Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

HEIFER

A young cow (Heb. ʿeglâ, ʿeglaṯ bāqār), especially one which has not produced offspring. Heifers were used for milk (Isa. 7:21) and apparently for plowing (Deut. 21:3). Heifers were occasionally used for special sacrifices (Gen. 15:9; 1 Sam. 16:2) and were designated in the ritual for the purging of bloodguilt in case of a rural murder where the culprit remained unknown (Deut. 21:1-8).

Samson likened intrigue with his wife to having “plowed with my heifer” (Judg. 14:18). Jeremiah uses heifers as symbols of carefree Egypt and Babylon (Jer. 46:20; 50:11), and Hosea pictures Ephraim as a “trained heifer” (Hos. 10:11).

Of particular significance is the ritual for purifying a person defiled by contact with a corpse (Num. 19:1-22). A “red heifer” (Heb. pārâ, the usual word for “cow”) is slaughtered outside the camp and burned. The ashes are then mixed with spring water to produce the water of purification (Num. 19:17-19). The sacrifice is unique in that it was performed away from the altar of the sanctuary and, though the process was intended to remove impurity, individuals who contacted the cow, its ashes, or the water of purification were considered unclean (Num. 19:7-10, 21; cf. Midr. Rabbah, Num. Rab. 19:5-6). According to the Mishnah, the ashes were divided into three parts: one was kept on the rampart, one on the Mount of Olives, and one divided among the 24 courses of priests (m. Para 3:11). The water of purification was placed in a jar at the entrance to the temple court. According to m. Para 3:5, only seven (according to Rabbi Meir) or nine (according to the Sages) red heifers were actually burned, since after the destruction of the temple it was impossible to sacrifice more, but use of the ashes may have continued into the talmudic period. Some later traditions hold that the Messiah will prepare the last of the red heifers or otherwise emphasize an eschatological role for the sacrifice.

Daniel C. Browning, Jr.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

HEIFER

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)