5697. eglah

Lexical Summary

eglah: Heifer

Original Word: עֶגְלָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: `eglah
Pronunciation: ehg-LAH
Phonetic Spelling: (eg-law')
KJV: calf, cow, heifer
NASB: heifer, calf, heifer's
Word Origin: [feminine of H5695 (עֵגֶל - calf)]

1. a (female) calf, especially one nearly grown (i.e. a heifer)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

calf, cow, heifer

Feminine of egel; a (female) calf, especially one nearly grown (i.e. A heifer) -- calf, cow, heifer.

see HEBREW egel

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
fem. of egel
Definition
a heifer
NASB Translation
calf (1), heifer (10), heifer's (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

I. עֶגְלָה noun feminine heifer; — absolute ׳ע Genesis 15:9 +; construct עֶגְלַת Isaiah 7:21 +; suffix עֶגְלָתִי Judges 14:18; plural construct עֶגְלוֺת Hosea 10:5 (but see below); — heifer, Isaiah 7:21, used in ploughing Judges 14:18 (figurative), threshing Jeremiah 50:11 (דָשָׁא ׳ע, in simile, see דּוּשׁ, read perhaps דָשָׁה), figurative of stateliness etc. Jeremiah 46:20; מְלֻמָּדָה ׳ע Hosea 10:11 a trained heifer (simile of Ephraim); used for sacrifice 1 Samuel 16:2 (עֶגְלַת בָּקָר); cut in two for ratifying covenant Genesis 15:9 (J; מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁת ׳ע; compare עֵגֶל Jeremiah 34:18,19); in cleansing city from blood-guiltiness Deuteronomy 21:3 (בָּקָר ׳ע), Deuteronomy 21:4; Deuteronomy 21:4; Deuteronomy 21:6; once of calves worshipped in Northern Israel Hosea 10:5 (where read probably עֵגֶל, so ᵐ5 We Now GASm, compare Che, see also the following suffixes masculine singular).

עֶגְלַת proper name, of a location; — שְׁלִשִׁיָּה ׳ע (the) third, Eglath Isaiah 15:5 (ᵐ5 δάμαλις τριερής) Jeremiah 48:34 (ᵐ5 ἀγγελιαν Σαλασεια), near Zoar and southern border of Moab.

Topical Lexicon

Overview

עֶגְלָה (eglah) designates a young female bovine—a heifer. Scripture places the animal within Israel’s everyday agrarian life, Israel’s sacrificial system, judicial procedure, and prophetic imagery. The heifer is depicted as valuable, innocent, strong, and, when yoked, submissive; these traits shape the varied theological lessons drawn from its fourteen canonical appearances.

Cultic and Covenant Significance

1. Sacrifice of Covenant Confirmation
• Genesis 15:9 records the heifer offered by Abram when the LORD “cut” the covenant that guaranteed the land promise. “And He said to him, ‘Bring Me a heifer three years old…’ ”. The slain heifer, divided in two, set the stage for the LORD’s fiery presence passing between the pieces, dramatizing God’s unilateral commitment and foreshadowing the cost He Himself would bear to uphold His pledge.

2. Atonement for Unsolved Bloodshed
• Deuteronomy 21:1–9 prescribes an unworked heifer whose neck is broken in an unploughed valley when a murder is committed and no killer is found. “All the elders of that city nearest the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley” (Deuteronomy 21:6). The untouched heifer, innocent of labor or yoke, carried symbolic innocence, allowing the community to plead, “Accept atonement, O LORD for Your people Israel” (verse 8). The ceremony upheld the sanctity of life and displayed God’s provision for communal cleansing.

Illustrative Uses in Historical Narratives

1. A Riddle’s Key
• Samson frames Philistine treachery with a proverb: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle” (Judges 14:18). The heifer image underscores exploited intimacy; Samson’s wife, like a heifer unlawfully yoked, was used to extract his secret.

