The Text and Meaning of Ps. 29:9

Back to Psalm 29

Introduction

The traditional Hebrew text of Psalm 29:9ab reads: ק֤וֹל יְהוָ֨ה׀ יְחוֹלֵ֣ל אַיָּלוֹת֮ וַֽיֶּחֱשֹׂ֪ף יְעָ֫ר֥וֹת

Consider three translations of this verse:

1. "The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare" (RSV, cf. NRSV, NIV, NLT, GNT, NET, NJB, HFA, RVR95, NVI, DHH, PDV2017)
2. "The voice of the LORD makes the hinds calve and brings kids early to birth" (NEB, cf. ELB)
3. "The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare" (ESV, cf. CEV, JPS85, REB, LUT, NGÜ, EÜ, GNB, ZÜR, NBS, NVS78P, BDS, NFC, TOB)

According to the NRSV, both lines to refer to trees. According to the NEB, however, both lines refer to animals. The ESV holds a middle position: the first line refers to deer, and the second line refers to trees.

There are two kinds of issues involved in the interpretation of this verse:

• Textual Criticism.
  • The vocalization of אילות
    • אַיָּלוֹת (deer)
    • אֵילוֹת (oaks)
  • The text of v. 9b
    • יְעָרוֹת
    • יְעָלוֹת
• Lexical Semantics.
  • The meaning of יחולל
    • "give birth" / "cause to give birth"
    • "cause to twist/whirl"
  • The meaning of חשף
    • "to strip bare"
    • "to cause to miscarry"
    • "to cause to be wet"
  • The meaning of יְעָרוֹת
    • "forests" (plural of יַעַר)
    • "goats" (plural of יַעֲרָה)

Argument Map(s)

"Deer" (אַיָּלוֹת) vs "Oaks" (אֵילוֹת)

In v. 9a, the MT reads אַיָּלוֹת ("deer"), and some argue that this is best reading of the text. Others argue, however, that the consonantal text should be revocalized to אֵילוֹת ("oaks").

"Deer" (אַיָּלוֹת) (preferred)

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[Deer (אַיָּלוֹת)]: The Masoretic vocalization should be retained and the word interpreted to mean "(female) fallow deer."
 + <Textual support>: The MT and most of the ancient versions understood אילות as referring to "deer."
  + [Ancient versions]: LXX (ἐλάφους), Quinta (ἐλάφους), Syriac (ܐ̈ܝܠܬܐ), Jerome (cervis), Targum (איילתא) (cf. CTAT :M:)
 + <Job 39:1>: "Job 39:1 also speaks of חלל אילות. It is therefore a poetic commonplace" (CTAT :M:, cf. Dahood :C:, Craigie :C:, Tigay :A:).
  + [Job 39:1]: הֲיָדַ֗עְתָּ עֵ֭ת לֶ֣דֶת יַעֲלֵי־סָ֑לַע חֹלֵ֖ל אַיָּל֣וֹת תִּשְׁמֹֽר׃
 - <יחולל not causative>: This interpretation requires the verb (יחולל) to be causative ("cause to give birth" or "cause to writhe"). 'But the Polel of חוּל/חִיל (khul/khil) means “give birth,” not “cause to give birth”' (NET). #dispreferred
  <_ <Causative possible>: It is possible that the verb can mean both "to give birth" and "to cause to give birth" (BDB :L:, HALOT :L:, DCH :L:, SDBH :L:).
   + <Piel doubly transitive>: "Polel is the Piel of hollow roots, and Piel is sometimes doubly transitive, as in the case of verbs such as אזר, ילד, למד, and נחל" (Tigay :A:).
 - <Absurd>: 'The statement “the Lord’s shout gives birth to deer” is absurd' (NET). #dispreferred
  - <Thunder and birth>: Loud noises (e.g., thunder) and stressful events were thought to send animals and humans into labour (Tigay :A:).
   + [1 Sam. 4:19]: "Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her" (ESV).
   + [Pliny]:“Claps of thunder cause sheep to miscarry when solitary; the remedy is to herd them in flocks, so as to be cheered by company” (Natural History VIII 47 (72), cited in Gunkel 1926:126 :C:) 

"Oaks" (אֵילוֹת)

