Ibex

Scripture references: Deuteronomy 14:5; 1 Samuel 24:2; Job 39:1–4; Psalm 104:18; Proverbs 5:19; Song of Solomon 2:17; Judges 4:17–22; 5:24–27

The creature of the high crags, Psalm 104:18, In the great creation psalm: "The high mountains are for the wild goats (ya'elim); the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers." YHWH has made the inaccessible mountain heights specifically for the ibex, the creature that thrives where no human being can follow. The ibex's sure-footedness on precipitous terrain is a creation gift from YHWH, a testimony to the design of the Creator for each creature's habitat.

The birth of the ibex, Job 39:1–4, In YHWH's speech from the whirlwind, he challenges Job: "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does? Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth, when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young? Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open; they go out and do not return to them." The birth of the ibex in the wild, unseen by human beings, is evidence of YHWH's comprehensive care of creation, the Creator who attends to the mountain birth that no one witnesses.

The deer of the lover, Proverbs 5:19, "a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love." The word for "deer" in this passage (ya'alat, derived from ya'el) connects the beauty and grace of the ibex to the image of the beloved wife. The Song of Solomon 2:17 invokes the same imagery: "Be like a gazelle, my beloved, or like a young stag." The creature of the high places becomes the image of the cherished and pursued lover.

David in En-gedi, 1 Samuel 24:2, When Saul pursues David, the narrator names the location "the rocks of the wild goats" (tsur ya'elim), literally "the ibex crags" of En-gedi. The terrain where ibexes make their home is also the terrain where David hides from Saul, where in a cave he spares the king's life. The ibex's habitat is the terrain of David's wilderness years and YHWH's protection.

Yael, Judges 4–5, The woman who kills Sisera takes the ibex's name: Yael (יָעֵל). She is a Kenite woman, outside Israel's covenant, who nevertheless acts as a deliverer. Deborah's song celebrates her: "Most blessed of women be Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed." The ibex's qualities, boldness, sure-footedness in dangerous terrain, the creature that strikes decisively, are embodied in the woman who drives the tent peg.

The ibex (ya'el) is the creature of the high places, the sure-footed wild goat that lives where no human being follows, whose birth YHWH attends unseen, whose name becomes Yael the deliverer. The Sanctum holds the ibex as a witness to YHWH's care for the inaccessible reaches of creation and the boldness of those who bear the ibex's name.