The word thus translated is Ajail (it occurs in;; ), and differs only by the feminine termination from that rendered 'hind' in many other passages of Scripture. There is, upon the whole, no reason to doubt that the male and female of a species of deer are really intended by these words. It is indeed true that the existence of animals of the deer kind in Asia has been denied, and Cuvier for some time doubted whether any could be found in Africa. Yet, although never abundant where water is scarce, the existence of deer from Morocco and the Nile has now been satisfactorily established, and there are traces of their presence in Syria, where they were probably more numerous formerly than at present. The Cervus Barbatus, or Barbary Stag, is the African species; and an individual of this species was obtained by a friend of the writer in the region east of the Jordan. This species is in size between our red and fallow deer, distinguished by the want of a bis-antler, or second branch in the horns reckoned from below, and for a spotted livery which is effaced only in the third or fourth year. There is also in Asia the Persian stag, or Maral of the Tartar natives, and Gewaze of the Armenians. This is larger than the stag of Europe, has a heavy mane, and is, like the former, destitute of bis-antlers. This species seems, under the name of Söegur, to extend its habitat to the northern frontier of Syria and Palestine; but taking all circumstances into account, it seems less probable that this should be the 'hart' of Scripture than the Cervus Barbatus.
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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