Bull

Bull - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

BULL, n.

1. The male of the Bos, or bovine genus of quadrupeds, of which cow is the female.

2. In a scriptural sense, an enemy,powerful, fierce and violent.

Many bulls have compassed me. Psalms.

3. Taurus, one of the twelve signs of the zodiac.

BULL, n. [L. bulla, a boss, and an ornament worn on a child's neck. This name was given to the seal which was appended to the edicts and briefs of the Pope,and in process of time, applied to the edict itself.]

1. A letter, edict or rescript of the Pope, published or transmitted to the churches over which he is head, containing some decree, order or decision. It is used chiefly in matters of justice or of grace. If the former, the lead or seal is hung by a hempen cord; if the latter,by a silken thread. The lead or bull is impressed on one side with the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul; on the other with the name of the Pope and the year of his pontificate. The writing is in the old, round Gothic letter; and the instrument has about it a cross with some text of scripture, or religious motto.

The Golden Bull, so called from its golden seal, is an edict or imperial constitution, made by the Emperor Charles V., containing the fundamental law of the German Empire.

Leaden Bulls were sent by the Emperors of Constantinople to patriarchs and princes; and by the grandees of the Empire of France, Sicily, _c., and by patriarchs and bishops.

Waxen bulls were in frequent use with the Greek Emperors, who thus sealed letters to their relations.

1. A blunder or contradiction.

BULL, a prefix, signifies a bull, or large, or having a large head.

BULL'-BAITING, n. [bull and bait.] The practice of baiting or exciting bulls with dogs.

BULL'-BEEF, n. [bull and beef.] The flesh of a bull; coarse beef.

BULL'-BEGGAR, n. [bull and beggar.] Something terrible, or frightful.

BULL'-CALF, n. [bull and calf.] A male calf; a stupid fellow.

BULL'-DOG, n. [bull and dog.] A species of dog of a particular form and of remarkable courage; so named probably from being employed in baiting bulls, or from the size of the head.

Bullock - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

(1.) The translation of a word which is a generic name for horned cattle (Isa. 65:25). It is also rendered "cow" (Ezek. 4:15), "ox" (Gen. 12:16).

(2.) The translation of a word always meaning an animal of the ox kind, without distinction of age or sex (Hos. 12:11). It is rendered "cow" (Num. 18:17) and "ox" (Lev. 17:3).

(3.) Another word is rendered in the same way (Jer. 31:18). It is also translated "calf" (Lev. 9:3; Micah 6:6). It is the same word used of the "molten calf" (Ex. 32:4, 8) and "the golden calf" (1 Kings 12:28).

(4.) In Judg. 6:25; Isa. 34:7, the Hebrew word is different. It is the customary word for bulls offered in sacrifice. In Hos. 14:2, the Authorized Version has "calves," the Revised Version "bullocks."

Bullock - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

BULL'OCK, n. An ox, or castrated bull. In America,it is applied to a full grown ox.

Calf - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

Calves were commonly made use of in sacrifices, and are therefore frequently mentioned in Scripture. The "fatted calf" was regarded as the choicest of animal food; it was frequently also offered as a special sacrifice (1 Sam. 28:24; Amos 6:4; Luke 15:23). The words used in Jer. 34:18, 19, "cut the calf in twain," allude to the custom of dividing a sacrifice into two parts, between which the parties ratifying a covenant passed (Gen. 15:9, 10, 17, 18). The sacrifice of the lips, i.e., priase, is called "the calves of our lips" (Hos. 14:2, R.V., "as bullocks the offering of our lips." Comp. Heb. 13:15; Ps. 116:7; Jer. 33:11).

The golden calf which Aaron made (Ex. 32:4) was probably a copy of the god Moloch rather than of the god Apis, the sacred ox or calf of Egypt. The Jews showed all through their history a tendency toward the Babylonian and Canaanitish idolatry rather than toward that of Egypt.

