H0365 H0365
doe, hind (female deer, symbol of grace and agility)
A female deer or doe, celebrated in Scripture for its beauty, grace, and sure-footedness. The hind appears in comparisons of agility and security, especially in the Psalms where God makes the believer's feet 'like the feet of a doe' on high places. Proverbs uses the image for wifely affection, while Jeremiah depicts even the doe abandoning her newborn in severe drought. The animal embodies both tender vulnerability and remarkable strength, making it a versatile symbol in Hebrew poetry.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Psalm 22:1's title 'The Doe of the Dawn' (likely a tune name) evokes this graceful creature. Proverbs 5:19 compares a wife's love to a doe's affection—gentle, loyal, satisfying. Jeremiah 14:5 intensifies the horror of drought by describing even the doe forsaking her newborn fawn for lack of grass. The doe's associations—beauty, devotion, maternal instinct, and mountain-climbing agility—made it a rich source for metaphor across wisdom, worship, and prophetic literature. 3×
AR["أَيِّلَةُ", "أَيِّلَةِ", "الْأَيِّلَةُ"]·ben["ভোরের-হরিণী", "হরিণী"]·DE["[אילת]", "der-doe-von"]·EN["a-doe-of", "doe", "the-doe-of"]·FR["[אילת]", "biche", "אילת"]·heb["אילת"]·HI["हिरणी", "हिरनी"]·ID["Rusa-betina", "rusa-betina"]·IT["[אילת]", "un-doe-di"]·jav["Menjangan-ing", "kidang-èstri", "menjangan-èstri"]·KO["사슴", "암사슴", "암사슴이"]·PT["Corsa-de", "a-corsa", "cerva"]·RU["Лань", "лань"]·ES["Cierva", "cierva", "cierva-de"]·SW["Kulungu-wa", "kulungu", "kulungu-jike-wa"]·TR["ceylanı", "geyik"]·urd["ہرنی"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אַיָּלָה n.f. hind, doe—א׳ abs. Gn 49:21 (but read אֵילָה v. infr.); אַיֶּ֫לֶת Je 14:5; cstr. אַיֶּ֫לֶת ψ 22:1 Pr 5:19; pl. אַיָּלוֹת ψ 29:9 + 4 times; cstr. אַיְלוֹת Ct 2:7; 3:5—hind, doe, as calving Jb 39:1 (חֹלֵל א׳ ‖ לֶדֶת יַעֲלֵי סָ֑לַע) cf. ψ 29:9 קוֹל יָ׳ יְחוֹלֵל א׳; in adjuration בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּא׳ הַשָּׂדֶה Ct 2:7; 3:5; in sim. מְשַׁיֶּה רַגְלַי כָּא ψ 18:34; = 2 S 22:34 cf.…