. 150.

delicate turn of its limbs, clearly shew, that it is intended by its Maker, to hold a distinguished place among the fleetest animals that scour the desert. Sir John Malcom says, it may be termed the fleetest of quadrupeds. It seems rather to vanish, than to run from the pursuer, and when closely pressed, bounds with so great agility, that it hardly seems to touch the ground in its career. Oppian calls it the swiftest species of goat; and according to Ælian, it equals the whirlwind in speed." He outruns the antelope, said the Arabians, when they wished to pay the highest compliment to the youthful warrior. To this trait in its character, the sacred writers often allude. The surprising agility which Asahel, the brother of Joab, displayed in his pursuit of Abner, drew this eulogium from the sacred hsstorian: " And Asahel was light of foot, as one of the antelopes that are in the field."n Another allusion to the amazing speed of that animal, occurs in the description of the warlike qualifications, which distinguished a troop of Gadites in the service of David: "They were men of might, men of war, fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes (the antelopes) upon the mountains."

In the Song of Solomon, the spouse more than once, compares her beloved to the antelope, particularly alluding to the wonderful elasticity of its limbs, and the velocity with which, by a few leaps, it scales the loftiest precipice, or bounds from one cliff to another. Waiting with

'Malcom's Hist. of Persia, vol. ii, p. 551.

m De Nat. Animal. lib. xiv, cap. 14. Hanway, in his Travels, says it is as fleet as a bird, and leaves the swiftest horse far behind. Part iii, chap.

35,

vol. i, p. 159.

n 2 Sam. ii, 18.

1 Chron. xii, 8.