Bull
Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and
casteth not her calf.
Read More
an'-te-lop (RV; the King James Version "wild ox," te'o (Dt
14:5), and "wild bull," to (Isa 51:20); orux (The Septuagint
in Codex Vaticanus has hos seutlion hemiephthon, literally,
"like a half-cooked beet-root"): The dorcas gazelle (Gazella
dorcas) is widely distributed in Syria, Israel and Arabia.
The recently discovered Merrill's gazelle (Gazella Merrilli)
inhabits the hilly country near Jerusalem and is not
commonly distinguished from the dorcas gazelle. Probably the
only other antelope within this range is the Arabian oryx
(Oryx beatrix). Tristram cites two African species (the
bubaline antelope, Bubalis mauretanica, and the addax, Addax
nasomaculatus) as existing in the Sinaitic peninsula,
southern Israel and Arabia, but he did not collect specimens
of either and was probably misled by statements of the Arabs
which in both cases really referred to the oryx. The only
naturalist who has ever penetrated into Northwest Arabia is
Mr. Douglas Carruthers, who went in 1909 on a collecting
expedition for the Syrian Protestant College at Beirut, his
object being to obtain the oryx and any other large
antelopes which might be found there. Through observation
and repeated inquiry he became convinced that neither the
addax nor the bubaline antelope is found in Arabia. Tristram
says the addax is called maha' and the bubaline antelope
baqar-ul-wachsh, both of which names are in fact used by the
Arabs for the oryx, which is also according to Doughty
called wadichah.
Tsebhi in the list of clean animals in Dt 14:5 (the King
James Version "roebuck"; the Revised Version (British and
American) "gazelle") is quite certainly gazelle, Arabic zabi
(which see), so it is quite possible that te'o may be the
oryx. It is noteworthy that it is rendered oryx (orux) in
the Septuagint. It must be borne in mind that re'm or re'em,
rendered "unicorn" (which see) in the King James Version and
"wild ox" in the Revised Version (British and American), may
perhaps also be the oryx. That the oryx should be called by
two names in the Bible need not be considered strange, in
view of the indefiniteness of Semitic ideas of natural
history, which is directly evidenced by the three names now
used for this animal by the Arabs.
The slightly different form [to'] (the King James Version
"wild bull"; the Revised Version (British and American)
"antelope") found in Isa 51:20 ("Thy sons have fainted, they
lie at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a
net") may quite as well refer to the oryx as to any other
animal. According to Gesenius the word is derived from the
verb ta'ah, "to outrun," which would be appropriate for this
or any antelope.
The accompanying illustration is from a photograph of a
well-grown female oryx in the zoological gardens at Cairo,
which is 35 inches high at the shoulder and whose horns are
21 inches long. An adult male measures 40 inches at the
shoulders, 59 inches from tip of nose to root of tail, and
the longest horns known measure 27 1/4 inches. The color is
pure white with dark brown or black markings. It is a
powerful animal and its horns may inflict dangerous wounds.
It inhabits the deserts of Arabia and its remarkably large
hoofs seem well adapted to traversing the sands. It feeds
upon grasses and upon certain succulent roots, and the
Bedouin declare that never drinks. Under its name of maha'
it is celebrated in Arabic poetry for the beauty of its
eyes. Compare the Homeric "ox-eyed goddess Hera" (Boopis
potnia Ere). Baqar-ul-wachsh, the name most commonly used by
the Bedouin, means "wild cow" or "wild ox," which is
identical with the translation of te'o in the King James
Version.
Alfred Ely Day
Read More
-Wild, caught in nets
Isa 51:20
-Blood of, in sacrifice
Heb 9:13; 10:4
Read More
terms used synonymously with ox, oxen, and properly a generic
name for horned cattle when a full age and fit for the plough.
It is variously rendered "bullock," Isa 65:25 "cow," Eze 4:15
"oxen," Ge 12:16 Kine is used in the Bible as the plural of
cow. In Isa 51:20 the "wild bull" ("wild ox" in De 14:5 ) was
possibly one of the larger species of antelope, and took its
name from its swiftness. Dr. Robinson mentions larger herds of
black and almost harmless buffaloes as still existing in
Israel, and these may be the animal indicated.
Read More
(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."
Read More
Used as synonymous with ox in the KJV. Baaqaar is the Hebrew
for horned cattle fit for the plow. Tor is one head of
horned cattle, akin to our steer. Egel, a calf, properly of
the first year; specially one offered in sacrifice. Hosea
14:2; "so shall we render the calves of our lips;" instead
of sacrifices of calves, which we cannot offer to Thee in
exile, we present the praises of our lips. The exile, by its
enforced cessation of sacrifices during Israel's separation
from the temple, the only lawful place of offering them,
prepared the people for the superseding of all sacrifices by
the one great antitypical sacrifice; henceforth "the
sacrifice of praise continually, the fruit of our lips," is
what God requires (Hebrews 13:15).
The abriym express "strong bulls" (Psalm 22:12;
Psalm 50:13; Psalm 68:30). Caesar describes wild bulls of
the Hercynian forest, strong and swift, almost as large as
elephants, and savage. The Assyrian remains depict similarly
the wild urns. The ancient forest round London was infested
with them. The wild bull (toh) in Isaiah 51:20, "thy sons
lie at the head of all the streets as a wild bull in a net,"
seems to be of the antelope kind, Antilope bubalis, the
"wild ox" of the Arabs; often depicted in Egyptian remains
as chased not for slaughter, but for capture, it being
easily domesticated.
Read More
Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the
streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of
the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.
Read More
Bull. - A symbol of fierce and relentless adversaries [Ps. xxi (Hebr., xxii), 13].
Read More