Ark of the Covenant - Bible History Online
Bible History

Naves Topical Bible Dictionary

heifer Summary and Overview

Bible Dictionaries at a GlanceBible Dictionaries at a Glance

heifer in 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; compare Heb. 9:13.

heifer in Smith's Bible Dictionary

#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. #Ho 10:11| but see Judg 14:18 when it ran about without any headstall, #De 26:4| hence the expression an "unbroken heifer," #Ho 4:16| Authorized Version "backsliding" to which Israel is compared.

heifer in Schaff's Bible Dictionary

HEIF'ER , Hos 10:11. The figurative allusions of the sacred writers to the wildness, sportiveness, and indocility of this animal, especially when well fed, are very striking. Jer 46:20; Jer 50:11; Hos 4:16. In Isa 15:5 allusion is probably made to the lowing of a heifer -- a mournful sound that can be heard at a great distance; so should the lamentation of the Moabites be in the day of their visitation. The heifer was used in sacrifice on a particular occasion, Num 19:1-10; comp. Heb 9:13-14, the manner and design of which are fully stated in the passage cited.

heifer in Fausset's Bible Dictionary

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 (Deuteronomy 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 (Hosea 10:11); in Hosea 4:16 translated "Israel is refractory (tossing off the yoke) as a refractory heifer." She had represented God under the calf form (1 Kings 12:28), but it is herself who is one, refractory and untamed (Amos 4:1). "Ye kine (cows, feminine, marking effeminacy) of Bashan," richly fed, effeminate, nobles of Israel; compare Amos 3:9-10; Amos 3:12; Amos 3:15. Jeremiah (Jeremiah 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 Jeremiah 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. Isaiah 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.