The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.
The high hills (are) a refuse for the wild goats, (and) the rocks for the conies. This verse is the transition clause to the second half of the psalm. "The high hills" stand in contrast to "the hills" in general (Psalms 104:13), and is parallel to "the rocks." On "the conies," cf. Proverbs 30:26. It is mentioned also in Leviticus 2:5, and Deuteronomy 14:7. The Hebrew [shaapan, from a root 'to hide:' so the South Arabic name of it, thofun] answers, according to Walter Drake (Smith's, 'Dictionary of the Bible'), to the Hyrax Syriacus, a gregarious animal of the pachydermatous kind-gray or brown on the back, and white on the belly; scarcely the size of a cat, having long hair, short tail, and round ears. It is very common on the ridges of Lebanon. Bochart understands it of mountain mice of a larger kind, like the marmot.