Lexical Summary
dishon: ibex
Original Word:דִּישׂן
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:diyshon
Pronunciation:dee-shone'
Phonetic Spelling:(dee-shone')
KJV: pygarg
NASB:ibex
Word Origin:[fromH1758 (דּוּשׁ דּוֹשׁ דִּישׁ - threshing)]
1. the leaper, i.e. an antelope
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
An antelope -- pygarg
Fromduwsh; the leaper, i.e. An antelope -- pygarg.
see HEBREWduwsh
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
dushDefinitionmountain goat (a cermonially clean animal)
NASB Translationibex (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. , compare ; hence AV RV & most
, , compare DiLeviticus 11:2f.; perhaps rather mountain-goat, HomNS 391 compare Ethiopic version []; onlyDeuteronomy 14:5 — (Homl.c. derives from √ with kindred meaning ofspring, leap & compare Assyriandaššu; so already DlS i. 54).
Topical Lexicon
Biblical Contextדִּישׂן appears once, inDeuteronomy 14:5, where Moses rehearses the dietary code for a new generation poised to enter the land: “the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep” (Berean Standard Bible). Within this list the דִּישׂן stands as one of seven land animals explicitly declared clean. Its single mention occurs in a carefully structured paragraph (Deuteronomy 14:4-6) that frames the animal as a concrete example of God’s gracious provision, placed alongside domestic species such as oxen and sheep as well as elusive desert ungulates.
Identification in the Animal Kingdom
Ancient and modern witnesses converge on an antelope-type creature inhabiting arid zones. The Septuagint renders the word πυγαργός (“white-rumped”), a clue that points toward the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) or the addax (Addax nasomaculatus), both bearing pale coats and contrasted hindquarters. Both animals fulfill the Mosaic criteria of divided hooves and rumination, are indigenous to the Sinai-Arabian corridor, and feature in rock art stretching from the Negev to northern Arabia. Medieval Jewish commentators, reading Targumic traditions that gloss the term as “white goat,” reached similar conclusions.
Role in Mosaic Dietary Laws
The list in Deuteronomy is not arbitrary. It gathers clean wild game whose habits mirror those of domestic herds, reinforcing the principle articulated inLeviticus 11:3 that eligibility for Israel’s table requires both chewing the cud and having the hoof split in two. Because דִּישׂן meets these criteria, the people could harvest it during desert wanderings or later hunts in the Trans-Jordan highlands without fear of ritual contamination. Its inclusion demonstrates that holiness does not forbid culinary pleasure; rather, it channels appetite toward creation that reflects order and discernment.
Geographical and Ecological Considerations
Classical writers such as Pliny and modern zoologists describe herds of oryx and addax ranging from Egypt’s eastern desert through the Arabian Peninsula. These antelopes survive on sparse grasses and can go long stretches without free water, a providential design for the environments through which Israel traveled. Their presence confirmed for wilderness pilgrims that the Creator already supplied clean meat in the very landscapes that otherwise seemed barren.
Translation History
English versions vary: the King James Version has “pygarg,” an Anglicized form of the Greek; several twentieth-century translations opt for “ibex,” “white antelope,” or simply “antelope.” Each choice reflects attempts to render an ancient zoological term for readers unfamiliar with Near-Eastern fauna. What remains consistent is the animal’s status as clean and its association with holiness through diet.
Theological and Devotional Insights
1. Provision: דִּישׂן illustratesPsalm 104:27’s affirmation that “They all wait for You to give them their food in season.” Even in the wilderness, God’s menu included delicacies requiring no human cultivation.
2. Separation: Divided hooves and cud-chewing symbolize the believer’s call to discernment and meditation (Joshua 1:8). The clean animal both walks a distinctive path and processes its food thoroughly—apt metaphors for a life ordered by the Word.
3. Anticipation of Fulfillment: The clean/unclean distinction set patterns later transcended inActs 10. Christ’s redemptive work does not abolish the particularity of creation but crowns it, inviting every creature that “was very good” (Genesis 1:31) into a redeemed order.
Ministry Application
Preaching or teaching onDeuteronomy 14 can draw on the דִּישׂן to illustrate:
• God’s intimate knowledge of regional ecosystems and their capacity to sustain His people.
• The balance of freedom and restraint in Christian liberty.
• A call to ecological stewardship that honors the Creator by preserving species He once named among His gifts to Israel.
Summary
The דִּישׂן, likely the Arabian oryx or a related antelope, occupies a single but strategic slot in Scripture. Standing amid the clean creatures ofDeuteronomy 14, it testifies to the meticulous care of God for His people, the moral pedagogy of dietary laws, and the abiding truth that all creation—whether domesticated or wild—exists to reflect the holiness and generosity of its Maker.
Forms and Transliterations
וְדִישֹׁ֖ן ודישן vediShon
Links
Interlinear Greek •
Interlinear Hebrew •
Strong's Numbers •
Englishman's Greek Concordance •
Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •
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