Reference: Cattle
Easton
abounded in the Holy Land. To the rearing and management of them the inhabitants chiefly devoted themselves (De 8:13; 12:21; 1Sa 11:5; 12:3; Ps 144:14; Jer 3:24). They may be classified as,
(1.) Neat cattle. Many hundreds of these were yearly consumed in sacrifices or used for food. The finest herds were found in Bashan, beyond Jordan (Nu 32:4). Large herds also pastured on the wide fertile plains of Sharon. They were yoked to the plough (1Ki 19:19), and were employed for carrying burdens (1Ch 12:40). They were driven with a pointed rod (Jg 3:31) or goad (q.v.).
According to the Mosaic law, the mouths of cattle employed for the threshing-floor were not to be muzzled, so as to prevent them from eating of the provender over which they trampled (De 25:4). Whosoever stole and sold or slaughtered an ox must give five in satisfaction (Ex 22:1); but if it was found alive in the possession of him who stole it, he was required to make double restitution only (Ex 22:4). If an ox went astray, whoever found it was required to bring it back to its owner (Ex 23:4; De 22:1,4).
(2.) Small cattle. Next to herds of neat cattle, sheep formed the most important of the possessions of the inhabitants of Palestine (Ge 12:16; 13:5; 26:14; 21:27; 29:2-3). They are frequently mentioned among the booty taken in war (Nu 31:32; Jos 6:21; 1Sa 14:32; 15:3). There were many who were owners of large flocks (1Sa 25:2; 2Sa 12:2, comp. Job 1:3). Kings also had shepherds "over their flocks" (1Ch 27:31), from which they derived a large portion of their revenue (2Sa 17:29; 1Ch 12:40). The districts most famous for their flocks of sheep were the plain of Sharon (Isa 65:10), Mount Carmel (Mic 7:14), Bashan and Gilead (Mic 7:14). In patriarchal times the flocks of sheep were sometimes tended by the daughters of the owners. Thus Rachel, the daughter of Laban, kept her father's sheep (Ge 29:9); as also Zipporah and her six sisters had charge of their father Jethro's flocks (Ex 2:16). Sometimes they were kept by hired shepherds (Joh 10:12), and sometimes by the sons of the family (1Sa 16:11; 17:15). The keepers so familiarized their sheep with their voices that they knew them, and followed them at their call. Sheep, but more especially rams and lambs, were frequently offered in sacrifice. The shearing of sheep was a great festive occasion (1Sa 25:4; 2Sa 13:23). They were folded at night, and guarded by their keepers against the attacks of the lion (Mic 5:8), the bear (1Sa 17:34), and the wolf (Mt 10:16; Joh 10:12). They were liable to wander over the wide pastures and go astray (Ps 119:176; Isa 53:6; Ho 4:16; Mt 18:12).
Goats also formed a part of the pastoral wealth of Palestine (Ge 15:9; 32:14; 37:31). They were used both for sacrifice and for food (De 14:4), especially the young males (Ge 27:9,14,17; Jg 6:19; 13:15; 1Sa 16:20). Goat's hair was used for making tent cloth (Ex 26:7; 36:14), and for mattresses and bedding (1Sa 19:13,16). (See Goat.)
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And he treated Abram well for her sake. And he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and male servants, and maidservants, and she-asses, and camels.
And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
And He said to him, Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and both of them made a covenant.
And he had possession of flocks and possession of herds, and many servants. And the Philistines envied him.
Go now to the flock, and bring me from there two good kids of the goats. And I will make them delicious things for your father, such as he loves.
And he went. And he took them and brought to his mother. And his mother made delicious things such as his father loved.
And she gave the delicious things and the bread which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.
And he looked, and behold, a well was in the field! And, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it, for they watered the flocks out of that well. And a great stone was upon the well's mouth. And all the flocks were gathered there. And they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in its place.
While he still spoke with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she kept them.
two hundred she-goats, twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
And they took Joseph's tunic, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.
And the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it or sell it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
If the theft is certainly found in his hand alive, whether it is an ox, or an ass, or a sheep, he shall restore double.
If you meet your enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.
And you shall make curtains of goats' hair to be a tent over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains.
And he made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle. He made eleven curtains.