2. Cover for Prophetic Anointing
• When Samuel feared Saul’s wrath, the LORD instructed, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD’ ” (1 Samuel 16:2). The presence of the heifer facilitated legitimate worship while allowing Samuel to obey God by anointing David. The episode testifies that obedience need not conflict with prudence when God Himself gives the strategy.

Prophetic Metaphors of Nations and Idolatry

1. Egypt—Beauty without Defense
• “Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly from the north is coming against her” (Jeremiah 46:20). The elegance of a well-fed heifer masks vulnerability; Egypt’s armies will scatter before Babylon’s onslaught.

2. Moab—A Weeping Heifer
• Isaiah’s oracle mourns, “My heart cries out for Moab… even to Eglath-shelishiyah” (Isaiah 15:5). The place-name Eglath, “heifer-calf,” evokes helpless sorrow as Moab’s fugitives flee.

3. Babylon—Self-Indulgent Heifers
• Jeremiah indicts the Babylonians: “You frolic like a heifer treading grain and neigh like stallions” (Jeremiah 50:11). The picture of carefree trampling contrasts with the impending judgment that will yoke them.

4. Israel and Ephraim—Trained yet Rebellious
• Hosea twice employs the heifer. First, Beth-aven’s calf-idol causes panic in the northern kingdom: “The people of Samaria fear for the calf of Beth-aven… it will even be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king” (Hosea 10:5–6). Second, “Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to tread grain, but I will place a yoke on her fair neck; I will drive Ephraim, Judah will plow, and Jacob will break up the ground” (Hosea 10:11). The metaphor moves from privilege (free treading with ample food) to discipline (the yoke of Assyrian exile), stressing that covenant blessing cannot coexist with idolatry.

Theological Reflections

• Innocence and Substitution: In both Genesis 15 and Deuteronomy 21 the heifer’s death stands between guilt and judgment, anticipating the ultimate innocent Substitute.
• Yoke Imagery: The heifer can serve willingly (Hosea 10:11a) or be forced under judgment (Hosea 10:11b). Christ’s call, “My yoke is easy” (Matthew 11:30), offers the true rest the rebellious heifer never finds.
• National Accountability: Prophetic comparisons remind every people that prosperity without submission invites downfall. Whether Egypt’s beauty, Moab’s tears, or Israel’s idolatry, the heifer imagery presses the truth that “righteousness exalts a nation” (Proverbs 14:34).

Ministry Application

Pastors and teachers may draw on עֶגְלָה to illustrate:

1. God’s faithfulness to His covenants in Christ, secured by sacrificial blood.
2. The gravity of communal sin and the necessity of corporate repentance.
3. The danger of spiritual complacency pictured in a well-fed but unguarded heifer.
4. The grace of divine discipline that seeks to bring a wayward people back under a life-giving yoke.

By tracing the heifer from patriarchal altars to prophetic oracles, believers gain a unified vision of Scripture’s call: surrender to the covenant-keeping God who, in the final sacrifice of His Son, provides the atonement all earlier heifers only prefigured.

Forms and Transliterations

בְּעֶגְלָתִ֔י בעגלתי הָֽעֶגְלָה֙ הָעֶגְלָ֖ה העגלה כְּעֶגְלָ֣ה כעגלה לְעֶגְלוֹת֙ לעגלות עֶגְלַ֖ת עֶגְלַ֣ת עֶגְלַ֤ת עֶגְלַ֥ת עֶגְלָ֣ה עֶגְלָ֤ה עֶגְלָ֥ה עגלה עגלת ‘eḡ·lāh ‘eḡ·laṯ ‘eḡlāh ‘eḡlaṯ bə‘eḡlāṯî bə·‘eḡ·lā·ṯî beeglaTi egLah egLat hā‘eḡlāh hā·‘eḡ·lāh haegLah kə‘eḡlāh kə·‘eḡ·lāh keegLah lə‘eḡlōwṯ lə·‘eḡ·lō·wṯ leeglOt

Englishman's Concordance

Genesis 15:9
HEB: קְחָ֥ה לִי֙ עֶגְלָ֣ה מְשֻׁלֶּ֔שֶׁת וְעֵ֥ז
NAS: old heifer, and a three year old
KJV: unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old,
INT: to him Bring heifer A three female