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[Oaks (אֵילוֹת)]: The text should be revocalized as אֵילוֹת and the word interpreted to mean "oaks." #dispreferred
 + <Symmachus>: At least one ancient translator (Symmachus) appears to have read the text in this way: πληθυνοντος πεδια.#dispreferred
  + [Aquila]: Aquila translates אלון as πεδιον in Judges 9:6 (Barthélemy 2007:166).#dispreferred
 + <Parallelism>: The b-line (v. 9b) refers to "forests." Therefore, the parallel clause (v. 9a) must also refer to trees (Briggs 1906:253-4 :C:; Hossfeld 1993:183 :C:).#dispreferred
  <_ <Synonymous parallelism not necessary>: "There is no necessity for synonymous parallelism here; to have animals in one line and trees in the next is not a problem. In fact, a third colon gives us a different idea altogether" (Ross 2011:660 :C:).
 - <Grammar>: The plural of אֵילָה/אֵלָה is not אֵילוֹת but אֵילִים (Barthélemy :M:; Baethgen :C:).
  + E.g., Isa. 57:5 (בָּאֵלִים); Isa. 61:3 (אֵילֵי הַצֶּדֶק).
 + <Concentric structure>: Verses 5-9b are organized concentrically, so that the trees in v. 5 correspond to trees in v. 9 (Hossfeld 1993:183 :C:).#dispreferred

"Forests" vs "Goats"

The meaning of the second line of v. 9 is also debated. Some interpret the word יְ‏עָרוֹת to mean "forests" and others interpret it to mean "young mountain goats." The arguments for each view are as follows:

Forests

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[Forests (יְ‏עָרוֹת)]: The word יְ‏עָרוֹת means "forests" (plural of יַעַר).
 + <Ancient support>: The ancient translators understood יְ‏עָרוֹת to mean "forests."
  + [Ancient translations]: LXX (δρυμούς), Syriac (ܥܒ̈ܐ), Jerome (saltus), Targum (חורשא).
 - <Masculine plural suffix>: The plural of יַעַר is never יְ‏עָרוֹת but always יְעָרִים (Baethgen 1904:83 :C:). #dispreferred
  + [יְעָרִים]: Ezek. 39:10 (הַיְּעָרִים); Ezek. 34:25 (בַּיְּעָרִים). #dispreferred
  <_ <Gender double>: The noun may have masculine and feminine forms (BDB :L:).
   + [Ugaritic]:'Though this is the only instance of feminine plural yeʿārōt, the Ugaritic place name yʿrt and the gentilic yʿrty bespeak a double gender of this substantive' (Dahood :C:; cf. Craigie :C:).
   + [Gender doublets]: 'Some non-animate nouns have both masculine and feminine forms' (IBHS §6.4.3 :G:).
    + E.g., חלק/חלקה ("territory") and ציץ/ציצה ("blossom").

"Goats"

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[Goats (יְ‏עָרוֹת)]: The word יְ‏עָרוֹת means "(mountain) goats" (plural of יַעֲרָה; see HALOT :L:, DCH :L:). #dispreferred
 + <Cognates>: In Arabic *yaʿr* means "kid (=young goat)," and in Tigre, *warˁe* means "mountain goat" (HALOT :L:). Cf. Proto Semitic *[yaʕr] = ‘the young of an ungulate’ (SED II §248)). Therefore, a similar word may exist in Biblical Hebrew. #dispreferred
  + <הַר־יְעָרִים>: The Hebrew proper noun הַר־יְעָרִים (Josh. 15:10) may be best explained as "mountain of (mountain) goats." #dispreferred
   + Cf. צוּרֵי הַיְּעֵלִים in 1 Sam. 24.2; הַר שֵׂעִיר in Josh 15:10. #dispreferred
  <_ <Medieval Arabic Lexica>:According to most lexica from the middle ages, Arabic *yaʿr* refers more specifically to 'a goat tied up in the pit dug for a wolf or a lion.'
   + [Medieval Arabic Lexica]: E.g., والــيَعْرُ: الشّاةُ تُشَدُّ عند زُبْيَةِ الأسَد 'The ya'r: The sheep that is tied up in the pit dug for a lion' (Al-Sahib's (d. 995 AD) Al-Muhit fi al-Lugha :L:);  الجديُ يربط في الزُبيَةِ للأسد 'The goat is tied up in the pit dug for the lion (Ismai'il bin Hammad al-Jawhar's (d. 1003 AD) al-Lugha wa Sihah al-'Arabiya :L:).
 + <Parallelism>: יְ‏עָרוֹת interpreted as "(young) mountain goats" is synonymous with אַיָּלוֹת ("deer") in the a-line. #dispreferred
  + [Job 39:1]: In Job 39:1, the word אַיָּלוֹת ("deer") in the b-line is parallel with the phrase יַעֲלֵי־סָ֑לַע ("rock mountain goats") in the a-line. Cf. Prov. 5:19. #dispreferred
 - <No Hebrew Evidence>: There are no examples of a word יַעֲרָה in Hebrew that means "mountain goat." The word for "mountain goat" is יָעֵל/יַעֲלָה.
 - <Ancient translations>: None of the ancient versions understood the term to mean "mountain goats."
  + [Ancient translations]: LXX (δρυμούς), Syriac (ܥܒ̈ܐ), Jerome (saltus), Targum (חורשא).