And the prize, the rest of the spoil which the men of war had captured, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,
the land which Jehovah struck before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and your servants have cattle.
and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied,
If the place which Jehovah your God has chosen to put His name there is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock which Jehovah has given you, as I have commanded you, and you shall eat in your gates whatever your soul desires.
These are the animals which you shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,
You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep go astray and hide yourself from them. You shall surely bring them again to your brother.
You shall not see your brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide yourself from them. You shall surely help him to lift it up again.
You shall not muzzle an ox when he treads out the grain.
And they completely destroyed all in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.
And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad. And he also delivered Israel.
And Gideon went in and made ready a kid and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour. He put the flesh in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to Him to the oak, and offered it.
And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, I pray You, let us keep You until we have made a kid ready for You.
And Samuel said to Jesse, Are all the young men here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he keeps the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.
And David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.
And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with a cloth.
And the messengers came in, and behold, the image was in the bed with a pillow of goats' hair at its head.
And a certain man was in Maon, and his work was in Carmel. And the man was very great, and had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
and honey and butter and sheep and cheese from cows, for David and for the people with him to eat. For they said, The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.
And he left there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, and he was plowing; twelve pairs of oxen were before him, and he was with the twelfth. And Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him.
And also those who were near them, even to Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen. And they brought food, meal, cakes of figs and bunches of raisins, and wine and oil, and oxen and sheep abundantly. For there was joy in Israel.
And over the flocks was Jaziz the son of Hagar. All these were the rulers of the substance which was King David's.
And his possessions were seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
GIMEL: Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your Word.
and our oxen may be loaded; there is no breaking in nor going out and no crying in our streets.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, each one to his own way; and Jehovah has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
And Sharon will be a fold of flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting-place of herds for My people who have sought Me.
For shame has eaten up the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
For Israel slides back like a backsliding heifer. Now Jehovah will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goes through, both tramples and tears in pieces. And there is none to snatch back.
Feed your people with your rod, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in the woods, in the midst of Carmel; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
Feed your people with your rod, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in the woods, in the midst of Carmel; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.
What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, does he not leave the ninety and nine and go into the mountains and seek the straying one?
But he who is a hireling and not the shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away. And the wolf catches them and scatters the sheep.
But he who is a hireling and not the shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away. And the wolf catches them and scatters the sheep.
Hastings
The word commonly used in OT is miqneh, meaning primarily possessions or wealth
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When that year was ended, they came to him the second year and said, We will not hide it from my lord, that our silver has failed, also our herds of cattle, going to my lord. Nothing is left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies and our lands.
behold, the hand of Jehovah is upon your cattle in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep, a very grievous plague.
And his possessions were seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
He also gave their crops to the stripping locust, and their labor to the locust.
I bought slaves and slave women, and sons of the house were mine; also livestock, a herd and a great flock were mine, above all that were before me in Jerusalem.
Morish
Various Hebrew words are used in reference to the cow and the ox as 'cattle.' The word miqneh, however, often used for 'cattle,' signifies 'possession,' because the principal property of nomadic tribes consisted of their cattle: the word includes also sheep and goats, but not horses and asses. Ex 9:3-21, etc. Another word, tson, signifies small cattle, that is, sheep and goats. Ge 30:39-43; 31:8-43; Ec 2:7. seh has the same meaning, Ge 30:32; Eze 34:17-22: in Isa 7:25 it is translated 'lesser cattle,' and in Isa 43:23 'small cattle.'
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I will pass through all the flocks today, taking out all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all of the black sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and the speckled among the goats. And these shall be my hire.
And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth striped cattle, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped, and all the black in the flock of Laban. And he put his own flocks by themselves, and did not put them with the flock of Laban. read more. And it happened when the stronger flocks conceived, Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flocks in the troughs, so that they might conceive among the rods. But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in. And usually it came to be, the weak ones were Laban's and the stronger ones Jacob's. And the man increased exceedingly, and had many flocks, and maidservants, and male servants, and camels, and asses.
