'Flocks' in the Bible

But Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great (wealthy, powerful); He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys.

he owned flocks and herds and a great household [with a number of servants], and the Philistines envied him.

As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lying there [resting] beside it because the flocks were watered from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well [that covered and protected it] was large,

and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, water the sheep, and [afterward] replace the stone on the mouth of the well.

Jacob said, “Look, the sun is still high [overhead]; it is a long time before the flocks need to be gathered [in their folds for the night]. Water the sheep, and go, and return them to their pasture.”

But they said, “We cannot [leave] until all the flocks are gathered together, and the shepherds roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we will water the sheep.”

Then he set the branches which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated and conceived when they came to drink.

So the flocks mated and conceived by the branches, and the flocks gave birth to streaked, speckled, and spotted offspring.

Jacob separated the lambs, and [as he had done with the peeled branches] he made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the dark or black in the [new] flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart by themselves and did not put them [where they could breed] with Laban’s flock.

Thus God has taken away the flocks of your father and given them to me.

These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for [my share of] your flocks, and you have changed my wages ten times.

Laban answered Jacob, “These women [that you married] are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, these flocks are [from] my flocks, and all that you see [here] is mine. But what can I do today to these my daughters or to their children to whom they have given birth?

I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants; and I have sent [this message] to tell my lord, so that I may find grace and kindness in your sight.”’”

Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps;

But Jacob replied, “You know, my lord, that the children are frail and need gentle care, and the nursing flocks and herds [with young] are of concern to me; for if the men should drive them hard for a single day, all the flocks will die.

They took the Canaanites’ flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field;

For their [great flocks and herds and] possessions made it impossible for them to live together [in the same region]; the land in which they lived temporarily could not support them because of their livestock.

He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are pasturing our flocks.”

You shall live in the land of Goshen [the best pasture land of Egypt], and you shall be close to me—you and your children and your grandchildren, your flocks and your herds and all you have.

and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan, and they are in the land of Goshen.”

Moreover, they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live temporarily (sojourn) in the land [of Egypt], for there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants [in our land], for the famine is very severe in Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”

So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses and the flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year.

and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household. They left only their little ones and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen.

now hear this: the hand of the Lord will fall on your livestock which are out in the field, on the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks—a horrible plague shall come.

Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds [all of us and all that we have], for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”

Then Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only your flocks and your herds must be left behind. Even your children may go with you.”

Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and [ask your God to] bless me also.”

A mixed multitude [of non-Israelites from foreign nations] also went with them, along with both flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock.

No man is to come up with you, nor let any man be seen anywhere on the mountain; nor let flocks or herds feed in front of that mountain.”

Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be collected for them to be sufficient for them?”

The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their children; and all their cattle, all their livestock, and all their property they took as spoil [of war].

Levy a tax for the Lord from the warriors who went to battle, one in five hundred of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, and the flocks.

From the Israelites’ half [of the spoil] you shall take one out of every fifty of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, the flocks, and of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who are in charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.”

But the people of Reuben and Gad approached Moses and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our flocks and [walled] cities for our children,

Our children, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall be there in the cities of Gilead.

The cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their livestock.

and when your herds and flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have increases,

“Why [Reuben] did you linger among the sheepfolds,To hear the piping for the flocks?Among the divisions of ReubenThere were great searchings of heart.

He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves shall be his servants.

So David captured all the flocks and herds [which the enemy had], and [the people] drove those animals before him and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

“The rich man had a very large number of flocks and herds,

The sons of Israel were counted and given provisions, and they went to meet them. The Israelites camped before the enemy like two little flocks of goats [with everything against them, except God], and the Arameans filled the country.

So they journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.

These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and they attacked their tents and the Meunites (foreigners) who were found there, and utterly destroyed them to this day; and they settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.

Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks. All these were overseers and stewards of the property which belonged to King David.

Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat; the Arabians also brought him flocks: 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats.

Moreover, he made cities for himself and acquired an abundance of flocks and herds, for God gave him very many possessions.

as well as the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and flocks, to bring to the house of our God, for the priests who minister in the house of our God.

“Some remove the landmarks;They [violently] seize and pasture flocks [appropriating land and flocks openly].

The meadows are clothed with flocksAnd the valleys are covered with grain;They shout for joy and they sing.

He gave over their cattle also to the hailstones,And their flocks and herds to thunderbolts.

Be diligent to know the condition of your flocks,And pay attention to your herds;

I bought male and female slaves and had slaves born in my house. I also possessed herds and flocks larger than any who preceded me in Jerusalem.

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,Where do you pasture your flock,Where do you make it lie down at noon?For why should I be like one who is veiledBeside the flocks of your companions?”

(The Shulammite Bride)“My beloved is mine and I am his;He pastures his flock among the lilies.

“The cities of Aroer [east of the Jordan] are deserted;They will be [only a refuge] for flocks to lie down in,And there will be no one to make them afraid.

For the palace has been abandoned, the populated city deserted;The hill [of the city] and the watchtower have become caves [for wild animals] forever,A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

“All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you [as the eastern pastoral tribes join the trading tribes],The rams of Nebaioth will serve you;They will go up with acceptance [as sacrifices] on My altar,And I will glorify the house of My honor and splendor.

Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

“And [the plain of] Sharon will be a place for flocks to graze,And the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,For My people who seek Me [who long for Me and require My presence in their lives].

“But the shameful act [of idolatry] has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

“They will consume your harvest and [eat up] your bread;They will consume your sons and your daughters;They will consume your flocks and your herds;They will consume your vines and your fig trees.With the sword they will break down and demolish your fortified cities in which you trust.

“Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;They will pitch their tents all around her;They will pasture, each one in his place [eating up all her rich grasses].

For the shepherds [of the people] have become [like brutes,] irrational and stupid,And have not searched for the Lord or asked about Him or realized their need for Him;Therefore they have not been wise and have not prospered,And all their flocks are scattered.

And [the people of] Judah and all its cities will live there together—the farmer and they who wander about with flocks.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘There will again be in this desolate place—[a place] without man or animal—and in all its cities, pastures for shepherds who rest their flocks.

In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South (the Negev), in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.

“They (the Babylonians) will take away their tents and their flocks;They will carry off for themselvesTheir tent curtains, all their goods and their camels,And they will call out to one another, ‘Terror on every side!’

“Wander away from the midst of BabylonAnd go out of the land of the Chaldeans;Be like the male goats [who serve as leaders] at the head of the flocks.

I will make Rabbah [your chief city] a pasture for camels and [the cities of] the Ammonites a resting place for flocks [of sheep]. And you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”

Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the desolate cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know [with confident assurance] that I am the Lord.”’”

They will go with their flocks and with their herdsTo seek the Lord [diligently searching for Him], but they will not find Him;He has withdrawn from them [refusing to hear the prayers of the unrepentant].

How the animals groan!The herds of cattle are bewildered and wander aimlesslyBecause they have no pasture;Even the flocks of sheep suffer.

The remnant of JacobShall be among the nations,In the midst of many peoplesLike a lion among the beasts of the forest,Like a young lion [suddenly appearing] among the flocks of sheepWhich, if he passes through,Tramples down and tears into pieces [the nations in judgment],And there is no one to rescue.

So the [depopulated] seacoast shall be pastures,With [deserted] meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks.

The seacoast will belongTo the remnant of the house of Judah;They will pasture [their flocks] on it.In the [deserted] houses of Ashkelon [in Philistia] they [of Judah] will lie down and rest in the evening,For the Lord their God will care for them;And restore their fortune [permitting them to occupy the land].