Goat

There appear to be two or three varieties of the common goat, Hircus agagrus , at present bred in Palestine and Syria, but whether they are identical with those which were reared by the ancient Hebrews it is not possible to say. The most marked varieties are the Syrian goat(Capra mammorica, Linn.) and the Angora goat (Capra angorensis , Linn.), with fine long hair. As to the "wild goats," (1 Samuel 24:2; Job 39:1; Psalms 104:18) it is not at all improbable that some species of ibex is denoted.

Goat

There are two kinds of goat in the countries where the Bible was written; one very much like those that we sometimes see; the other differing from it in several respects, especially in the greater length of its ears. It is supposed that the prophet Amos speaks of the latter kind when he says, "As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion, two legs or a piece of an ear." The ear of this kind of goat is so long that a large piece might easily be bitten off; it sometimes measures more than a foot.

Solomon says, in the Proverbs, when speaking to a man who is diligent in his work, "Thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens." This seems strange to us, because we are not much used to it; but in those countries the milk of the goat is very sweet and good, and is often made into cheese.

The people there often have a great number of goats. Jacob sent a present of two hundred and twenty to his brother Esau; and a great king, mentioned in the Bible, once received seven thousand seven hundred as a gift. A man is mentioned in the first book of Samuel who owned a thousand goats: perhaps you can find the place; and if you do, you will see in the next verse what his name was, and also the name of his wife.

There are two kinds of hair upon the goat; one is long and coarse, the other soft and fine. Of the first kind the people make a kind of rough, coarse cloth; the other is made into very fine cloth, almost as soft as silk. A part of the curtains for the tabernacle were made of goats' hair.

The bottles mentioned in the Bible were usually made of goat-skins: the people in those days had not learned to make glass. When they had been used a long time, they became worn, so that they would not hold what was put in them. Our Savior once said, "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles;" this was because the new wine would ferment and the leathern bottles would burst. There is a story in the Old Testament about some men who wished to deceive Joshua, and lead him to think that they lived at a very great distance from him, when they really lived very near. So it is said, (Joshua 9:4,5) "They took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-bottles, old and rent, and bound up; and old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy" Then they said to Joshua, (Joshua 9:12,13) "This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold it is dry, and it is mouldy. And these bottles of wine which we filled were new, and behold they be rent; and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey."

The Israelites had a singular custom in ancient times, about which you may read in the Le 16. It was commanded by God, and was to be observed once in every year. On the morning of the day appointed for it, the high-priest was to wash in pure water, and clothe himself in a dress of clean white linen. Then two fair and handsome young goats were brought to him, one of which was to be killed. The priest was to cast lots, that he might know which of them it should be; then he was to kill him, sprinkle his blood upon the altar seven times, and burn the flesh. Afterwards he was to take the live goat, lay both hands upon his head, and confess over him the sins of the Israelites, "putting them upon the head of the goat." Then the animal was given into the care of a man who led him away and let him go in the wilderness, "bearing upon him all the iniquities" of the people. This goat was a type of our Savior; that is, it represented what he afterwards did, when he came into the world and "bore our sins."

Goat

A well-known animal, resembling the sheep, but covered with hair instead of wool. Large flocks of them were kept by the Jews, Genesis 27:9 1 Samuel 25:2 2 Chronicles 17:11. They were regarded as clean for sacrifice, Exodus 12:5 Le 3:12 Numbers 15:27; and their milk and the young kids were much used for food, De 14:4 Jud 6:19 Proverbs 27:27 Luke 15:29. The common leather bottles were made of their skins. Several kinds of goats were kept in Palestine: one kind having long hair, like the Angora, and another, long and broad ears. This kind is probably referred to in Am 3:12, and is still the common goat of Palestine.

Herodotus says, that at Mendes, in Lower Egypt, both the male and female goat were worshipped. The heathen god Pan was represented with the face and thighs of a goat. The heathen paid divine honors also to real goats, as appears in the table of Isis. The abominations committed during the feast of these infamous deities cannot be told.

WILD GOATS are mentioned in 1 Samuel 24:2 Job 39:1 Psalm 104:18. This is doubtless the Ibex, or mountain goat, a large and vigorous animal still found in the mountains in the peninsula of Sinai, and east and south of the Dead Sea.

