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 to Abram he hath done good because of her, and he hath sheep and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and handmaids, and she-asses, and camels.
And also to Lot, who is going with Abram, there hath been sheep and oxen and tents;
And He saith unto him, 'Take for Me a heifer of three years, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, and a turtle-dove, and a young bird;'
And Abraham taketh sheep and oxen, and giveth to Abimelech, and they make, both of them, a covenant;
and he hath possession of a flock, and possession of a herd, and an abundant service; and the Philistines envy him,
Go, I pray thee, unto the flock, and take for me from thence two good kids of the goats, and I make them tasteful things for thy father, such as he hath loved;
And he goeth, and taketh, and bringeth to his mother, and his mother maketh tasteful things, such as his father hath loved;
and she giveth the tasteful things, and the bread which she hath made, into the hand of Jacob her son.
and he looketh, and lo, a well in the field, and lo, there three droves of a flock crouching by it, for from that well they water the droves, and the great stone is on the mouth of the well. (When thither have all the droves been gathered, and they have rolled the stone from off the mouth of the well, and have watered the flock, then they have turned back the stone on the mouth of the well to its place.)
He is yet speaking with them, and Rachel hath come with the flock which her father hath, for she is shepherdess;
she-goats two hundred, and he-goats twenty, ewes two hundred, and rams twenty,
And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood,
And to a priest of Midian are seven daughters, and they come and draw, and fill the troughs, to water the flock of their father,
'When a man doth steal an ox or sheep, and hath slaughtered it or sold it, five of the herd he doth repay for the ox, and four of the flock for the sheep.
if the theft is certainly found in his hand alive, whether ox, or ass, or sheep -- double he repayeth.
'When thou meetest thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou dost certainly turn it back to him;
And thou hast made curtains of goats' hair, for a tent over the tabernacle; thou dost make eleven curtains:
And he maketh curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains he hath made them;
And the prey, the residue of the spoil which the people of the host have spoiled, is of the flock six hundred thousand, and seventy thousand, and five thousand;
the land which Jehovah hath smitten before the company of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle.'
and thy herd and thy flock be multiplied, and silver and gold be multiplied to thee; and all that is thine be multiplied:
'When the place is far from thee which Jehovah thy God doth choose to put His name there, then thou hast sacrificed of thy herd and of thy flock which Jehovah hath given to thee, as I have commanded thee, and hast eaten within thy gates, of all the desire of thy soul;
this is the beast which ye do eat: ox, lamb of the sheep, or kid of the goats,
'Thou dost not see the ox of thy brother or his sheep driven away, and hast hidden thyself from them, thou dost certainly turn them back to thy brother;
Thou dost not see the ass of thy brother, or his ox, falling in the way, and hast hid thyself from them; thou dost certainly raise them up with him.
'Thou dost not muzzle an ox in its threshing.
and they devote all that is in the city, from man even unto woman, from young even unto aged, even unto ox, and sheep, and ass, by the mouth of the sword.
And after him hath been Shamgar son of Anath, and he smiteth the Philistines -- six hundred men -- with an ox-goad, and he saveth -- he also -- Israel.
And Gideon hath gone in, and prepareth a kid of the goats, and of an ephah of flour unleavened things; the flesh he hath put in a basket, and the broth he hath put in a pot, and he bringeth out unto Him, unto the place of the oak, and bringeth it nigh.
And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, 'Let us detain thee, we pray thee, and prepare before thee a kid of the goats.'
And Samuel saith unto Jesse, 'Are the young men finished?' and he saith, 'Yet hath been left the youngest; and lo, he delighteth himself among the flock;' and Samuel saith unto Jesse, 'Send and take him, for we do not turn round till his coming in hither.'
and David is going and returning from Saul, to feed the flock of his father at Beth-Lehem.
And David saith unto Saul, 'A shepherd hath thy servant been to his father among the sheep, and the lion hath come -- and the bear -- and hath taken away a sheep out of the drove,
and Michal taketh the teraphim, and layeth on the bed, and the mattress of goats' hair she hath put for his pillows, and covereth with a garment.
