Reference: Heifer
American
Red heifers were to be offered in sacrifice for the national sins, in the impressive manner described in Nu 19:1-10, illustrating the true sacrifice for sin in the person of Christ, Heb 9:13-14. The well-fed heifer was a symbol of wanton wildness, Jer 46:20; 50:11; Ho 4:16.
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Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, "This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. read more. 'You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. 'Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 'Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. 'The priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet material and cast it into the midst of the burning heifer. 'The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening. 'The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 'Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin. 'The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the alien who sojourns among them.
"Egypt is a pretty heifer, But a horsefly is coming from the north--it is coming!
"Because you are glad, because you are jubilant, O you who pillage My heritage, Because you skip about like a threshing heifer And neigh like stallions,
Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Easton
Heb 'eglah, (De 21:4,6; Jer 46:20). Untrained to the yoke (Ho 10:11); giving milk (Isa 7:21); ploughing (Jg 14:18); treading out grain (Jer 50:11); unsubdued to the yoke an emblem of Judah (Isa 15:5; Jer 48:34).
Heb parah (Ge 41:2; Nu 19:2). Bearing the yoke (Ho 4:16); "heifers of Bashan" (Am 4:1), metaphorical for the voluptuous females of Samaria. The ordinance of sacrifice of the "red heifer" described in Nu 19:1-10; comp. Heb 9:13.
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And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.
Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, "This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed.
"This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. 'You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. read more. 'Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 'Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. 'The priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet material and cast it into the midst of the burning heifer. 'The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening. 'The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 'Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin. 'The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the alien who sojourns among them.
and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
"All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;
So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" And he said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have found out my riddle."
My heart cries out for Moab; His fugitives are as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah, For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping; Surely on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress over their ruin.
"Egypt is a pretty heifer, But a horsefly is coming from the north--it is coming!
"From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate.
"Because you are glad, because you are jubilant, O you who pillage My heritage, Because you skip about like a threshing heifer And neigh like stallions,
Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, "Bring now, that we may drink!"
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,
Fausets
eglah, parah. Used, not for plowing, but for the easier work of treading out grain. Cattle were not yoked together but trod it singly, or drew a threshing sledge over it, and were free to eat of it, being unmuzzled (De 25:4). An image of Israel's freedom and prosperity; but, saith God, "I passed over upon her fair neck," i.e. I will put the Assyrian yoke upon it (Ho 10:11); in Ho 4:16 translated "Israel is refractory (tossing off the yoke) as a refractory heifer." She had represented God under the calf form (1Ki 12:28), but it is herself who is one, refractory and untamed (Am 4:1). "Ye kine (cows, feminine, marking effeminacy) of Bashan," richly fed, effeminate, nobles of Israel; compare Am 3:9-10,12,15.
Jeremiah (Jer 46:20) says "Egypt is like a very fair heifer" appropriately, as Apis was worshipped there under the form of a fair bull with certain spots; in Jer 46:15 Septuagint and Vulgate read "thy valiant one," namely, Apis. As the gadfly attacks the heifer so "destruction cometh" on Egypt, namely, Nebuchadnezzar the destroyer or agitator sent by Jehovah; Vulgate translated suitably to the image of a heifer, "a goader," qerets. Harassing severely may be meant, rather than utter destruction. Isa 15:5, Moab's "fugitives shah flee unto Zoar," on the extreme boundary S. of the Dead Sea, raising their voices as "an heifer of three years old," i.e. one in full vigor but not yet brought under the yoke, just as Moab heretofore unsubdued is now about to be subjugated. Maurer translated "Eglath shehshijah" as "the third Eglath", to distinguish it from two others of the name.
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"You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.
So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt."
My heart cries out for Moab; His fugitives are as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah, For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping; Surely on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress over their ruin.
"Why have your mighty ones become prostrate? They do not stand because the LORD has thrust them down.