The Meaning of חשף

Another issue in this verse, related to the previous issues, is the meaning of the verb וַֽיֶּחֱשֹׂף. There are at least three options:

1. "strip bare"
2. "cause a premature birth"
3. "make wet / soak"

"Strip bare"

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["Strip bare"]: The verb חָשַׂף means "to strip bare" (BDB :L:).
 + <Hebrew usage>: This is the normal meaning of the Hebrew verb חָשַׂף.
  + E.g., Joel 1:7 – "it has stripped off (the trees') bark (חָשֹׂ֤ף חֲשָׂפָהּ֙)" (ESV)
 + <Ancient support>: This is how most of the ancient versions interpreted the term.
  + LXX (ἀποκαλύψει), Aquila (ανασυρει), Symmachus (γυμνουντος), Jerome (revelans).

"Cause a premature birth"

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["Cause a premature birth"]: The verb חָשַׂף (revocalized as a piel) means "to cause a premature birth" (HALOT :L:). #dispreferred
 + <Arabic cognate>: The Arabic verb *khašafa* means "to hurry" (HALOT :L:). #dispreferred
  <_ <No sense of "birth" in Arabic>: The verb in Arabic "means simply ‘hasten’, with no implied reference to giving birth, and if we were to relate ויחשף in the psalm to this sense, we could just as easily take it to mean that the Lord causes יערות to run quickly" (Tigay :A:).
 + <Hebrew cognate>: The Hebrew noun חָשִׂיף in 1 Kgs 20:27 (חֲשִׂפֵ֣י עִזִּ֔ים) refers to "a kid dropped prematurely" (HALOT :L:, marking the reading with an asterisk as conjectural and citing G.R. Driver). #dispreferred

"Make wet / Soak"

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["Cause to be wet"]: The verb חָשַׂף "to cause to be wet." #dispreferred
 + <Targum>: The Aramaic Targum of Psalms interpreted the verb to mean "to make wet" (ומזליח) (Stec 2004:68). #dispreferred
 + <Cognates>: In Ugaritic verb חסף means "to pour (water)" (Ugaritic Textbook 19.884 :L:), and the Arabic verb *khasufa* means "to pour out water" (HALOT :L:). #dispreferred
  - <Other possible meaning>: The Ugaritic verb means ‘to draw water’ (’Olmo Lete and Sanmartin 2015 :L:).

Conclusion

v. 9a. The reference to "fallow deer" (not "oaks") is strongly supported by ancient tradition (MT vocalization and most ancient versions) and the parallel passage in Job. 39:1. Although it is true that the verb יחולל (polel) is not usually causative ("cause to give birth"), this does not mean that a causative interpretation is ruled out. The piel stem is sometimes doubly transitive (e.g., ילד "cause to bring forth"). The alternative translation "oaks" is ungrammatical, relatively unsupported among ancient traditions (though Symmachus may support this reading), and based largely on the desire for v. 9a to be "synonymously parallel" with v. 9b.

v. 9b. The interpretation of v. 9b is more difficult. The translation "forests" is well supported among the ancient translations, and the verb phrase "strip bare a forest" finds a parallel in Joel 1:7 (stripping bear a fig tree). The main problem with this view is that the plural of יַעַר ("forest") is, in its two instances, not יְ‏עָרוֹת but יְעָרִים. It may be that the noun יַעַר has both a masculine form and a feminine form (cf. e.g., חלק/חלקה and ציץ/ציצה) (cf. IBHS §6.4.3). According to Dahood, there is some support for a feminine form of this word in Ugaritic (the Ugaritic place name yʿrt and the gentilic yʿrty). Other interpretations of v. 9b (e.g., "causes goat kids to be born prematurely"; "makes goat kids wet") are attractive but have only slender evidence in their support (mostly evidence from cognate languages). For this reason, we have followed the traditional interpretation.

