Goat
Animals in the Bible
Goats are fairly small animals with hooves. They were domesticated very early in the Middle East. Both longhaired and shorthaired breeds were known, the former being raised for its hair, and the latter for its milk, meat, and skin. The shorthaired type was probably the Nubian Goat Capra hircus mambrica, a floppy-eared breed with black and white, or brown and white, patches. The longhaired breed was also floppy-eared, of the Angora type, Capra hircus angorensis. It was usually black with long silky fur.
Three passages in the Bible seem to liken this hair to human hair: , , and .
Goats were very important to the early Israelites. Like sheep they were a source of meat, milk, hides, hair, and horns. They prefer to browse on leaves and shoots rather than graze and thus do not compete with sheep for the grass in fact they can survive on desert shrubs even where there is no grass. They are excellent survivors of drought or desert conditions.
Goats were herded together with sheep although sheep were more numerous. Goats were actually quite helpful to the shepherds. While sheep are very dependent on each other lacking in self-confidence and thus tending to bunch together closely goats move about confidently in scattered groups following the general lead of a dominant male. When sheep and goats are herded together the goats feed on the shrubs on the slopes or edges of the valleys while the sheep keep to the grass on the more level areas. The goats scatter and the sheep follow their lead and thus graze in a more scattered pattern when with goats with all benefiting from the less dense grazing.
The goats also have a better sense of direction and since the sheep follow the goats there is less likelihood of sheep getting lost. At dusk the goats will automatically start heading for their home behind their leader and the sheep follow them making the task easier for the shepherd.
The meat of adult male goats has a strong flavor and smell and is usually avoided. However killing female goats is not a good policy as they are the reproducers. So even in Bible times young goats (kids) usually male were killed for food. It is also possible that castrated male goats were kept for butchering.
Goat hair was used to make tents and warm coats and for stuffing pillows and saddles.
The floppy-eared goats of the Middle East are not as easy to differentiate from sheep as other types of goat may be. Hence separating sheep from goats had to be done carefully.
See also 2.31 Sheep, lamb.
Pictures
In the Bible
The Hebrew and Greek words for it, and every verse where each is used
עֵז ‘ez · 67 verses
עַתּוּד ‘atud · 27 verses
צָפִיר tsafir · 5 verses
שָׂעִיר sa‘ir · 51 verses
שְׂעִירָה se‘irah · 2 verses
תַּיִשׁ tayish · 4 verses
αἴγειος aigeios · 1 verse
αἴξ aix · 1 verse
τράγος tragos · 5 verses
χίμαρος chimaros · 1 verse
What it stands for
While goats were a good source of food and clothing material in ancient Middle Eastern folk religions they were also associated with demons. In three passages especially this association is prominent. One of them is , where the goat chosen by lot as being “for Azazel” is sent away into the desert. Azazel was the name of the goat-demon of the wilderness. He is not being worshiped in this passage but the sins of Israel are being sent to him.
The Hebrew word ‘atud which refers to the dominant male leader of a flock of goats was also used for a human leader in much the same way as “shepherd".
More about it
‘Ez and tragos are the common words for “goat” used generally in non-ritual expressions. ‘Ez is usually a feminine form and since adult male goats were not often eaten it often has the connotation of a goat raised for meat or milk.
‘Atud refers to the dominant male goat in a flock. By extension it was also used to refer to a human leader.
Tsafir is an Aramaic or late Hebrew word appearing in books that were among the last to be added to the Old Testament canon. It refers to the male goat, possibly to a castrated male.
Sa‘ir is used mostly in Leviticus and refers to goats as sacrificial animals. It literally means “hairy one” and may refer to the type of goat bred for its hair (see description below). Sa‘ir refers to a male goat with se‘irah being the feminine form.
Tayish is a word meaning “the one that butts” and is used to refer to male goats.
Aigeios is a Greek word for the type of goat bred for its long hair. The word aix may also have had this meaning.
Also in Mammals
Sources
Plants and Trees in the Bible, Animals in the Bible and Human-made Things in the Bible © United Bible Societies, 2025 (adapted from Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible by Robert Koops, All Creatures Great and Small: Living Things in the Bible by Edward R. Hope, and The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible by Ray Pritz), CC BY-SA 4.0; adapted for eRhema