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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And Yahweh spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying: This, is the statute of the law, which Yahweh hath commanded, saying, - Speak unto the sons of Israel - That they bring unto thee a red heifer, without defect wherein is no blemish, and whereupon hath come no yoke. read more. Then shall ye give her unto Eleazar the priest, and he shall take her forth unto the outside of the camp, and she shall be slain before him; and Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, - and shall sprinkle towards the front of the tent of meeting: of her blood, seven times; and the heifer shall be burned up before his eyes, - her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung shall be burned up. Then shall the priest take cedar-wood and hyssop and crimson, - and east lute the midst of the burning up of the heifer. And the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterwards come into the camp, - but the priest shall be unclean until the evening, And, he that burneth her, shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, - and be unclean until the evening, Then shall a man that is clean gather up the ashes of the heifer, and put them by, outside the camp, in a clean place, - so shall they be for the assembly of the sons of Israel to keep for water of separation it is a taking away of sin. Then shall he that gathered up the ashes wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening, - so shall it be for the sons of Israel and for the sojourner that sojourneth in your midst by a statute age-abiding.
A calf of great beauty, is Egypt: The gad-fly, out of the North, cometh - cometh.
Because they used to be glad Because they used to be uproarious When plundering mine inheritance, - Because they used to caper about as a heifer at grass, And bellow like bulls.
For, as a heifer that is stubborn, hath Israel, been stubborn, - Now, can Yahweh, turn them out to pasture, like a young ram in a wide place?
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the profaned, halloweth unto the purity of the flesh, How much rather shall the blood of the Christ, who through an age-abiding spirit offered himself unspotted unto God, purify our conscience from dead works, to the rendering of divine-service, unto a 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 river, were coming up seven heifers, comely in appearance and fat in flesh, - and they fed among the rushes.
And Yahweh spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying: This, is the statute of the law, which Yahweh hath commanded, saying, - Speak unto the sons of Israel - That they bring unto thee a red heifer, without defect wherein is no blemish, and whereupon hath come no yoke.
This, is the statute of the law, which Yahweh hath commanded, saying, - Speak unto the sons of Israel - That they bring unto thee a red heifer, without defect wherein is no blemish, and whereupon hath come no yoke. Then shall ye give her unto Eleazar the priest, and he shall take her forth unto the outside of the camp, and she shall be slain before him; read more. and Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, - and shall sprinkle towards the front of the tent of meeting: of her blood, seven times; and the heifer shall be burned up before his eyes, - her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung shall be burned up. Then shall the priest take cedar-wood and hyssop and crimson, - and east lute the midst of the burning up of the heifer. And the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterwards come into the camp, - but the priest shall be unclean until the evening, And, he that burneth her, shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, - and be unclean until the evening, Then shall a man that is clean gather up the ashes of the heifer, and put them by, outside the camp, in a clean place, - so shall they be for the assembly of the sons of Israel to keep for water of separation it is a taking away of sin. Then shall he that gathered up the ashes wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening, - so shall it be for the sons of Israel and for the sojourner that sojourneth in your midst by a statute age-abiding.
and the elders of that city shall take down the heifer into a ravine with an everflowing stream, which is neither tilled nor sown, - and shall behead there the heifer in the ravine.
and, all the elders of that city who are nearest unto the slain, shall bathe their hands over the heifer that hath boon beheaded in the ravine,
And the men of the city said to him, on the seventh day - ere yet the sun went in, What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them: If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle!
And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall keep alive a young cow and two sheep.
Mine own heart, for Moab continueth to make outcry, Her fugitive, as far as Zoar, is like a heifer of three years; For the accent of Luhith, with weeping, they ascend, For by the way of Horonaim - an outcry of destruction, they excite;
A calf of great beauty, is Egypt: The gad-fly, out of the North, cometh - cometh.
From the outcry of Heshbon, Even unto Elealeh Even unto Jahaz, have they given forth their voice, From Zoar even unto Horonaim, the third Eglath, - For, even the waters of Nimrim, to utter desolation, have been turned:
Because they used to be glad Because they used to be uproarious When plundering mine inheritance, - Because they used to caper about as a heifer at grass, And bellow like bulls.
For, as a heifer that is stubborn, hath Israel, been stubborn, - Now, can Yahweh, turn them out to pasture, like a young ram in a wide place?