These goats are very similar to the bouquetin or chamois of the Alps. They feed in flocks of a score or two, wit one of their number acting as a sentinel. At the slightest alarm, they are gone in an instant, darting fearlessly over the rocks, and falling on their horns from a great height without injury. Their horns are two or three feet long, and are sold by the Arabs for knife-handles, etc. For SCAPEGOAT, see EXPIATION.

(1.) Hebrews `ez, the she-goat (Genesis 15:9; 30:35; 31:38). This Hebrew word is also used for the he-goat (Exodus 12:5; Leviticus 4:23; Numbers 28:15), and to denote a kid (Genesis 38:17, 20). Hence it may be regarded as the generic name of the animal as domesticated. It literally means "strength," and points to the superior strength of the goat as compared with the sheep.

(2.) Hebrews `attud, only in plural; rendered "rams" (Genesis 31:10, 12); he-goats (Numbers 7:17-88; Isaiah 1:11); goats (Deuteronomy 32:14; Psalm 50:13). They were used in sacrifice (Psalm 66:15). This word is used metaphorically for princes or chiefs in Isaiah 14:9, and in Zechariah 10:3 as leaders. (Comp. Jeremiah 50:8.)

(3.) Hebrews gedi, properly a kid. Its flesh was a delicacy among the Hebrews (Genesis 27:9, 14, 17; Judges 6:19).

(4.) Hebrews sa'ir, meaning the "shaggy," a hairy goat, a he-goat (2 Chronicles 29:23); "a goat" (Leviticus 4:24); "satyr" (Isaiah 13:21); "devils" (Leviticus 17:7). It is the goat of the sin-offering (Leviticus 9:3, 15; 10:16).

(5.) Hebrews tsaphir, a he-goat of the goats (2 Chronicles 29:21). In Dan. 8:5, 8 it is used as a symbol of the Macedonian empire.

(6.) Hebrews tayish, a "striker" or "butter," rendered "he-goat" (Genesis 30:35; 32:14).

(7.) Hebrews `azazel (q.v.), the "scapegoat" (Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26).

(8.) There are two Hebrew words used to denote the undomesticated goat:, Yael, only in plural mountain goats (1 Samuel 24:2; Job 39:1; Psalm 104:18). It is derived from a word meaning "to climb." It is the ibex, which abounded in the mountainous parts of Moab. And 'akko, only in Deuteronomy 14:5, the wild goat.

Goats are mentioned in the New Testament in Matthew 25:32,33; Hebrews 9:12,13, 19; 10:4. They represent oppressors and wicked men (Ezek. 34:17; 39:18; Matthew 25:33).

Several varieties of the goat were familiar to the Hebrews. They had an important place in their rural economy on account of the milk they afforded and the excellency of the flesh of the kid. They formed an important part of pastoral wealth (Genesis 31:10, 12;32:14; 1 Samuel 25:2).

(n.) A hollow-horned ruminant of the genus Capra, of several species and varieties, esp. the domestic goat (C. hircus), which is raised for its milk, flesh, and skin.GOAT

got:

1. Names:

The common generic word for "goat" is `ez (compare Arabic `anz, "she-goat"; aix), used often for "she-goat" (Genesis 15:9 Numbers 15:27), also with gedhi, "kid," as gedhi `izzim, "kid of the goats" (Genesis 38:17), also with sa`ir, "he-goat," as se`ir `izzim, "kid of the goats" or "he-goat," or translated simply "kids," as in 1 Kings 20:27, "The children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids." Next, frequently used is sa`ir, literally, "hairy" (compare Arabic sha`r, "hair"; cher, "hedgehog"; Latin hircus, "goat"; hirtus, "hairy"; also German Haar; English "hair"), like `ez and `attudh used of goats for offerings. The goat which is sent into the wilderness bearing the sins of the people is sa`ir (Leviticus 16:7-22). The same name is used of devils (Leviticus 17:7 2 Chronicles 11:15, the Revised Version (British and American) "he-goats") and of satyrs (Isaiah 13:21; Isaiah 34:14, the Revised Version, margin "he-goats," the American Standard Revised Version "wild goats"). Compare also se`irath `izzim, "a female from the flock" (Leviticus 4:28; Leviticus 5:6). The male or leader of the flock is `attudh; Arabic `atud, "yearling he-goat"; figuratively "chief ones" (Isaiah 14:9; compare Jeremiah 50:8). A later word for "he-goat," used also figuratively, is tsaphir (2 Chronicles 29:21 Ezra 8:35 Daniel 8:5, 8, 21). In Proverbs 30:31, one of the four things "which are stately in going" is the he-goat, tayish (Arabic tais, "he-goat"), also mentioned in Genesis 30:35; Genesis 32:14 among the possessions of Laban and Jacob, and in 2 Chronicles 17:11 among the animals given as tribute by the Arabians to Jehoshaphat. In Hebrews 9:12, 13, 19; Hebrews 10:4, we have tragos, the ordinary Greek word for "goat"; in Matthew 25:32, 33, eriphos, and its diminutive eriphion; in Hebrews 11:37 derma aigeion, "goatskin," from aix (see supra). "Kid" is gedhi (compare En-gedi (1 Samuel 23:29), etc.), feminine gedhiyah (Songs 1:8), but also `ez, gedhi `izzim, se'-ir `izzim, se`ir `izzim, se`irath `izzim, bene `izzim, and eriphos. There remain ya`el (1 Samuel 24:2 Job 39:1 Psalm 104:18), English Versions of the Bible "wild goat"; ya`alah (Proverbs 5:19), the King James Version "roe," the Revised Version (British and American) "doe"; 'aqqo (Deuteronomy 14:5), English Versions of the Bible "wild goat"; and zemer (Deuteronomy 14:5), English Versions of the Bible "chamois."