Ages after this, Jeroboam, king of Israel, set up two idol calves, one at Dan, and the other at Bethel, that he might thus prevent the ten tribes from resorting to Jerusalem for worship (1 Kings 12:28). These calves continued to be a snare to the people till the time of their captivity. The calf at Dan was carried away in the reign of Pekah by Tiglath-pileser, and that at Bethel ten years later, in the reign of Hoshea, by Shalmaneser (2 Kings 15:29; 17:33). This sin of Jeroboam is almost always mentioned along with his name (2 Kings 15:28 etc.).

Calf - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

CALF, n.

1. The young of the cow, or of the bovine genus of quadrupeds.

2. In contempt, a dolt; an ignorant, stupid person; a weak or cowardly man.

3. The thick fleshy part of the leg behind; so called from its protuberance.

4. The calves of the lips, in Hosea, signify the pure offerings of prayer, praise and thanks-giving.

Cattle - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

Abounded in the Holy Land. To the rearing and management of them the inhabitants chiefly devoted themselves (Deut. 8:13; 12:21; 1 Sam. 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 (Num. 32:4). Large herds also pastured on the wide fertile plains of Sharon. They were yoked to the plough (1 Kings 19:19), and were employed for carrying burdens (1 Chr. 12:40). They were driven with a pointed rod (Judg. 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 (Deut. 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 (22:4). If an ox went astray, whoever found it was required to bring it back to its owner (23:4; Deut. 22:1, 4). An ox and an ass could not be yoked together in the plough (Deut. 22:10).

(2.) Small cattle. Next to herds of neat cattle, sheep formed the most important of the possessions of the inhabitants of Palestine (Gen. 12:16; 13:5; 26:14; 21:27; 29:2, 3). They are frequently mentioned among the booty taken in war (Num. 31:32; Josh. 6:21; 1 Sam. 14:32; 15:3). There were many who were owners of large flocks (1 Sam. 25:2; 2 Sam. 12:2, comp. Job 1:3). Kings also had shepherds "over their flocks" (1 Chr. 27:31), from which they derived a large portion of their revenue (2 Sam. 17:29; 1 Chr. 12:40). The districts most famous for their flocks of sheep were the plain of Sharon (Isa. 65: 10), Mount Carmel (Micah 7:14), Bashan and Gilead (Micah 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 (Gen. 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 (John 10:12), and sometimes by the sons of the family (1 Sam. 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 (1 Sam. 25:4; 2 Sam. 13:23). They were folded at night, and guarded by their keepers against the attacks of the lion (Micah 5:8), the bear (1 Sam. 17:34), and the wolf (Matt. 10:16; John 10:12). They were liable to wander over the wide pastures and go astray (Ps. 119:176; Isa. 53:6; Hos. 4:16; Matt. 18:12).

Goats also formed a part of the pastoral wealth of Palestine (Gen. 15:9; 32:14; 37:31). They were used both for sacrifice and for food (Deut. 14:4), especially the young males (Gen. 27:9, 14, 17; Judg. 6:19; 13:15; 1 Sam. 16:20). Goat's hair was used for making tent cloth (Ex. 26:7; 36:14), and for mattresses and bedding (1 Sam. 19:13, 16). (See [104]GOAT.)

Cattle - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

CATTLE, n.

1. Beasts or quadrupeds in general, serving for tillage, or other labor, and for food to man. In its primary sense, the word includes camels, horses, asses, all the varieties of domesticated horned beasts or the bovine genus, sheep of all kinds and goats, and perhaps swine. In this general sense, it is constantly used in the scriptures. See Job 1:3. Hence it would appear that the word properly signifies possessions, goods. But whether from a word originally signifying a beast, for in early ages beasts constituted the chief part of a mans property, or from a root signifying to get or possess. This word is restricted to domestic beasts; but in England it includes horses, which it ordinarily does not, in the United States, at least not in New-England.

