דִּישֹׁן (di.shon)
di.shon
ibex
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew word diššôn refers to a clean animal listed among those permitted for food in Deuteronomy 14:5. Lexical sources generally identify it as a pygarg, which is a type of antelope or gazelle known for its distinctive white rump patch. This identification aligns with the visual clarity needed for ancient Israelite dietary laws, allowing people to easily distinguish permitted game from forbidden species.
Some scholars suggest the term might instead denote a mountain goat or even an extinct animal whose exact identity is now lost. Despite this uncertainty about its precise zoological classification, the text consistently treats it as a permissible food source. The word appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, anchoring its meaning entirely within that specific legal context.
Translators typically render diššôn as "pygarg" or "antelope," reflecting the most common scholarly consensus. This choice preserves the distinction between clean and unclean animals without requiring modern readers to identify a specific species. The term serves primarily as a category marker in the law rather than a detailed biological description.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When you read Deuteronomy 14:5, you find a list of animals that were considered clean for food. Among them is the diššôn, often translated as an ibex or antelope. This word appears only once in the entire Hebrew Bible, tucked away in a legal code rather than in a story or poem.
Its single appearance reminds us that God cared about the details of daily life. The law provided clear markers so people could distinguish between permitted and forbidden animals. This clarity helped maintain a sense of holiness in ordinary meals. It shows that faithfulness often lives in the small, practical choices we make every day.
Even though we might not identify this specific animal today, the principle remains. God’s instructions were meant to guide His people in living set apart lives. This verse invites us to trust that His ways, even when obscure, are good and intended for our well-being.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ an ibex1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וְ/דִישֹׁ֖ן1×
Key Verses
-
Deuteronomy 14:5
the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the chamois.
This is the only occurrence of diššôn in Scripture, where it functions as a specific category marker within the dietary laws to distinguish clean animals from unclean ones.