METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK; GIFT OF DR. SIDNEY A. CHARLAT, IN MEMORY OF NEWMAN AND ADELE CHARLAT, 1949.
Ibex refers to several species of wild goat from the genus Capra that live in the mountainous regions of Europe, Southwest Asia, and North Africa. These include the Nubian ibex (Capra ibex nubiana), which was known in ancient Israel, and the West Asian ibex (Capra aegagrus), or Persian wild goat, which is the ancestor of the domestic goat. In the southern Levant, the ibex was hunted to near extinction by the early 20th century but has rebounded and is now counted in the thousands throughout the Negev and Judean deserts.
Although male ibexes are easily identified by their large, semicircular, knotty horns and black beards, it is almost impossible to distinguish ibex from domestic goat in the archaeological record since their bones are nearly identical. But across the ancient Near East, these majestic creatures appear in many artistic representations, including this bronze incense burner from southwestern Arabia. Dating to the mid-first millennium BCE, it stands 11 inches tall. Its decoration includes a round disk set within a crescent flanked by two snakes. This religious imagery complements the apotropaic role of the ibex in ancient South Arabia.
The ibex is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible with the name yael (literally, “to ascend”), which aptly describes the ibex’s agility in climbing, though modern Bibles often translate this term rather loosely as “wild goat” or “mountain goat.” In the Book of Job, God explains to Job that he deliberately hides some things from people, saying: “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?” (Job 39:1). In 1 Samuel 24:2, Saul pursues David to the cliffs at Ein Gedi overlooking the Dead Sea, “in the direction of the Rocks of the Wild Goats,” where ibex can again be seen today roaming a wildlife sanctuary. Additionally, Proverbs 5:19 talks about “a graceful doe” (yaalah) as a metaphor for a young wife.
Little is known about what role the ibex played in Mesopotamian, ancient Israelite, Jewish, or Christian belief. The ibex is permitted within Jewish dietary law, and it was most likely hunted throughout biblical times, as its skin was occasionally used for parchment. From at least the Middle Ages, Europeans believed small concretions found in the ibex’s stomach or intestines, called bezoar stones, were an effective antidote against poison.
Spelled as Yael or Jael, the Hebrew word for ibex also serves as a personal name, the most notable biblical example being the Kenite woman who killed the Canaanite commander Sisera by driving a tent peg through his head (Judges 4-5).
Ibex refers to several species of wild goat from the genus Capra that live in the mountainous regions of Europe, Southwest Asia, and North Africa. These include the Nubian ibex (Capra ibex nubiana), which was known in ancient Israel, and the West Asian ibex (Capra aegagrus), or Persian wild goat, which is the ancestor of the domestic goat. In the southern Levant, the ibex was hunted to near extinction by the early 20th century but has rebounded and is now counted in the thousands throughout the Negev and Judean deserts. Although male ibexes are easily identified by their large, semicircular, […]