In conclusion, we have rendered v. 9ab as follows: YHWH’s voice causes fallow deer to give birth, and it strips forests.

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: φωνὴ κυρίου καταρτιζομένου ἐλάφους, καὶ ἀποκαλύψει δρυμούς
  • "The Lord's voice, as he prepares deer, and he will uncover forests"
• Aq.: ωδινοντος... ανασυρει
  • "bringing forth (through labor)... he exposes"
• Sym.: πληθυνοντος πεδια... γυμνουντος
  • increasing plains... making bare"
• Qu.: μαιουμενου ελαφους
  • "delivering deer"
• Syr.: ܩܠܗ ܕܡܪܝܐ ܕܡܙܝܥ ܐ̈ܝܠܬܐ ܘܡܥܩܪ ܥܒ̈ܐ܂
• Tg.: קלא דייי מבטין איילתא ומזליח חיוות חורשא
  • "The voice of the Lord makes the hinds to calve, and makes wet the beasts of the forest"
• Jer.: vox Domini obstetricans cervis et revelans saltus
  • "The voice of the Lord giving birth to the deer and revealing the forest."

Modern

• "oaks//forests" (NIV, RSV, NRSV, NLT, GNT, NET, NJB, HFA, RVR95, NVI, DHH, PDV2017)
• "deer//forests" (ESV, CEV, JPS85, REB, LUT, NGÜ, EÜ, GNB, ZÜR, NBS, NVS78P, BDS, NFC, TOB)
• "deer//"(goat) kids" (NEB, ELB)

Secondary Literature

Lexicons

• BDB
  • חוּל writhe in travail with, bear, bring forth (poet.)
  • אַיָּלָה hind, doe, as calving Jb 39:1 (חֹלֵל א׳ || לֶדֶת יַעֲלֵי סָ֑לַע) cf. ψ 29:9 קוֹל יָ׳ יְחוֹלֵל א׳
  • חָשַׂף strip off, strip, make bare
  • יַ֫עַר wood, forest, thicket... stripped by voice of י׳ ψ 29:9
• HALOT
  • חיל to cause labour pains Ps 29:9
  • אַיָּלָה doe of a fallow deer
  • חשׂף (II) qal: impf. וַיֶּחֱשֹׂף: rd. pi. וַיְחַשֵּׂף: to cause a premature birth (Driver JTS 32:255) Ps 29:9.
  • יַעֲרָה (II, cj.) Ps 29:9, Driver JTS 32:255; Arb. yaʿr goat, Tigr. (Littmann-H. Wb. 435b) warʿē mountain goat :: Strauss ZAW 82:96 יְעָרוֹת: kid parallel with אַיָּלוֹת
• DCH
  • חיל... polel... bring into labour, bring to birth
  • אַיָּלָה hind... <OBJ> חול pol. make calve Ps 29:9 (or em. אֵילוֹת terebinths).
  • חשׂף make bare
  • יַ֫עַר strip bark Ps 29:9 (if em. יְעָרִים; unless יַעֲרָה II)
  • [יַעֲרָה] II n.f. kid—pl. יְעָרוֹת—חשׂף pi. bring to premature birth Ps 29:9 (unless יַעַר I forest)

