H8163 — שָׂעִיר (saiyr)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H8163
Original: שָׂעִיר
Transliteration: saiyr
Pronunciation: saw-eer
Part of Speech: Adjective / masculine noun
Root: שָׂעַר (saar, H8175) — to storm, shiver; root sense of bristling, being rough/shaggy
Occurrences: 57 unique verses (73 tokens) across 7 books
First Occurrence: Gen 27:11 — "And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H8175; shaggy; as noun, a he-goat; by analogy, a faun (hairy woodland creature): — devil, goat, hairy, kid, rough, satyr.

Also written שָׂעִר (sair). The base meaning is "hairy/shaggy." The nominal use denotes a male goat (the shaggy one). By extension, a shaggy demon-figure or satyr-like creature inhabiting desolate places.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
kid (of the goats)	21	36.8%
goat / the goat	18	31.6%
he goats	1	1.8%
hairy	2	3.5%
rough (goat)	1	1.8%
devils	2	3.5%
satyr(s)	2	3.5%
Other (particles/articles)	10	17.5%

The overwhelming majority of uses (70%+) denote a male goat in sacrificial contexts. The "devil/satyr" translations occur in only 4 verses (Lev 17:7; 2 Chr 11:15; Isa 13:21; 34:14).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Numbers	27	2.1
Leviticus	19	2.2
Genesis	3	0.2
Ezekiel	3	0.2
Isaiah	2	0.2
2 Chronicles	2	0.2
Daniel	1	0.3

Heavily concentrated in Leviticus-Numbers sacrificial legislation (46 of 57 verses = 81%). The Pentateuchal cultic context dominates. Isaiah uses the word exclusively in the "demonic creature" sense. Daniel uses it as a geopolitical symbol.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Sacrificial He-Goat — Sin Offering¶

The dominant usage. The saiyr is the prescribed male goat for sin offerings throughout the cultic calendar. - Lev 4:23 — "he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats for a sin offering" - Num 7:16 — "One kid of the goats for a sin offering" - Num 28:15 — "And one kid of the goats for a sin offering unto the LORD" - Num 29:5 — "And one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you"

2. Day of Atonement Goats (Yom Kippur)¶

The saiyr in Lev 16 carries the most theologically loaded usage — the two goats of the Day of Atonement, one sacrificed and one sent to Azazel. - Lev 16:5 — "he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering" - Lev 16:8 — "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat" - Lev 16:10 — "But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD" - Lev 16:21-22 — "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities... And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited"

3. Physical Description — Hairy/Shaggy¶

The adjectival root sense, used to describe Esau. - Gen 27:11 — "Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man" - Gen 27:23 — "his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands"

4. Demons / False Worship Objects¶

A distinct semantic shift: the shaggy goat-figure becomes an object of illicit worship — goat-demons or satyr-like beings. - Lev 17:7 — "they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring" - 2 Chr 11:15 — "he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made"

5. Wild Creatures of Desolation¶

In prophetic judgment oracles, saiyr denotes eerie creatures inhabiting ruins — translated "satyr" in KJV. - Isa 13:21 — "owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there" (Babylon's desolation) - Isa 34:14 — "the satyr shall cry to his fellow" (Edom's desolation)

6. Geopolitical Symbol¶

Dan 8:21 — "the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king"

7. Congregational Sin Offering (Festival Calendar)¶

The repetitive Numbers 29 cycle — one saiyr per festival day across Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles. - Num 29:11 — "One kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the sin offering of atonement" - Num 29:16 — "And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering" - Eze 45:23 — "seven days of the feast he shall prepare... a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אֶחָד (echad)	H259	29x (51%)	"one kid of the goats" — enumerating the single goat per offering
עֵז (ez)	H5795	28x (49%)	"kid of the goats" (saiyr + ez) — species-specifier construct
עֹלָה (olah)	H5930	16x (28%)	Sin offering alongside burnt offering in sacrificial lists
מִנְחָה (minchah)	H4503	11x (19%)	Grain offering accompanying the goat sin offering
נֶסֶךְ (necek)	H5262	11x (19%)	Drink offering in the complete offering formula
תָּמִיד (tamid)	H8548	10x (18%)	"beside the continual burnt offering" — daily tamid context
כָּפַר (kaphar)	H3722	7x (12%)	"to make an atonement for you" — purpose of the goat offering
פַּר (par)	H6499	8x (14%)	Bullock paired with goat in dual sin offerings
תָּמִים (tamim)	H8549	5x (9%)	"without blemish" — quality requirement for sacrificial goat
אַהֲרוֹן (Aharon)	H175	4x (7%)	Aaron as officiant in Lev 16 Day of Atonement

Word Family / Cognates¶

H8175 שָׂעַר (saar) — root verb: to storm, shiver, be horribly afraid; primitive root from which the adjective derives
H8181 שֵׂעָר (sear) — hair (as tossed or bristling); noun from same root sense of disheveling
H8166 שְׂעִירָה (seirah) — feminine form: a she-goat (2 occurrences: Lev 4:28; 5:6)
H8165 שֵׂעִיר (Seir) — proper noun: the region of Seir / Edom (Esau's territory — etymologically connected to "hairy")

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
עֵז (ez)	H5795	"goat," "kid"	ez = she-goat / generic goat; saiyr = specifically male goat (he-goat)
גְּדִי (gedi)	H1423	"kid"	gedi = a young goat (from browsing); saiyr = the shaggy adult male goat
צָפִיר (tsaphir)	H6842	"he goat"	tsaphir = male goat (from prancing); used only 6x; the Daniel 8 vision uses both tsaphir (vv. 5, 8) and saiyr (v. 21) for the same goat-kingdom
עַתּוּד (attud)	H6260	"he goat"	attud = mature/full-grown he-goat, often figurative for leaders; 29x
שֵׁד (shed)	H7700	"devil"	shed = demon proper (2x: Deut 32:17; Psa 106:37); saiyr = goat-demon or hairy creature of desolation

Antonyms¶

H2509 חָלָק (chalaq) — smooth; the direct antonym used in Gen 27:11 where Jacob contrasts himself as "smooth" against Esau the saiyr ("hairy") man

Semantic Domains¶

Domestic Animals — the primary domain; saiyr as livestock for sacrifice
Deities / Demonic Beings — the secondary domain; saiyr as object of illicit worship (Lev 17:7; 2 Chr 11:15) or desolation-creature (Isa 13:21; 34:14)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
ἁμαρτία (hamartia) G266	42	5.51	Reflects the construct "sin offering" — the LXX renders the whole phrase rather than the individual noun
εἷς (heis) G1520	30	4.14	"one" — from the formula "one kid of the goats"
θυσία (thysia) G2378	13	4.16	"sacrifice" — sacrificial context vocabulary
ἔριφος (eriphos) G2056	4	6.24	Actual lexical equivalent: "young goat" — highest PMI but low count
ἄμωμος (amomos) G299	6	5.07	"unblemished" — from "without blemish" qualification
χίμαρος (chimaros)	—	—	Classical LXX rendering of saiyr as "he-goat" in Lev 16 (not in Strong's system)

The LXX does not consistently translate saiyr with a single Greek word. The high co-occurrence with hamartia G266 reflects the fixed phrase "sin offering" (chattaath) that accompanies saiyr in most verses, not a direct lexical mapping.