2. Wild Goats:

The original of our domestic goats is believed to be the Persian wild goat or pasang, Capra aegagrus, which inhabits some of the Greek islands, Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, Afghanistan, and Northwestern India. It is called wa'l (compare Hebrew ya`el) by the Arabs, who in the North apply the same name to its near relative, the Sinaitic ibex, Capra beden. The last, doubtless the "wild goat" (ya`el) of the Bible, inhabits Southern Palestine, Arabia, Sinai, and Eastern Egypt, and within its range is uniformly called beden by the Arabs. It is thought by the writer that the "chamois" (zemer) of Deuteronomy 14:5 may be the Persian wild goat. The word occurs only in this passage in the list of clean animals. See CHAMOIS; DEER; ZOOLOGY. Wild goats are found only in Southern Europe, Southwestern Asia, and Northeastern Africa. They include the well-known, but now nearly extinct, Alpine ibex, steinbok, or bouquetin, the markhor, and the Himalayan ibex, which has enormous horns. The so-called Rocky Mountain goat is not properly a goat, but is an animal intermediate between goats and antelopes.

3. Domestic Goats:

Domestic goats differ greatly among themselves in the color and length of their hair, in the size and shape of their ears, and in the size and shape of their horns, which are usually larger in the males, but in some breeds may be absent in both sexes. A very constant feature in both wild and domestic goats is the bearded chin of the male. The goats of Palestine and Syria are usually black (Songs 4:1), though sometimes partly or entirely white or brown. Their hair is usually long, hanging down from their bodies. The horns are commonly curved outward and backward, but in one very handsome breed they extend nearly outward with slight but graceful curves, sometimes attaining a span of 2 ft. or more in the old males. The profile of the face is distinctly convex. They are herded in the largest numbers in the mountainous or hilly districts, and vie with their wild congeners in climbing into apparently impossible places. They feed not only on herbs, but also on shrubs and small trees, to which they are most destructive. They are largely responsible for the deforested condition of Judea and Lebanon. They reach up the trees to the height of a man, holding themselves nearly or quite erect, and even walk out on low branches.

4. Economy:

Apart from the ancient use in sacrifice, which still survives among Moslems, goats are most valuable animals. Their flesh is eaten, and may be had when neither mutton nor beef can be found. Their milk is drunk and made into cheese and semn, a sort of clarified butter much used in cooking. Their hair is woven into tents (Songs 1:5), carpets, cloaks, sacks, slings, and various camel, horse and mule trappings. Their skins are made into bottles (no'dh; Greek askos; Arabic qirbeh) for water, oil, semn, and other liquids (compare also Hebrews 11:37).