And the messengers come in, and lo, the teraphim are on the bed, and the mattress of goats' hair, for his pillows.
And there is a man in Maon, and his work is in Carmel; and the man is very great, and he hath three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he is shearing his flock in Carmel.
And David heareth in the wilderness that Nabal is shearing his flock,
and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, have brought nigh for David, and for the people who are with him to eat, for they said, 'Thy people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.'
And he goeth thence, and findeth Elisha son of Shaphat, and he is plowing; twelve yoke are before him, and he is with the twelfth; and Elijah passeth over unto him, and casteth his robe upon him,
And also those near unto them, unto Issachar, and Zebulun, and Naphtali, are bringing in bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen -- food of fine flour, fig-cakes and grape-cakes, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep, in abundance, for joy is in Israel.
and over the flock is Jaziz the Hagerite; all these are heads of the substance that king David hath.
and his substance is seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred pairs of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a service very abundant; and that man is greater than any of the sons of the east.
Gimel. Confer benefits on Thy servant, I live, and I keep Thy word.
Our oxen are carrying, there is no breach, And there is no outgoing, And there is no crying in our broad places.
All of us like sheep have wandered, Each to his own way we have turned, And Jehovah hath caused to meet on him, The punishment of us all.
And Sharon hath been for the habitation of a flock, And the valley of Achor for the lying down of a herd, For My people who have sought Me.
And the shameful thing hath devoured The labour of our fathers from our youth, Their flock and their herd, Their sons and their daughters.
For as a refractory heifer hath Israel turned aside, Now doth Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place.
Yea, the remnant of Jacob hath been among nations, In the midst of many peoples, As a lion among beasts of a forest, As a young lion among ranks of a flock, Which if it hath passed through, Hath both trodden down and hath torn, And there is no deliverer.
Rule Thou Thy people with Thy rod, The flock of Thine inheritance, Dwelling alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel, They enjoy Bashan and Gilead as in days of old.
Rule Thou Thy people with Thy rod, The flock of Thine inheritance, Dwelling alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel, They enjoy Bashan and Gilead as in days of old.
'Lo, I do send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, be ye therefore wise as the serpents, and simple as the doves.
What think ye? if a man may have an hundred sheep, and there may go astray one of them, doth he not -- having left the ninety-nine, having gone on the mountains -- seek that which is gone astray?
and the hireling, and not being a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, doth behold the wolf coming, and doth leave the sheep, and doth flee; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep;
and the hireling, and not being a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, doth behold the wolf coming, and doth leave the sheep, and doth flee; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep;
Hastings
The word commonly used in OT is miqneh, meaning primarily possessions or wealth
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And that year is finished, and they come in unto him on the second year, and say to him, 'We do not hide from my lord, that since the money hath been finished, and possession of the cattle is unto my lord, there hath not been left before my lord save our bodies, and our ground;
lo, the hand of Jehovah is on thy cattle which are in the field, on horses, on asses, on camels, on herd, and on flock -- a pestilence very grievous.
and his substance is seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred pairs of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a service very abundant; and that man is greater than any of the sons of the east.
And giveth to the caterpillar their increase, And their labour to the locust.
I got men-servants, and maid-servants, and sons of the house were to me; also, I had much substance -- herd and flock -- above all who had been 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 pass through all thy flock to-day to turn aside from thence every sheep speckled and spotted, and every brown sheep among the lambs, and speckled and spotted among the goats -- and it hath been my hire;
and the flocks conceive at the rods, and the flock beareth ring-streaked, speckled, and spotted ones. And the lambs hath Jacob parted, and he putteth the face of the flock towards the ring-streaked, also all the brown in the flock of Laban, and he setteth his own droves by themselves, and hath not set them near Laban's flock. read more. And it hath come to pass whenever the strong ones of the flock conceive, that Jacob set the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, to cause them to conceive by the rods, and when the flock is feeble, he doth not set them; and the feeble ones have been Laban's, and the strong ones Jacob's. And the man increaseth very exceedingly, and hath many flocks, and maid-servants, and men-servants, and camels, and asses.