2. In the United States, cattle, in common usage, signifies only beasts of the bovine genus, oxen, bulls, cows and their young. In the laws respecting domestic beasts, horses, sheep, asses, mules and swine are distinguished from cattle, or neat cattle. Thus the law in Connecticut, requiring that all the owners of any cattle, sheep or swine, shall ear-mark or brand all their cattle, sheep and swine, does not extend to horses. Yet it is probable that a law, giving damages for a trespass committed by cattle breaking into an inclosure, would be adjudged to include horses.

In Great Britain, beasts are distinguished into black cattle, including bulls, oxen, cows and their young; and small cattle, including sheep of all kinds and goats.

3. In reproach, human beings are called cattle.

Cow - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

A cow and her calf were not to be killed on the same day (Lev. 22:28; Ex. 23:19; Deut. 22:6, 7). The reason for this enactment is not given. A state of great poverty is described in the words of Isa. 7:21-25, where, instead of possessing great resources, a man shall depend for the subsistence of himself and his family on what a single cow and two sheep could yield.

Cow - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

COW, n. plu. cows; old plu. kine. The female of the bovine genus of animals; a quadruped with cloven hoofs, whose milk furnishes an abundance of food and profit to the farmer.

Sea-cow, the Manatus, a species of the Trichechus. [See Sea-cow.]

COW, v.t. To depress with fear; to sink the spirits or courage; to oppress with habitual timidity.

Heifer - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

Heb. eglah, (Deut. 21:4, 6; Jer. 46:20). Untrained to the yoke (Hos. 10:11); giving milk (Isa. 7:21); ploughing (Judg. 14:18); treading out grain (Jer. 50:11); unsubdued to the yoke an emblem of Judah (Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:34).

Heb. parah (Gen. 41:2; Num. 19:2). Bearing the yoke (Hos. 4:16); "heifers of Bashan" (Amos 4:1), metaphorical for the voluptuous females of Samaria. The ordinance of sacrifice of the "red heifer" described in Num. 19:1-10; comp. Heb. 9:13.

Heifer - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

HEIF'ER, n. hef'er. A young cow.

Kine - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

(Heb. sing. parah, i.e., "fruitful"), mentioned in Pharaoh's dream (Gen. 41: 18). Here the word denotes "buffaloes," which fed on the reeds and sedge by the river's brink.

Kine - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

KINE, plu. of cow. But cows, the regular plural, is now in general use.

Ox - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

Heb. bakar, "cattle;" "neat cattle", (Gen. 12:16; 34:28; Job 1:3, 14; 42:12, etc.); not to be muzzled when treading the corn (Deut. 25:4). Referred to by our Lord in his reproof to the Pharisees (Luke 13:15; 14:5).

Ox - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

OX, n. plu. oxen. pron. ox'n.

The male of the bovine genus of quadrupeds, castrated and grown to his size or nearly so. The young male is called in America a steer. The same animal not castrated is called a bull. These distinctions are well established with us in regard to domestic animals of this genus. When we speak of wild animals of this kind, ox is sometimes applied both to the male and female, and in zoology, the same practice exists in regard to the domestic animals. Sop in common usage, a pair of bulls yoked may be sometimes called oxen. We never apply the name ox to the cow or female of the domestic kind. Oxen in the plural may comprehend both the male and female.

bool, bool'-ok.

See CATTLE.

kaf (`eghel; par, or par, often rendered "bullock"): The etymology of both words is uncertain, but the former has a close parallel in the Arabic `ijl, "calf." Par is generally used of animals for sacrifice, `eghel, in that and other senses. `Eghel is used of the golden calves and frequently in the expression, `eghel marbeq, "fatted calf," or "calf of the stall," the latter being the literal meaning (1Sa 28:24; Jer 46:21; Am 6:4; Mal 4:2).