But, Ephraim, shall be a heifer broken in, loving to tread out corn, when, I, have passed over upon her fair neck, - I will drive Ephraim, Judah, shall plow, Jacob, shall harrow to him.
Hear ye this word, ye heifers of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, - who say to their lords, Bring in, and let us drink!
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the profaned, halloweth unto the purity 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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Thou shalt not muzzle an ox when he is treading out the corn.
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, - and said unto them - It is, too much for you, to go up to Jerusalem, Lo! thy gods, O Israel, that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt;
Mine own heart, for Moab continueth to make outcry, Her fugitive, as far as Zoar, is like a heifer of three years; For the accent of Luhith, with weeping, they ascend, For by the way of Horonaim - an outcry of destruction, they excite;
Wherefore have thy valiant ones been laid prostrate? He hath made no stand, because, Yahweh, hath driven him back:
A calf of great beauty, is Egypt: The gad-fly, out of the North, cometh - cometh.
For, as a heifer that is stubborn, hath Israel, been stubborn, - Now, can Yahweh, turn them out to pasture, like a young ram in a wide place?
But, Ephraim, shall be a heifer broken in, loving to tread out corn, when, I, have passed over upon her fair neck, - I will drive Ephraim, Judah, shall plow, Jacob, shall harrow to him.
Announce it over the palaces in Ashdod, and over the palaces in the land of Egypt, - and say ye - Gather yourselves together upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold ye - the great disorders in the midst thereof, and the oppressed within her. Therefore do they not know how to do right, Declareth Yahweh, who are treasuring up violence and spoil in their palaces.
Thus, saith Yahweh, Just as a shepherd rescueth, out of the mouth of the lion, a couple of shankbones, or the tip of an ear, so, shall be rescued the sons of Israel, who are tarrying in Samaria, in the corner of the divan, and on the damask of the luxurious couch.
And I will smite the winter house along with the summer house, - and the houses of ivory, shall be destroyed! and the great houses, shall disappear, Declareth Yahweh.
Hear ye this word, ye heifers of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, - who say to their lords, Bring in, and let us 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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And he said unto him, Take for me a heifer three years old, and a she-goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a turtle-dove and a young pigeon.
This, is the statute of the law, which Yahweh hath commanded, saying, - Speak unto the sons of Israel - That they bring unto thee a red heifer, without defect wherein is no blemish, and whereupon hath come no yoke.
And the men of the city said to him, on the seventh day - ere yet the sun went in, What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them: If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle!
A calf of great beauty, is Egypt: The gad-fly, out of the North, cometh - cometh.
Because they used to be glad Because they used to be uproarious When plundering mine inheritance, - Because they used to caper about as a heifer at grass, And bellow like bulls.
Because they used to be glad Because they used to be uproarious When plundering mine inheritance, - Because they used to caper about as a heifer at grass, And bellow like bulls.
For, as a heifer that is stubborn, hath Israel, been stubborn, - Now, can Yahweh, turn them out to pasture, like a young ram in a wide place?
But, Ephraim, shall be a heifer broken in, loving to tread out corn, when, I, have passed over upon her fair neck, - I will drive Ephraim, Judah, shall plow, Jacob, shall harrow to him.
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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And he said unto him, Take for me a heifer three years old, and a she-goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a turtle-dove and a young pigeon.
When there shall be found one slain on the soil which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee to possess, lying prostrate in the field, - it not being known who smote him, then shall thine elders and thy judges go forth, - and measure unto the cities that are round about the slain; read more. and it shall be that the city that is nearest unto the slain, the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd which hath not been wrought with, which hath not drawn in a yoke; and the elders of that city shall take down the heifer into a ravine with an everflowing stream, which is neither tilled nor sown, - and shall behead there the heifer in the ravine. Then shall the priests the sons of Levi come near, for of them, hath Yahweh thy God made choice to wait upon him, and to bless in the name of Yahweh, - and at their bidding, shall be settled every controversy and every punishment; and, all the elders of that city who are nearest unto the slain, shall bathe their hands over the heifer that hath boon beheaded in the ravine, and shall respond, and say, - Our hands, shed not this blood, neither did, our eyes, see the deed . Be propitious unto thy people Israel whom thou hast redeemed, O Yahweh, and do not impute innocent blood in the midst of thy people Israel. So shall they obtain propitiation for the guilt of shedding blood. Thou, therefore shalt consume the guilt of shedding innocent blood out of thy midst, - when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of Yahweh.