Articles

• Tigay 2008 –
  • Given the evidence of Job 39:1 regarding the first clause in Ps 29:9 and the meager evidence for anything but the traditional explanation of the second clause, the verse most likely means what it is commonly thought to mean, ‘the voice of the Lord causes hinds to calve and strips forests bare’, and the two clauses are not synonymously parallel (402).
  • The main problem with these expedients is the poor Arabic evidence for khasafa meaning ‘give birth quickly’. So far as I can tell, the biblical scholars who have cited the Arabic verb have cited it only from Arabic dictionaries, not from firsthand examination of textual evidence... It means simply ‘hasten’, with no implied reference to giving birth (401).
  • That the ancients did hold this belief is indicated by Pliny (cited by Gunkel): “Claps of thunder cause sheep to miscarry when solitary; the remedy is to herd them in flocks, so as to be cheered by company.”19 Loud noise causing miscarriage is also described in Midrash Tan ̇uma, which says that, when Joseph’s brothers recognized Joseph, Judah shouted so loudly that all the parturient women in Egypt miscarried (403)... The evidence from Pliny, Bochart, a midrashic passage (in the case of humans), and modern scientific research reflects the age-old popular assumption underlying Psalm 29 that loud, thunder-like noises do cause miscarriages (405)

Commentaries

• Ibn Ezra – והזכיר אילות – כי לידתו קשה והנה הרעם מחוללם. והטעם: יביא להם החיל מהרה ותלדנה בהפתח הרחם האיילה, גם בעבור הפחד.
• Baethgen 1904:82-83 – 'Jahves Donner macht Hinden kreissen und scheucht 'Gewesen' auf...' Die von Lowth und Neueren vorgeschlagene Aussprache אילות »Eichen« wird von keinem der alten Übersetzer bezeugt; sie findet sich zuerst bei den jakobinischen Syrern (vgl. Bar Hebr.). Gegen sie spricht, dass der Plural von אלה »Eiche« sonst אלים lautet... יחולל, Job 39:1 vom gebären der Hinden gebraucht, hat im Psalm kausative Bedeutung. So Aq. Qu. Hi. Targ... Der plural von יער »Wald« heisst immer יערים, nie יערות; und das oben gegen die nochmalige Erwähnung der Bäume geltend gemachte Bedenken trifft auch hier zu. Neben den Hinden erwartet man ein anderes verwandtes Tier. Im. Arab. ist יערה eine junge Ziege. Da aber dies Wort im Hebr. nicht nachweisbar ist, ziehe ich vor יעלות »Steinziegen« zu lesen. יעלה neben אילת Prob 5:19, vgl. Job 39:1, wo der Plural freilich יעלי סלע lautet. יעלות mag eine andere Spezies der Bergziegen sein. Von allem Gemsenarten ist es bekannt, dass sie sich sehr schwer aufstöbern lassen. Bei Jahves Donnerruf kommen auch sie erschreckt aus ihren Schlupfwinkeln hervor. חשף wie Jer 49:10 vom Aufscheuchen (wörtlich: aufdecken) Edoms aus seinen bisherigen Schlupfwinkeln.
• Craigie 2004:242-3 – The voice of the Lord makes hinds writhe in travel, and he strips bare the forests. 9a. Alternatively it is possible to vocalize the consonantal text אילות ("large trees, oaks"; cf. RSV, NIV); this translation would provide a parallel to "forests" in the following line. But MT is to be preferred, being similar to Job 39:1... 9b. Alternatively, the verb could be read ויחסף, meaning (on the basis of Ugaritis hsp) "to drench, pour water," thus alluding to the rain accompanying the lightning and thunder... 9c. The translation "forests" is fairly certain, though the fem. plus. form (יערות) is unusual (a masc. plus. form being expected). The existence of the feminine form in an Ugaritic place name (y'rt) may support the reading in MT.
• Dahood 2008:178–179 – makes the hinds writhe. Though R. Lowth’s (De Sacra Poesia Hebraeorum Praelectiones Academicae Oxonii Habitae. Cum Notis et Epimetris Ioa. Dav. Michaelis. Edidit Ern. Frid. Car. Rosenmüller. [Lipsiae, 1815], p. 316) reading yeḥōlēl ʾēlōt, “makes the oaks bend,” has found wide acceptance, MT yeḥōlēl ʾayyālōt too closely resembles Job 39:1, ḥōlel ʾayyālōt, “the writhing of the hinds,” to be abandoned in favor of Lowth’s reading. The pronounced Canaanite associations of ch. 39 of Job suggest that we are dealing with the same phrase. To be sure, there is no evidence that wild or domestic animals are so affected by a storm that they calve prematurely, but this does not foreclose the possibility that the ancients may have had some such belief. strips the forests bare. The verb ḥāsap, “to strip,” has correctly been identified with Phoen. ḥsp in the Ahiram Inscription, tḥtsp ḥṭr mšpṭh, “May the scepter of his judicial authority be stripped off”; see Harris, A Grammar of the Phoenician Language, p. 103, and Gevirtz in VT 11 (1961), 147. Though this is the only instance of feminine plural yeʿārōt, the Ugaritic place name yʿrt and the gentilic yʿrty bespeak a double gender of this substantive, just as the unique occurrence of feminine plural ʿōlāmōt in Ps 48:15 is sustained by Ugaritic plural ʿlmt.
