Bible Dictionary
Hart
A male deer or stag, counted among the clean animals permitted as food. The hart is also used poetically to portray swiftness, longing, and desolation.
Definition
A hart is a male deer or stag. It was counted among the clean animals and was commonly used for food. The term may refer to a member of the deer family, including the fallow or Barbary deer.
Biblical Usage
The hart is listed among animals permitted for food and appears in poetic and prophetic imagery concerning longing, swiftness, and desolation.
Historical Background
The Hebrew term denotes a stag or male deer rather than a uniquely identified species.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. ‘ayal), a stag or male deer. It is ranked among the clean animals (Deut. 12:15; 14:5; 15:22), and was commonly killed for food (1 Kings 4:23). The hart is frequently alluded to in the poetical and prophetical books (Isa. 35:6; Cant. 2:8, 9; Lam. 1:6; Ps. 42:1).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
the male stag. The word denotes some member of the deer tribe either the fallow deer or the Barbary deer. The hart is reckoned among the clean animals, (12:15; 14:5; 15:22) and seems from the passages quoted, as well as from (1 Kings 4:23) to have been commonly killed for food.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>hart.</p><p>See DEER.</p>