Deuteronomy 21:3
HEB: הָעִ֨יר הַהִ֜וא עֶגְלַ֣ת בָּקָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֤ר
NAS: shall take a heifer of the herd,
INT: city he A heifer of the herd which

Deuteronomy 21:4
HEB: הַהִ֤וא אֶת־ הָֽעֶגְלָה֙ אֶל־ נַ֣חַל
NAS: shall bring the heifer down
KJV: shall bring down the heifer unto a rough
INT: city he the heifer to A valley

Deuteronomy 21:4
HEB: שָׁ֥ם אֶת־ הָעֶגְלָ֖ה בַּנָּֽחַל׃
NAS: and shall break the heifer's neck
KJV: and shall strike off the heifer's neck
INT: and shall break there the heifer's the valley

Deuteronomy 21:6
HEB: יְדֵיהֶ֔ם עַל־ הָעֶגְלָ֖ה הָעֲרוּפָ֥ה בַנָּֽחַל׃
NAS: over the heifer whose neck was broken
KJV: their hands over the heifer that is beheaded
INT: their hands over the heifer neck the valley

Judges 14:18
HEB: לוּלֵא֙ חֲרַשְׁתֶּ֣ם בְּעֶגְלָתִ֔י לֹ֥א מְצָאתֶ֖ם
NAS: you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have found
KJV: ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out
INT: If plowed my heifer not have found

1 Samuel 16:2
HEB: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֗ה עֶגְלַ֤ת בָּקָר֙ תִּקַּ֣ח
NAS: Take a heifer with you and say,
INT: said and the LORD A heifer bull Take

Isaiah 7:21
HEB: יְחַיֶּה־ אִ֛ישׁ עֶגְלַ֥ת בָּקָ֖ר וּשְׁתֵּי־
NAS: may keep alive a heifer and a pair
KJV: a young cow, and two
INT: may keep A man A heifer A young pair

Isaiah 15:5
HEB: עַד־ צֹ֖עַר עֶגְלַ֣ת שְׁלִשִׁיָּ֑ה כִּ֣י ׀
KJV: [shall flee] unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old:
INT: far Zoar an heifer old Surely

Jeremiah 46:20
HEB: עֶגְלָ֥ה יְפֵֽה־ פִיָּ֖ה
NAS: is a pretty heifer, [But] a horsefly
KJV: [is like] a very fair heifer, [but] destruction
INT: heifer pretty Egypt

Jeremiah 48:34
HEB: עַד־ חֹ֣רֹנַ֔יִם עֶגְלַ֖ת שְׁלִֽשִׁיָּ֑ה כִּ֚י
KJV: [even] unto Horonaim, [as] an heifer of three years old:
INT: even to Horonaim an heifer old for

Jeremiah 50:11
HEB: (תָפ֙וּשׁוּ֙ ק) כְּעֶגְלָ֣ה דָשָׁ֔ה [וְתִצְהֲלִי
NAS: like a threshing heifer And neigh
KJV: because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass,
INT: Because grow up heifer grass bellow

Hosea 10:5
HEB: לְעֶגְלוֹת֙ בֵּ֣ית אָ֔וֶן
NAS: will fear For the calf of Beth-aven.
KJV: shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven:
INT: the calf of Beth-aven will fear

Hosea 10:11
HEB: וְאֶפְרַ֜יִם עֶגְלָ֤ה מְלֻמָּדָה֙ אֹהַ֣בְתִּי
NAS: is a trained heifer that loves
KJV: And Ephraim [is as] an heifer [that is] taught,
INT: Ephraim heifer trained loves

14 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 5697
14 Occurrences

bə·‘eḡ·lā·ṯî — 1 Occ.
‘eḡ·lāh — 3 Occ.
‘eḡ·laṯ — 5 Occ.
hā·‘eḡ·lāh — 3 Occ.
kə·‘eḡ·lāh — 1 Occ.
lə·‘eḡ·lō·wṯ — 1 Occ.