At the present day beef is not highly esteemed by the people of the country, but mutton is much prized. In the houses of the peasantry it is common to see a young ram being literally stuffed with food, mulberry or other leaves being forced into its mouth by one of the women, who then works the sheep's jaw with one hand. The animal has a daily bath of cold water. The result is deliciously fat and tender mutton. Such an animal is called a ma`luf. From the same root we have ma`laf, "manger," suggestive of the Hebrew marbeq, "stall."

The calf for sacrifice was usually a male of a year old. Other references to calves are: "to skip like a calf" (Ps 29:6); "the calf and the young lion and the fatling together" (Isa 11:6); "a habitation deserted .... there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof" (Isa 27:10).

See CATTLE.

Alfred Ely Day

kat'-'-l (behemah, "a dumb beast"; miqneh, "a possession" from qanah, "to acquire" (compare Arabic qana', "to acquire," and Greek kienos, "beast," and plural ktenea, "flocks," from ktaomai, "to acquire," flocks being both with the Homeric peoples and with the patriarchs an important form of property; compare English "fee"); tso'n "small cattle," "sheep" or goats (compare Arabic da'n, "sheep"); seh, a single sheep or goat (compare Arabic shah); mela'khah, "property," from la'akh, "to minister" (compare Arabic malakah and mulk, "property," from malak, "to possess"); meri' "fatling" (1Ki 19); thremma (Joh 4:12), "cattle," i.e. "that which is nourished," from trepho, "to nourish"; baqar, "kine," "oxen" (compare Arabic baqar, "cattle"); shor, tor (Da 4:25), tauros (Mt 22:4), "ox" or "bull"; bous, "ox" (Lu 13:15); 'eleph, only in the plural, 'alaphim, "oxen" (Ps 8:7)): From the foregoing and by examination of the many references to "cattle," "kine" or "oxen" it is apparent that there are important points of contact in derivation and usage in the Hebrew, Greek and English terms. It is evident that neat cattle were possessed in abundance by the patriarchs and later Israelites, which is fax from being the case in Palestine at the present day. The Bedouin usually have no cattle. The fellachin in most parts of the country keep them in small numbers, mostly for plowing, and but little for milk or for slaughtering. Travelers in the Holy Land realize that goat's milk is in most places easier to obtain than cow's milk. The commonest cattle of the fellachin are a small black breed. In the vicinity of Damascus are many large, fine milch cattle which furnish the delicious milk and cream of the Damascus bazaars. For some reason, probably because they are not confined and highly fed, the bulls of Palestine are meek creatures as compared with their European or American fellows.

In English Versions of the Bible the word "cattle" is more often used in a wide sense to include sheep and goats than to denote merely neat cattle. In fact, baqar, which distinctively denotes neat cattle, is often rendered "herds," as tso'n, literally "sheep," is in a large number of instances translated "flocks." A good illustration is found in Ge 32:7: "Then Jacob .... divided the, people (`am) that were with him, and the flocks (tso'n), and the herds (baqar), and the camels (gemallim), into two companies (machanoth)." For the last word the King James Version has "drove" in Ge 33:8, the Revised Version (British and American) "company." Next to tso'n, the word most commonly rendered "flock" in English Versions of the Bible is `edher, from root "to arrange," "to set in order." `Edher is rendered "herd" in Pr 27:23, and in Joe 1:18 it occurs twice, being rendered "herds of cattle," `edhre baqar, and "flocks of sheep," `edhre ha-tso'n. Miqneh is rendered "flock" in Nu 32:26, "herd" in Ge 47:18, and "cattle" in a large number of passages. Other words rendered "flock" are: mar`ith (r. ra`ah (Arabic ra`a), "to pasture"), once in Jer 10:21; `ashteroth tso'n, "flocks of thy sheep," the Revised Version (British and American) "young of thy flock," in De 7:13, etc., `ashiaroth being plural of `ashtoreth, or Ashtoreth; chasiph, once in 1Ki 20:27: "The Children of Israel encamped before them (the Syrians) like two little flocks of kids," chasiph signifying "something stripped off or separated," from root chasaph, "to strip" or "to peel," like the Arabic qaTi`, "flock," from root qaTa`, "to cut off"; poimne (Mt 26:31): "The sheep of the flock shall be scattered," and (Lu 2:8): "keeping watch by night over their flock"; poimnion (Lu 12:32): "Fear not, little flock," and (1Pe 5:2): "Tend the flock of God which is among you." Figurative: Not only poimne and poimnion but also `edher and tso'n are used figuratively of God's people; e.g. Isa 40:11: "He will feed his flock (`edher) like a shepherd"; Zec 10:3: "Yahweh of hosts hath visited his flock ([`edher]), the house of Judah"; Isa 65:10: "And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks" (tso'n); Jer 23:2: "Ye have scattered my flock" (tso'n); Eze 34:22: "Therefore will I save my flock" (tso'n); Mic 7:14: "Feed .... the flock (tso'n) of thy heritage."