And the men of the city said to him, on the seventh day - ere yet the sun went in, What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them: If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle!
Mine own heart, for Moab continueth to make outcry, Her fugitive, as far as Zoar, is like a heifer of three years; For the accent of Luhith, with weeping, they ascend, For by the way of Horonaim - an outcry of destruction, they excite;
A calf of great beauty, is Egypt: The gad-fly, out of the North, cometh - cometh.
From the outcry of Heshbon, Even unto Elealeh Even unto Jahaz, have they given forth their voice, From Zoar even unto Horonaim, the third Eglath, - For, even the waters of Nimrim, to utter desolation, have been turned:
Because they used to be glad Because they used to be uproarious When plundering mine inheritance, - Because they used to caper about as a heifer at grass, And bellow like bulls.
For, as a heifer that is stubborn, hath Israel, been stubborn, - Now, can Yahweh, turn them out to pasture, like a young ram in a wide place?
But, Ephraim, shall be a heifer broken in, loving to tread out corn, when, I, have passed over upon her fair neck, - I will drive Ephraim, Judah, shall plow, Jacob, shall harrow to him.
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 shall the priest take the basket out of thy hand, - and set it down before the altar of Yahweh thy God.
And the men of the city said to him, on the seventh day - ere yet the sun went in, What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them: If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle!
Now, therefore, take and get ready, one new waggon, and two milch kine, whereon hath never come yoke, - then shall ye fasten the kine in the waggon, and withdraw their calves from them, into the shed; and ye shall take the ark of Yahweh, and place it in the waggon, also, the jewels of gold which ye send back to him as a guilt-offering, shall ye put into a coffer, at the side thereof, - so shall ye let it go, and it shall depart. read more. Then shall ye look - if, by the way of its own boundary, it goeth up to Beth-shemesh, he, it was who caused us this great affliction, - but, if not, then shall we know that it was not, his hand, that smote us, a chance, it was, that befell us. The men, therefore, did so, and took two milch kine, and fastened them in the waggon, - but, their calves, shut they up in the shed. And they put the ark of Yahweh, into the waggon, - also the coffer, with the mice of gold, and the likenesses of their tumours. And the kine went straight along the road, on the way to Beth-shemesh, yea, along the main highway, they went, lowing as they went, turning not aside, to the right hand or to the left. And, the lords of the Philistines, went along after them, as far as the bounds of Beth-shemesh.
His bull, covereth, and causeth not aversion, His cow safely calveth, and casteth not her young;
And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall keep alive a young cow and two sheep.
For, as a heifer that is stubborn, hath Israel, been stubborn, - Now, can Yahweh, turn them out to pasture, like a young ram in a wide place?
But, Ephraim, shall be a heifer broken in, loving to tread out corn, when, I, have passed over upon her fair neck, - I will drive Ephraim, Judah, shall plow, Jacob, shall harrow to him.
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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And Yahweh spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying: This, is the statute of the law, which Yahweh hath commanded, saying, - Speak unto the sons of Israel - That they bring unto thee a red heifer, without defect wherein is no blemish, and whereupon hath come no yoke. read more. Then shall ye give her unto Eleazar the priest, and he shall take her forth unto the outside of the camp, and she shall be slain before him; and Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, - and shall sprinkle towards the front of the tent of meeting: of her blood, seven times; and the heifer shall be burned up before his eyes, - her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung shall be burned up. Then shall the priest take cedar-wood and hyssop and crimson, - and east lute the midst of the burning up of the heifer. And the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterwards come into the camp, - but the priest shall be unclean until the evening, And, he that burneth her, shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, - and be unclean until the evening, Then shall a man that is clean gather up the ashes of the heifer, and put them by, outside the camp, in a clean place, - so shall they be for the assembly of the sons of Israel to keep for water of separation it is a taking away of sin. Then shall he that gathered up the ashes wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening, - so shall it be for the sons of Israel and for the sojourner that sojourneth in your midst by a statute age-abiding.
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the profaned, halloweth unto the purity of the flesh,