5. Religious and Figurative:

Just as the kid was often slaughtered for an honored guest (Judges 6:19; Judges 13:19), so the kid or goat was frequently taken for sacrifice (Leviticus 4:23; Leviticus 9:15; Leviticus 16:7 Numbers 15:24 Ezra 8:35 Ezekiel 45:23 Hebrews 9:12). A goat was one of the clean animals (seh `izzim, Deuteronomy 14:4). In Daniel, the powerful king out of the West is typified as a goat with a single horn (8:5). One of the older goats is the leader of the flock. In some parts of the country the goatherd makes different ones leaders by turns, the leader being trained to keep near the goat-herd and not to eat so long as he wears the bell. In Isaiah 14:9, ". stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth," the word translated "chief ones" is `attudh, "he-goat." Again, in Jeremiah 50:8, we have "Go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks." In Matthew 25:32, in the scene of the last judgment, we find "He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats." It is not infrequent to find a flock including both goats and sheep grazing over the mountains, but they are usually folded separately.

Alfred Ely Day

2056. eriphos -- a young goat
... a young goat. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: eriphos Phonetic
Spelling: (er'-if-os) Short Definition: a goat Definition: a goat. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2056.htm - 6k

122. aigeios -- of a goat
... of a goat. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: aigeios Phonetic Spelling:
(ah'-ee-ghi-os) Short Definition: of a goat Definition: of a goat. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/122.htm - 6k

2055. eriphion -- a little young goat
... a little young goat. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: eriphion Phonetic
Spelling: (er-if'-ee-on) Short Definition: a goat, kid Definition: a goat ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2055.htm - 6k

5131. tragos -- a male goat
... a male goat. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: tragos Phonetic Spelling:
(trag'-os) Short Definition: a he-goat Definition: a he-goat. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5131.htm - 6k

3374. melote -- a sheepskin
... Word Origin from melon (a sheep or goat) Definition a sheepskin NASB Word Usage
sheepskins (1). sheepskin. From melon (a sheep); a sheep-skin -- sheepskin. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3374.htm - 6k

5795. ez -- female goat
... 5794, 5795. ez. 5796 . female goat. Transliteration: ez Phonetic Spelling:
(aze) Short Definition: goat. Word Origin from an unused ...
/hebrew/5795.htm - 6k

6842. tsaphir -- male goat
... 6841, 6842. tsaphir. 6843 . male goat. Transliteration: tsaphir Phonetic
Spelling: (tsaw-feer') Short Definition: male. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/6842.htm - 6k

8495. tayish -- male goat
... 8494, 8495. tayish. 8496 . male goat. Transliteration: tayish Phonetic Spelling:
(tah'-yeesh) Short Definition: goats. Word ... 3). he-goat. ...
/hebrew/8495.htm - 5k

1423. gedi -- a kid (a young goat)
... 1422, 1423. gedi. 1424 . a kid (a young goat). Transliteration: gedi
Phonetic Spelling: (ghed-ee') Short Definition: goat. Word ...
/hebrew/1423.htm - 6k

689. aqqo -- perhaps a wild goat
... 688, 689. aqqo. 690 . perhaps a wild goat. Transliteration: aqqo Phonetic
Spelling: (ak-ko') Short Definition: goat. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/689.htm - 6k

8166. seirah -- female goat
... female goat. Transliteration: seirah Phonetic Spelling: (seh-ee-raw') Short Definition:
goat. ... of sair Definition female goat NASB Word Usage goat (1), goat* (1). ...
/hebrew/8166.htm - 6k

6841. tsephir -- male goat
... 6840, 6841. tsephir. 6842 . male goat. Transliteration: tsephir Phonetic Spelling:
(tsef-eer') Short Definition: male. Word ... he-goat. (Aramaic ...
/hebrew/6841.htm - 6k

7716. seh -- one of a flock, a sheep (or goat)
... one of a flock, a sheep (or goat). Transliteration: seh Phonetic Spelling: (seh)
Short Definition: sheep. ... lesser, small cattle, ewe, goat, lamb, sheep. ...
/hebrew/7716.htm - 6k

8163b. sair -- male goat, buck
... 8163a, 8163b. sair. 8163c . male goat, buck. Transliteration: sair Short
Definition: buck. Word Origin from the same as sear Definition ...
/hebrew/8163b.htm - 5k

6260. attud -- male goat
... 6259, 6260. attud. 6261 . male goat. Transliteration: attud Phonetic Spelling:
(at-tood') Short Definition: goats. ... chief one, he goat, ram. ...
/hebrew/6260.htm - 6k

Fasting, and the Goat Sent Away, were Types of Christ.
... Chapter VII."Fasting, and the goat sent away, were types of Christ. Understand,
then, ye children of gladness, that the good Lord ...
/.../barnabas/the epistle of barnabas /chapter vii fasting and the goat.htm

