Chamois

(pronounced often shame), the translation of the Hebrew zemer in (14:5) But the translation is incorrect; for there is no evidence that the chamois have ever been seen in Palestine or the Lebanon. It is probable that some mountain sheep is intended.

Only in Deut. 14:5 (Heb. zemer), an animal of the deer or gazelle species. It bears this Hebrew name from its leaping or springing. The animal intended is probably the wild sheep (Ovis tragelephus), which is still found in Sinai and in the broken ridges of Stony Arabia. The LXX. and Vulgate render the word by camelopardus, i.e., the giraffe; but this is an animal of Central Africa, and is not at all known in Syria.