'If he say thus: The speckled are thy hire, then bare all the flock speckled ones; and if he say thus: The ring-streaked are thy hire, then bare all the flock ring-streaked; and God taketh away the substance of your father, and doth give to me. read more. And it cometh to pass at the time of the flock conceiving, that I lift up mine eyes and see in a dream, and lo, the he-goats, which are going up on the flock, are ring-streaked, speckled, and grisled; and the messenger of God saith unto me in the dream, Jacob, and I say, Here am I. And He saith, Lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes, and see -- all the he-goats which are going up on the flock are ring-streaked, speckled, and grisled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to thee; I am the God of Bethel where thou hast anointed a standing pillar, where thou hast vowed a vow to me; now, arise, go out from this land, and turn back unto the land of thy birth.' And Rachel answereth -- Leah also -- and saith to him, 'Have we yet a portion and inheritance in the house of our father? have we not been reckoned strangers to him? for he hath sold us, and he also utterly consumeth our money; for all the wealth which God hath taken away from our father, it is ours, and our children's; and now, all that God hath said unto thee -- do.' And Jacob riseth, and lifteth up his sons and his wives on the camels, and leadeth all his cattle, and all his substance which he hath acquired, the cattle of his getting, which he hath acquired in Padan-Aram, to go unto Isaac his father, to the land of Canaan. And Laban hath gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stealeth the teraphim which her father hath; and Jacob deceiveth the heart of Laban the Aramaean, because he hath not declared to him that he is fleeing; and he fleeth, he and all that he hath, and riseth, and passeth over the River, and setteth his face toward the mount of Gilead. And it is told to Laban on the third day that Jacob hath fled, and he taketh his brethren with him, and pursueth after him a journey of seven days, and overtaketh him in the mount of Gilead. And God cometh in unto Laban the Aramaean in a dream of the night, and saith to him, 'Take heed to thyself lest thou speak with Jacob from good unto evil.' And Laban overtaketh Jacob; and Jacob hath fixed his tent in the mount; and Laban with his brethren have fixed theirs in the mount of Gilead. And Laban saith to Jacob, 'What hast thou done that thou dost deceive my heart, and lead away my daughters as captives of the sword? Why hast thou hidden thyself to flee, and deceivest me, and hast not declared to me, and I send thee away with joy and with songs, with tabret and with harp, and hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? -- now thou hast acted foolishly in doing so; my hand is to God to do evil with you, but the God of your father yesternight hath spoken unto me, saying, Take heed to thyself from speaking with Jacob from good unto evil. 'And now, thou hast certainly gone, because thou hast been very desirous for the house of thy father; why hast thou stolen my gods?' And Jacob answereth and saith to Laban, 'Because I was afraid, for I said, Lest thou take violently away thy daughters from me; with whomsoever thou findest thy gods -- he doth not live; before our brethren discern for thyself what is with me, and take to thyself:' and Jacob hath not known that Rachel hath stolen them. And Laban goeth into the tent of Jacob, and into the tent of Leah, and into the tent of the two handmaidens, and hath not found; and he goeth out from the tent of Leah, and goeth into the tent of Rachel. And Rachel hath taken the teraphim, and putteth them in the furniture of the camel, and sitteth upon them; and Laban feeleth all the tent, and hath not found; and she saith unto her father, 'Let it not be displeasing in the eyes of my lord that I am not able to rise at thy presence, for the way of women is on me;' and he searcheth, and hath not found the teraphim. And it is displeasing to Jacob, and he striveth with Laban; and Jacob answereth and saith to Laban, 'What is my transgression? what my sin, that thou hast burned after me? for thou hast felt all my vessels: what hast thou found of all the vessels of thy house? set here before my brethren, and thy brethren, and they decide between us both. These twenty years I am with thee: thy ewes and thy she-goats have not miscarried, and the rams of thy flock I have not eaten; the torn I have not brought in unto thee -- I, I repay it -- from my hand thou dost seek it; I have been deceived by day, and I have been deceived by night; I have been thus: in the day consumed me hath drought, and frost by night, and wander doth my sleep from mine eyes. This is to me twenty years in thy house: I have served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock; and thou changest my hire ten times; unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been for me, surely now empty thou hadst sent me away; mine affliction and the labour of my hands hath God seen, and reproveth yesternight.' And Laban answereth and saith unto Jacob, 'The daughters are my daughters, and the sons my sons, and the flock my flock, and all that thou art seeing is mine; and to my daughters -- what do I to these to-day, or to their sons whom they have born?
