Are chamois mentioned in the Bible

Hebrew: זֶמֶר —transliteration: zemer —meaning: a mountain sheep or goat

The word zemer occurs only once in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament).

The word is only translated as “chamois” in the King James Version (Deuteronomy 14:5). The New King James Version and other modern English translations say “mountain sheep,” which is probably the wild sheep (Ovis tragelephus), which is still found in Sinai and in the broken ridges of stony Arabia.

The old Septuagint and Vulgate translated zemer as camelopardus, i.e., the giraffe; but this is an animal of Central Africa, and not of the regions of the Israelites.