The wild ox or wild bull, the Revised Version (British and American) "antelope" (te'o or to' of De 14:5 and Isa 51:20), is considered by the writer to be probably the Arabian oryx, and in this he is in agreement with Tristram (NHB). Tristram however thinks that the unicorn (rem or re'em), the Revised Version (British and American) "wild ox," was the aurochs, while the present writer believes that this also may well have been the oryx, which at the present day has at least three names in Arabic, one of which, baqar-ul-wachsh, means "wild ox."

See ANTELOPE.

Our domestic cattle are believed by some of the best authorities to be of the same species as the ancient European wild ox or aurochs, Bos taurus, which is by others counted as a distinct species under the title of Bos primigeniusú The aurochs was widely spread over Europe in Roman times, but is now extinct. Some degenerate wild cattle are preserved in some British parks, but these according to Lydekker in the Royal Natural History are probably feral descendants of early domestic breeds. Tristram cites the occurrence in the Dog River bone breccia of teeth which may be those of the aurochs, but this is a deposit accumulated by prehistoric man of an unknown antiquity to be variously estimated according to the predilections of the geologist at a few thousands or a few score of thousands of years, and is far from proving that this animal existed in Palestine in Bible times or at any time.

The European bison (Bos or Bison bonassus) is thought by some to be the wild ox of the Bible. This is a forest-dwelling species and is now confined to the forests of Lithuania and the Caucasus. It was formerly more widely distributed, but there is no certain evidence that it ever lived as far South as Palestine, and there have probably never existed in Palestine forests suitable to be the haunts of this animal.

About the Sea of Tiberias and the Jordan valley and in the plain of Coele-Syria there exist today Indian buffaloes (Bos bubalus) some feral and some in a state of domestication, which are believed to have been introduced in comparatively recent times.

See BEAST; CALF.

Alfred Ely Day

kou, kin (baqar (compare Arabic baqar, "cow"); `eghlath baqar (Isa 7:21); parah (compare Arabic furar, "young of a sheep, goat, or cow"); paroth `aloth (1Sa 6:7,10), "milch kine," from `ul , "to suckle"; 'eleph): In Am 4:1, the term, "kine of Bashan," is applied to the voluptuous women of Samaria. In Ge 41:1-36 is the narration of Pharaoh's dream of the seven fat and seven lean kine. In Isaiah's vision (Isa 11:7) we have: "And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together." Cows do not seem to have been sacrificed. The sacrifice of the kine that brought the ark back from the Philistines (1Sa 6:14) was due to the exceptional circumstances.

See CALF; CATTLE.