lo, the hand of Jehovah is on thy cattle which are in the field, on horses, on asses, on camels, on herd, and on flock -- a pestilence very grievous. 'And Jehovah hath separated between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, and there doth not die a thing of all the sons of Israel's; read more. and Jehovah setteth an appointed time, saying, To-morrow doth Jehovah do this thing in the land.' And Jehovah doth this thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt die, and of the cattle of the sons of Israel not one hath died; and Pharaoh sendeth, and lo, not even one of the cattle of Israel hath died, and the heart of Pharaoh is hard, and he hath not sent the people away. And Jehovah saith unto Moses and unto Aaron, 'Take to you the fulness of your hands of soot of a furnace, and Moses hath sprinkled it towards the heavens, before the eyes of Pharaoh, and it hath become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and it hath become on man and on cattle a boil breaking forth with blains, in all the land of Egypt.' And they take the soot of the furnace, and stand before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkleth it towards the heavens, and it is a boil with blains, breaking forth, on man and on beast; and the scribes have not been able to stand before Moses, because of the boil, for the boil hath been on the scribes, and on all the Egyptians. And Jehovah strengtheneth the heart of Pharaoh, and he hath not hearkened unto them, as Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses. And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Rise early in the morning, and station thyself before Pharaoh, and thou hast said unto him, Thus said Jehovah, God of the Hebrews, Send My people away, and they serve Me, for, at this time I am sending all My plagues unto thy heart, and on thy servants, and on thy people, so that thou knowest that there is none like Me in all the earth, for now I have put forth My hand, and I smite thee, and thy people, with pestilence, and thou art hidden from the earth. 'And yet for this I have caused thee to stand, so as to show thee My power, and for the sake of declaring My Name in all the earth; still thou art exalting thyself against My people -- so as not to send them away; lo, I am raining about this time to-morrow hail very grievous, such as hath not been in Egypt, even from the day of its being founded, even until now. And, now, send, strengthen thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field; every man and beast which is found in the field, and is not gathered into the house -- come down on them hath the hail, and they have died.' He who is fearing the word of Jehovah among the servants of Pharaoh hath caused his servants and his cattle to flee unto the houses; and he who hath not set his heart unto the word of Jehovah leaveth his servants and his cattle in the field.
I got men-servants, and maid-servants, and sons of the house were to me; also, I had much substance -- herd and flock -- above all who had been before me in Jerusalem.
And all the hills that with a mattock are kept in order, Thither cometh not the fear of brier and thorn, And it hath been for the sending forth of ox, And for the treading of sheep!'
Thou hast not brought in to Me, The lamb of thy burnt-offerings, And with thy sacrifices thou hast not honoured Me, I have not caused thee to serve with a present, Nor wearied thee with frankincense.
And you, My flock, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am judging between sheep and sheep, Between rams and he-goats. Is it a little thing for you -- the good pasture ye enjoy, And the remnant of your pasture ye tread down with your feet, And a depth of waters ye do drink, And the remainder with your feet ye trample, read more. And My flock the trodden thing of your feet consumeth, And the trampled thing of your feet drinketh? Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah to them: Lo, I -- even I, have judged between fat sheep and lean sheep. Because with side and with shoulder ye thrust away, And with your horns push all the diseased, Till ye have scattered them to the out-place, And I have given safety to My flock, And they are not any more for prey, And I have judged between sheep and sheep.
Smith
Cattle.
[BULL].
See Bull, Bullock