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Hart in Old English is "Heorot" meaning male Deer in their mature state -but this is a picture of fawn (young deer). |
Deer are a ruminant animal (meaning they have a 4 chambered stomach), like camels, sheep etc. Deer chew the cud and also have cloven hooves making them in biblical terms a clean animal to eat as referred to in Deuteronomy Chapter 14, which specifically mentions deer in verse 5.
On the reverse of that in the same chapter it refers to unclean animals, those that we should not eat as they are not good for us and it delights me to read that Conies (rabbits) are unclean. They chew the cud but do not have a cloven hoof. I don't eat meat anyway not because of religious reasons but because of the animal welfare and health aspect, but even when I did eat meat I never ate venison (deer meat) or rabbit😊 .
Deer can be found all over Europe, parts of Asia and the Americas, but not generally in Africa where Antelope are more prevalent. Deer differ to Antelope as they are from the Cervidae family rather than Bovidae which antelope & gazelles are part of. With deer the male antlers fall off and regrow unlike antelopes & gazelles who have theirs for life. Whilst you may consider deer to be gentle, scared creatures they are quite hardy and able to live in a variety of temperatures and terrains and are a prey animal so need to be tough.
Deer are a group living species living in herds, usually you will find females (Does) and fawns in one herd and males (Bucks) in another. Males do separate during mating season in order to find a female. The size and strength of a Male's antlers will affect where it falls on the hierarchical scale and how they fair in their "Battle of the Antlers".
The only two native species of deer in the UK are roe and red deer, but the fallow deer has also been in the UK since its introduction in the 11th century. Other species of deer have been introduced in to the UK in the last 150 years but the roe, red and fallow are the ones you will most likely see in our countryside and parklands. The average life span for a roe deer is around 10 years but life span varies alot between each species of deer. The original Disney's Bambi was based on roe deer but later changed to a mule deer as they are more common to the USA than the roe.
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Bambi and of course Thumper too. |
The deer in some form or other is mentioned more than 25 times in various books of the"Old Testament", but does not seem to appear anywhere in the "New Testament". The references to deer/gazelles etc. is quite diverse so I thought I would put a table together to show how God's word refers to these beautiful creatures in so many different ways. When I consider the deer I always think of Psalm 42, however it may surprise you to know that the Psalms only refer to deer twice, whereas Song of Solomon has over 7 different references.
Book
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Reference
to deer etc.
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Genesis 49
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Naphtali is compared to a hind with leaping beauty.
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Deuteronomy –
four different chapters
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Clean food
that was acceptable to eat.
|
2 Samuel 2
2 Samuel 22
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3 sons of Zeruiah referred to as gazelles.
Feet like “hind’s” feet set on high places.
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1 Kings 4
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Part of
Solomon’s provisions.
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Job 39
|
Observation
of calving deer.
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Psalm 18
Psalm 42
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Feet like “hind’s”
feet set on high places.
Panting for
water that is compared to David’s soul
panting for the Lord.
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Proverbs 5
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Loving and
graceful doe being compared to a wife and her love etc.
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Song of
Solomon – 7 different references chapters 2-4, 7 & 8
|
Compares the
2 characters to both male and female deer’s in various forms to portray the
love between them.
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Isaiah 3 references
|
Compared to hunted
antelope/gazelles.
Chapter 35:
Lame leaping like a deer.
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Jeremiah 14
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Doe abandoning her young.
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Lamentations
1
|
Princes
becoming like deer.
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Habbukuk 3
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Feet like “hind’s”
feet set on high places.
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In conclusion God's word often likens deer to grace and beauty and our love for the Lord, despite the fact they are okay to eat.
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