Alfred Ely Day

hef'-er (parah, in Nu 19 (see following article) and Ho 4:16; `eghlah, elsewhere in the Old Testament; damalis, in Heb 9:13):For the "heifer of three years old" in the King James Version, the Revised Version margin of Isa 15:5; Jer 48:34, see EGLATH-SHELISHIYAH. A young cow (contrast BULLOCK). The `eghlah figures specifically in religious rites only in the ceremony of De 21:1-9 for the cleansing of the land, where an unexpiated murder had been committed. This was not a sacrificial rite--the priests are witnesses only, and the animal was slain by breaking the neck--but sacrificial purity was required for the heifer. Indeed, it is commonly supposed that the rite as it now stands is a rededication of one that formerly had been sacrificial. In the sacrifices proper the heifer could be used for a peace offering (Le 3:1), but was forbidden for the burnt (Le 1:3) or sin (Le 4:3,14) offerings. Hence, the sacrifice of 1Sa 16:2 was a peace offering. In Ge 15:9 the ceremony of the ratification of the covenant by God makes use of a heifer and a she-goat, but the reason for the use of the females is altogether obscure. Compare following article.

Figuratively: The heifer appears as representing sleekness combined with helplessness in Jer 46:20 (compare the comparison of the soldiers to `stalled calves' in the next verse). In Jer 50:11; Ho 10:11, the heifer is pictured as engaged in threshing. This was particularly light work, coupled with unusually abundant food (De 25:4), so that the threshing heifer served especially well for a picture of contentment. ("Wanton" in Jer 50:11, however, is an unfortunate translation in the Revised Version (British and American).) Hosea, in contrast, predicts that the "heifers" shall be set to the hard work of plowing and breaking the sods. In Jud 14:18, Samson uses "heifer" in his riddle to refer to his wife. This, however, was not meant to convey the impression of licentiousness that it gives the modern reader.

Burton Scott Easton

kin:

(1) 'alaphim, plural of 'eleph, "ox," or "cow," the American Standard Revised Version "cattle," the King James Version and the English Revised Version "kine" (De 7:13; 28:4,18,51);

(2) baqar, "ox" or "cow," the American Standard Revised Version "herd," the King James Version and the English Revised Version "kine" (De 32:14; 2Sa 17:29);

(3) paroth plural of parah, "young cow" or "heifer," the Revised Version (British and American) "kine" in Ge 41:2-27; 1Sa 6:7-14; Am 4:1; in Ge 32:15, the American Standard Revised Version has "cows."

See CATTLE; COW.

Definition

The terms “cow,” “bull,” “heifer,” “ox,” and “cattle” all refer to a kind of large, four-legged bovine animal that eats grass.

• The female of this kind of animal is called a “cow,” the male is a “bull,” and their offspring is a “calf.”
• In the Bible, cattle were among the “clean” animals that the people could eat and use for sacrifice. They were primarily raised for their meat and milk.

A “heifer” is an adult female cow that has not yet given birth to a calf.

An “ox” is a type of cattle that is specifically trained to do agricultural work. The plural of this term is “oxen.” Usually oxen are male and have been castrated.

• Throughout the Bible, oxen were depicted as animals tied together by a yoke to pull a cart or a plow.
• Having oxen work together under a yoke was such a common occurrence in the Bible that the phrase to “be under a yoke” became a metaphor for hard work and labor.
• A bull is also a male type of cattle, but it has not been castrated and has not been trained as a work animal.

(See also: How to Translate Unknowns)

(See also: yoke)

Bible References

• Genesis 15:9-11
• Exodus 24:5-6
• Numbers 19:1-2
• Deuteronomy 21:3-4
• 1 Samuel 1:24-25
• 1 Samuel 15:3
• 1 Samuel 16:2-3
• 1 Kings 1:9
• 2 Chronicles 11:15
• 2 Chronicles 15:10-11
• Matthew 22:4
• Luke 13:15
• Luke 14:5
• Hebrews 9:13

Word Data

• Strong’s: H0047, H0441, H0504, H0929, H1165, H1241, H4399, H4735, H4806, H5695, H5697, H6499, H6510, H6629, H7214, H7716, H7794, H7921, H8377, H8450, G10160, G11510, G23530, G29340, G34470, G34480, G41650, G50220