Fallow-deer

Fallow-deer (yahmur in Hebrew, from a root meaning "to be red") is listed among the clean animals permitted for food in Deuteronomy 14:5 and appears in the list of provisions for Solomon's royal table (1 Kings 4:23). The precise identification of the Hebrew term has been disputed: the Revised Version renders it "wild goat" in Deuteronomy and "roebucks" in 1 Kings, reflecting uncertainty about whether the fallow deer (Cervus dama) was native to ancient Palestine.

Most modern scholars identify yahmur with the roebuck (Capreolus capreolus) or a similar deer species, though the fallow deer was known in the wider Mediterranean world. The entry's significance is primarily for the biblical dietary laws and for the picture of royal abundance in Solomon's court, where such game animals were among the provisions consumed daily. The mention in Deuteronomy establishes its cleanness for Israelite consumption.