"Egypt is a pretty heifer, But a horsefly is coming from the north--it is coming!
Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.
Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt and say, "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria and see the great tumults within her and the oppressions in her midst. "But they do not know how to do what is right," declares the LORD, "these who hoard up violence and devastation in their citadels."
Thus says the LORD, "Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion's mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear, So will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be snatched away-- With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!
"I will also smite the winter house together with the summer house; The houses of ivory will also perish And the great houses will come to an end," Declares the LORD.
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, "Bring now, that we may drink!"
Hastings
The heifer was used in agriculture (Jg 14:18; Jer 50:11; Ho 10:11), and in religious ritual (Ge 15:9; 1Sa 16:2; Nu 19:2 f. etc.). Israel is compared to a heifer in Ho 4:16, and so is Egypt in Jer 46:20, and Chald
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So He said to him, "Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
"This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed.
So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" And he said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have found out my riddle."
"Egypt is a pretty heifer, But a horsefly is coming from the north--it is coming!
"Because you are glad, because you are jubilant, O you who pillage My heritage, Because you skip about like a threshing heifer And neigh like stallions,
"Because you are glad, because you are jubilant, O you who pillage My heritage, Because you skip about like a threshing heifer And neigh like stallions,
Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.
Morish
A young cow, which is several times alluded to as 'three years old,' as if that was the age when they began to be broken in for labour. Ge 15:9; Isa 15:5; Jer 48:34. They were not usually offered as sacrifices; but it was appointed that one should be slain when an unknown murder was discovered in a field, to put away the guilt of shedding innocent blood. De 21:1-9. Various symbolical references are made to the heifer. Samson called his wife a heifer with which others had ploughed to discover his riddle. Jg 14:18. Egypt was like a 'very fair heifer;' and Israel was a 'backsliding or untractable heifer,' though it had been taught and loved to tread out the corn. Jer 46:20; 50:11; Ho 4:16; 10:11.
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So He said to him, "Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
"If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one. read more. "It shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, that is, the elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke; and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley. "Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; and every dispute and every assault shall be settled by them. "All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; and they shall answer and say, 'Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 'Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O LORD, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.' And the bloodguiltiness shall be forgiven them. "So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" And he said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have found out my riddle."
My heart cries out for Moab; His fugitives are as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah, For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping; Surely on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress over their ruin.
"Egypt is a pretty heifer, But a horsefly is coming from the north--it is coming!
"From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate.
"Because you are glad, because you are jubilant, O you who pillage My heritage, Because you skip about like a threshing heifer And neigh like stallions,
Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.
Smith
Heifer.
1Sa 6:7-12; Job 21:10; Isa 7:21
The heifer or young cow was not commonly used for ploughing, but only for treading out the corn.
but see Judg 14:18 when it ran about without any headstall,
De 26:4
hence the expression an "unbroken heifer,"
Authorized Version "backsliding" to which Israel is compared.
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"Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.
So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" And he said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have found out my riddle."
"Now therefore, take and prepare a new cart and two milch cows on which there has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them. "Take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you return to Him as a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go. read more. "Watch, if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then He has done us this great evil But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance." Then the men did so, and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. They put the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors. And the cows took the straight way in the direction of Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
"His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not abort.
Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.
Watsons
HEIFER, a young cow, used in sacrifice at the temple, Nu 19:1-10. Moses and Aaron were instructed to deliver the divine command to the children of Israel that they should procure "a red heifer, without spot," that is, one that was entirely red, without one spot of any other colour; "free from blemish, and on which the yoke had never yet come," that is, which had never yet been employed in ploughing the ground or in any other work; for according to the common sense of all mankind, those animals which had been made to serve other uses, became unfit to be offered to God,
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Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, "This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. read more. 'You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. 'Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 'Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. 'The priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet material and cast it into the midst of the burning heifer. 'The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening. 'The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 'Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin. 'The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the alien who sojourns among them.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,