What is a…
fallow deer in the Bible

also known as: fallowdeer

Hebrew: אַיָּל —transliteration: ayyal —meaning: deer, stag, hart

This term appears once in the King James Bible. Deers that lived in ancient Israel are most often identified as the fallow deer or a related species such as the red deer or Barbary deer. The fallow name comes from its pale-red brown or yellow brown color. The modern Hebrew name of the fallow deer is yachmur (יחמור).

Female Persian Fallow Deers (does)

Persian Fallow Deer stag photographed in Israel’s Mount Carmel Nature Preserve Photographer: Eyal Barto. Licensed by CC BY-A 3.0.

The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. —Deuteronomy 14:5 KJV

Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl. —1 Kings 4:23 KJV

The Persian fallow deer is found in Iran and Israel, and used to be found throughout the Middle East and eastern Turkey.

Deer were commonly hunted and served as food (see also Deuteronomy 12:15, 15:22 and 1 Kings 4:23, and were among the provisions for King Solomon’s table).