Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

CATTLE

Together with sheep and goats, he- and she-asses, servants, camels, and tents, large cattle (bulls, oxen, cows) were always considered a measure of wealth (Gen. 12:16; 13:5). Cattle (Heb. bāqār) were first domesticated for their milk, meat, hide, bone, and dung, and only later did they become draft animals. Cattle do not produce fibers for spinning and weaving. During biblical times, cattle were raised primarily for traction and their milk and dung, and secondarily for meat, hide, and other by-products available only after the animals are killed. Once cattle are judged to be too old for work as draft animals, they may provide meat and other by-products.

Cattle are not given to wandering like sheep and goats; thus their presence in the zooarchaeological record usually indicates a more settled environment, that of an agrarian village or town. Cattle need more attention than other ruminants and do best under stable conditions. In pre-industrial Palestine three native types probably were very close to those extant in the biblical period. The most common and adapted breed is the small, furry Arab cow. It is very lean, with a brown to black or black-white body and poorly developed musculature and udders. It weighs ca. 260 kg. (575 lb.) and gives 400-700 l. (105-185 gal.) of milk per year during a four-five month period when the calf is present. The bulls and oxen may be twice as large as the cow. This is a working animal whose meat is of very poor quality. It is adapted to semi-arid conditions; like a goat, it is easily satisfied and fairly resistant to diseases.

The second breed is the Beirut cow, which is actually a better-bred form of the Arab cow. Its yellow-brown to brown body is larger and weighs 230-350 kg. (507-770 lb.). It yields 1500-2000 l. (395-530 gal.) per year during a period of seven-eight months when the calf is present. Selected cows may give up to 4000 l. (1055 gal.) of milk under favorable conditions. This breed is relatively resistant to diseases, but requires supplementary feed. Its predecessor may have been the cow used in the red heifer ritual (Num. 19:2).

The best milk-producing native cow is the Damascus cow, which is native to Syria and is identical in appearance to the Egyptian cow-goddess Hathor. This reddish to dark brown cow has a smooth hide and weighs 380-500 kg. (835-1100 lb.). It is raised only where water for growing feed is available. Its yield is 3000 l. (795 gal.) of milk per year during a period of seven-eight months when the calf is present. Good cows may produce as much as 5000 l. (1325 gal.). This breed is not fit for any work, requires good nutrition, and is not resistant to climatic changes and diseases. The reference to “the cows of Bashan” in Amos 4:1 is probably to this breed because they are big, fat, and do not work.

Large herds of cattle needed large tracts of land for grazing, as alluded to in the stories about the conflict between Abraham’s and Lot’s herds (Gen. 13) and Jacob’s family in the land of Goshen (Gen. 45:10; 47:6a). During the Israelite monarchy the king became owner of large herds of cattle. Under David, special overseers were appointed for the bāqār (1 Chr. 27:29). The cattle were probably used as track animals on royal lands, and for their by-products.

Young calves were considered a culinary delicacy and were prepared for special meals (Gen. 18:6-8). Calves, specially selected for fattening (ʿēgel-marbēq), were served on particular occasions (1 Sam. 28:24). Young calves were also considered choice animals for sacrifice (Lev. 9:2; 16:3; Num. 7).

The bull was the symbol of power and fertility. In several ancient Near Eastern cultures, the bull was the symbol of various gods, a fact which must have influenced Israelite iconography and was expressed verbally and iconographically (Exod. 32), as with the bronze bull statuette from the Bull Site in the hill-country of Samaria. Sometimes the Bible uses the bull as a symbol for Yahweh (Heb. ʾāḇîr; Gen. 49:24; Isa. 49:26; 1:24).

The female is mentioned significantly fewer times and mostly metaphorically (Gen. 41). Hos. 4:16 compares Israel to a stubborn cow, and Amos 4:1 ridicules northern Israelite women as “Bashan cows.” However, cows were harnessed for work (1 Sam. 6), and when the red heifer was selected, she was supposed to be “without blemish or defect, one which has never borne a yoke” (Num. 19:2).

See Sheep; Goat.

Bibliography. F. S. Bodenheimer, Animal Life in Palestine (Jerusalem, 1935).

Oded Borowski