HART, HIND (?ayy?l, ?ayy?l?h, and ?ayyeleth).?This is the fallow-deer, the ?iyy?l of the Arabs, Cervus dama. It is not common in W. Palestine to-day, but evidently was so once (1Ki_4:23): it is mentioned as a clean animal in Deu_12:15; Deu_12:22 etc. Its habits when pursued are referred to in Psa_42:1 and Lam_1:6. The ?fallow-deer? of Deu_14:5 and 1Ki_4:23 refers to the roe (wh. see). The hind is mentioned in Gen_49:21, Job_39:1, Psa_29:9 etc. Its care of its young (Jer_14:5), the secrecy of its hiding-place when calving (Job_39:1), and its timidity at such times (Psa_29:9) are all noticed. In Gen_49:21 Naphtali is compared to ?a hind let loose,? although many prefer to render a ?slender terebinth.?
E. W. G. Masterman.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909