צְבִי, desirable thing, beauty. Tanḥ. Mishp. 17 (ref. to Jer. III, 19) נחלת צבי … ארץ שנתאוו וכ׳ ‘an inheritance of choice’ …, a land which the kings of the world coveted. Num. R. s. 23 (ref. to Ez. XX, 6, a. Jer. l. c.) חביבה עלי ארץ וכ׳ the land of Israel is more precious to me than &c.—Pl. צְבִיּוֹת. Yalk. Cant. 988 צְבִיּוֹתֵיהֶן, v. infra.
צְבִי, deer, gazelle. Keth. 112ᵃ (ref. to Jer. l. c.) א"י נמשלה לצ׳ מה צ׳ וכ׳ the land of Israel is compared to a deer, as the skin of a deer (when once taken off) cannot again cover its body, so cannot Palestine contain its fruits; Gitt. 57ᵃ, v. חָזַק; Tanḥ. l. c.; a. e.—Tosef. Sabb. VII (VIII), 13 פסק צ׳ את הדרך וכ׳ a deer cut the way off before me (a superstitious omen); Snh. 65ᵇ צ׳ הפסיקו בדרך a deer cut him (me) off &c.—Y. Gitt. II, 44ᵇ bot.; Tosef. ib. II, 4 כתבו על קרן של צ׳ וכ׳ if he wrote a letter of divorce on the horn of a deer, and cut it off and gave it to her. Keth. XIII, 2 הניח מעותיו על קרן הצ׳ he has put his money on a deer’s horn, i.e. he cannot reclaim the unauthorized expense; a. fr.—Pl. צְבָאִים, צְבָאִין, צְבָיִים. Sabb. 128ᵃ; Tosef. ib. XIV (XV), 8; Y. ib. XVIII, 16ᶜ, v. חֲצָב II. Gen. R. s. 31; a. fr.—Fem. צְבִיָּה, צְבִיָּיה. Ḥull. 79ᵇ, sq. Yalk. Cant. 988 למה … כצ׳ שרבתה צביותיהן וכ׳ why is Jochebed likened to a hind? Because she reared the beauties of Israel (Moses and Aaron); a. e.