Abraham's Sacrifice of a Heifer Three Years Old, of a Goat, and of ...
... Chapter II."Abraham's Sacrifice of a Heifer Three Years Old, of a Goat, and of a
Ram Also Three Years Old: Its Meaning; Every Age to Be Consecrated to God ...
/.../chapter ii abrahams sacrifice of a.htm

August 9. "He Shall Lay Both his Hands Upon the Head of the Live ...
... AUGUST 9. "He shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess
over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel; transgressions and ...
/.../simpson/days of heaven upon earth /august 9 he shall lay.htm

Tsok: and Beth Chadudo.
... When they sent forth the goat Azazel, on the day of expiation,"before that, they
set up ten tents, a mile distant one from another: where some betook ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 54 tsok and beth.htm

The Fact of the Redeemer's Return was Foreshadowed in the Ritual ...
... Fourth, the goat of the sin-offering was killed and its blood brought within the
veil and sprinkled both upon and before the mercy-seat. (vs.15). ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the redeemers return/5 the fact of the.htm

Preaching the Gospel, Healing the Sick
... The leader of the party is frequently our old friend, Goat's Mother, the members
of her clan being numerous and of an inquisitive nature. ...
/.../the fulfilment of a dream of pastor hsis/chapter xxii preaching the gospel.htm

Synagogues in the City; and Schools.
... In the place noted in the margin, these words are related concerning the sending
away the goat Azazel, or the scape-goat: "The chief priests permitted not an ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 36 synagogues in the.htm

'The Scapegoat'
... THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS 'THE SCAPEGOAT'. 'And the goat shall bear upon him all
their iniquities unto a land not inhabited....'LEV. xvi.22. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/the scapegoat.htm

The Day of Atonement
... 8. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other
lot for the scapegoat.9. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/the day of atonement.htm

"The Dust of the Actual"
... At the other end of the narrow slip there is a goat-pen, not very clean; and down
one side there is a raised mud place where the family apparently sleep. ...
/.../wilson-carmichael/things as they are/chapter vii the dust of.htm

Goat (92 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary. (1.) Hebrews `ez, the she-goat (Genesis 15:9;
30:35; 31:38). This Hebrew word is also used for the he-goat...
/g/goat.htm - 48k

Goat's (6 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Goat's (6 Occurrences). Leviticus 4:24 And he
shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it ...
/g/goat's.htm - 8k

Scape-goat (3 Occurrences)
Scape-goat. Scapegoat, Scape-goat. Scar . Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia
SCAPE-GOAT. skap'-got. See AZAZEL. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/s/scape-goat.htm - 7k

Goat-skins (1 Occurrence)
Goat-skins. Goatskins, Goat-skins. Gob . Multi-Version Concordance
Goat-skins (1 Occurrence). Hebrews 11:37 They were ...
/g/goat-skins.htm - 6k

Wild-goat (1 Occurrence)
Wild-goat. Wilderness, Wild-goat. Wildgoats . Multi-Version
Concordance Wild-goat (1 Occurrence). Deuteronomy 14:5 The ...
/w/wild-goat.htm - 6k

She-goat (2 Occurrences)
She-goat. Sheets, She-goat. She-goats . Multi-Version Concordance
She-goat (2 Occurrences). Genesis 15:9 And he said ...
/s/she-goat.htm - 6k

He-goat (23 Occurrences)
He-goat. Heglam, He-goat. He-goats . Multi-Version Concordance
He-goat (23 Occurrences). Genesis 37:31 And they took ...
/h/he-goat.htm - 13k

Scapegoat (3 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 16:8-26; RV, "the goat for Azazel" (qv), the name given to the goat which
was taken away into the wilderness on the day of Atonement (16:20-22). ...
/s/scapegoat.htm - 9k

Satyr
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Hairy one. Mentioned in Greek mythology as a creature
composed of a man and a goat, supposed to inhabit wild and desolate regions. ...
/s/satyr.htm - 12k

Kid (42 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary The young of the goat. It was much used ... idolatrous sacrifices.".
Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (n.) A young goat. 2. (n ...
/k/kid.htm - 20k

Why is eating dairy products and meat in the same meal considered not kosher? | GotQuestions.org

Who/what is Baphomet? | GotQuestions.org

What is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)? | GotQuestions.org

Goat: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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