• Bratcher & Reyburn 1991:279–280 – There is much dispute over the meaning of lines a and b. The Masoretic text in line a has the plural noun “deers,” which would make the verb mean “writhe,” that is, to go into labor, to give birth (so Weiser, Dahood; NEB, NJV, TOB). But many commentators and translators prefer to read the noun as the Hebrew word for “oaks” (or, terebinths), which would make the verb mean “shake” or the like (AT, RSV, TEV, NAB, BJ, NJB, SPCL, ZÜR, MFT)... Line b is also variously understood; the Masoretic text seems to mean “and it strips the forests.” But some assign another meaning to the verb (see K-B and Holladay, following Driver), “bring to premature birth,” and conjecture that the noun that follows means “young goat” (while others emend to the Hebrew word for “mountain goat,” as in 104:18). Most favor keeping the two lines parallel, with oaks and forests, or else “deer” and “goats” (see NEB “The voice of the Lord makes the hinds calve and brings kids early to birth”; so FRCL). NJV, however, has “makes hinds to calve” and “strips forests bare” (also AT and Dahood).
• Hossfeld 1993:183 – Für den Halbvers steht zur Debatte, ob man die Objekte auf die Fauna (»Hirschkühe«, »Zicklein«) oder die Flora (»Eichen,« »Walder«) festlegt. Mit der EÜ ist für die zweite Möglichkeit zu votieren aus drei Gründen: 1. Die Ringkomposition verlangt in Entsprechung zu 5 die Flora; 2. Die feminine Pluralendung bei יערות »Walder« ist in einegen Fällen bei maskulinen Substantiven möglich; dann verlangt der Parallelismus in 9a das synonyme אלה »Eiche«, mächtiger Baum; 3. das Verb חשף »abschälen, kahlschlagen« ist in Joël 1:7 belegt, ohne daß man hier eine Sonderbedeutung einfordern oder Textkorruption annehmen muß.
• Barthélemy 2007:166 – Le seul témoin susceptible d'appuyer une leçon אילות serait donc σ’. Trois arguments nous dissuadent cependant d'opter pourcette leçon: Une expression comme "fait tournoyer les chênes” nous ramènerait aux images du vs 5. אילות serait hapax comme pluriel de אילה (qui fait toujours אילים). Jb 39,1 parle aussi de חלל אילות. C'est donc un lieu commun poétique.
• Ross 2011:660 – ... it causes the hinds to travail in birth-pangs, probably giving birth pre-maturely. The change of "hinds" to "oak trees" (אילות) is not necessary and has no manuscript support (see NIV and others). It does form a nice parallel with the next colon, which reads "and strips the forests bare." There is no necessity for synonymous parallelism here; to have animals in one line and trees in the next is not a problem. In fact, a third colon gives us a different idea altogether.
• NET – Heb “the deer.” Preserving this reading, some translate the preceding verb, “causes [the deer] to give premature birth” (cf. NEB, NASB). But the Polel of חוּל/חִיל (khul/khil) means “give birth,” not “cause to give birth,” and the statement “the Lord’s shout gives birth to deer” is absurd. In light of the parallelism (note “forests” in the next line) and v. 5, it is preferable to emend אַיָּלוֹת (ʾayyalot, “deer”) to אֵילוֹת (ʾelot, “large trees”) understanding the latter as an alternate form of the usual plural form אַיָּלִים (ʾayyalim)... The usual form of the plural of יַעַר (yaʿar, “forest”) is יְעָרִים (yʿarim). For this reason some propose an emendation to יְעָלוֹת (y’alot, “female mountain goats”) which would fit nicely in the parallelism with “deer” (cf. NEB “brings kids early to birth”). In this case one would have to understand the verb חָשַׂף (khasaf) to mean “cause premature birth,” an otherwise unattested homonym of the more common חָשַׂף (“strip bare”).

References

29:9 Approved