If he said this, The speckled shall be your wages, then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said this, The striped shall be your hire, then all the flocks bore striped. And God has taken away the flocks of your father, and has given them to me. read more. And at the time the cattle conceived, I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were striped, speckled, and mottled. And the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, Jacob! And I said, Here I am. And He said, Lift up your eyes and see all the rams which leap upon the cattle, that they are striped, speckled, and mottled. For I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar, where you vowed a vow to Me. Now arise, get out from this land, and return to the land of your kindred. And Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not counted strangers by him? For he has sold us, and has also entirely devoured our silver. For all the riches which God has taken from our father, that is for us and for our sons. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do. Then Jacob rose up and set his sons and wives upon camels. And he drove away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his property, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, in order to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. And Laban went to shear his sheep. And Rachel had stolen the images which were her father's. And Jacob deceived the heart of Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he fled. And he fled with all that was his. And he rose up and passed over the river, and set his face toward Mount Gilead. It was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled. And he took his brothers with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey. And they overtook him in Mount Gilead. And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, Take heed that you do not speak either good or bad to Jacob. Then Laban overtook Jacob. And Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount. And Laban with his brothers pitched in Mount Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, What have you done, that you have deceived my heart and carried away my daughters as captives taken with the sword? Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret and with harp? And why have you not allowed me to kiss my sons and my daughters? You have done foolishly in so doing. It is in the power of my hand to do you harm. But the God of your fathers spoke to me last night, saying, Take heed that you do not speak either good or bad to Jacob. And now you have gone because you longed after your father's house. Why have you stolen my gods? And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid, for I said, Perhaps you would take your daughters away from me by force. With whomever you find your gods, let him not live. Before our brothers, choose what is yours with me, and take it to you. For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tents of the two slave women, and he did not find. And he went out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent. And Rachel had taken the images and put them into the camel's saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all the tent, but did not find them. But she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before you. For the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but did not find the images. And Jacob was angry, and rebuked Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued after me? For you have searched all my stuff; what have you found of all your household stuff? Set it here before my brothers and your brothers, that they may judge between us both. I was with you these twenty years. Your ewes and she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of your flock I have not eaten. That which was mangled I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it at my hand, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. I was there; in the day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night. And my sleep departed from my eyes. And I have been twenty years in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six for your flocks. And you have changed my wages ten times. Unless the God of my fathers, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac had been with me, surely you would have sent me away now empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night. And Laban answered and said to Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the sons my sons, and the flocks my flocks. All that you see is mine. And what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their sons which they have borne?
behold, the hand of Jehovah is upon your cattle in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep, a very grievous plague. And Jehovah shall separate between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt. And there shall nothing die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel. read more. And Jehovah appointed a set time, saying, Tomorrow Jehovah shall do this thing in the land. And Jehovah did that thing on the next day, and all the cattle of Egypt died. But of the cattle of the sons of Israel, not one died. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. And Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron, Take to yourselves handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with sores upon man and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses sprinkled it up toward the sky, and it became a boil breaking forth with sores upon man and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boil was upon the priests and upon all the Egyptians. And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, even as Jehovah had spoken to Moses. And Jehovah said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, So says Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. For I am going to send at this time all My plagues upon your heart, and upon your servants, and upon your people, so that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out My hand, that I may strike you and your people with plagues, and you shall be cut off from the earth. And for this I have made you stand, to make you see My power, to declare My name in all the land. Do you still exalt yourself against My people, that you will not let them go? Behold! Tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the foundation of it even until now! And now send out, gather your cattle, and all that you have in the field. Upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. He that feared the Word of Jehovah among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle to flee into the houses. And he that did not regard the Word of Jehovah left his servants and his cattle in the field.
I bought slaves and slave women, and sons of the house were mine; also livestock, a herd and a great flock were mine, above all that were before me in Jerusalem.
And all hills which were hoed with the hoe, you shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending out of the ox, and for the trampling of sheep.
You have not brought Me the lamb of your burnt offerings; nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with an offering, nor wearied you with incense.
And you, My flock, says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I judge between lamb and lamb, between rams and he-goats. Is it a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pasture, but you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? And to have drunk of the clear waters, but you must foul the rest with your feet? read more. And My flock, they eat what your feet have trampled, and they drink what your feet have fouled. So the Lord Jehovah says this to them: Behold I Myself will even judge between the fat lamb and the lean lamb. Because you have thrust with side and with shoulder, and have pushed all the weak with your horns until you have scattered them to the outside, therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey. And I will judge between lamb and lamb.
Smith
Cattle.
[BULL].
See Bull, Bullock