Topical Bible: Contracts for Cattle

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In biblical times, cattle were a significant asset and a symbol of wealth and prosperity. The management and exchange of cattle were often governed by contracts and agreements, reflecting the importance of these animals in agrarian and pastoral societies. The Bible provides insights into the practices and principles surrounding contracts for cattle, emphasizing fairness, integrity, and stewardship.

Biblical Context

Cattle, including oxen, sheep, and goats, were central to the economy and daily life in ancient Israel. They were used for plowing fields, providing milk, wool, and meat, and serving as sacrificial offerings. The ownership and transfer of cattle were thus subject to careful regulation and contractual agreements.

Principles of Fairness and Integrity

The Bible underscores the importance of honesty and fairness in all transactions, including those involving cattle. Leviticus 19:35-36 states, "You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume. You shall maintain honest scales and weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt." This principle extends to the valuation and exchange of cattle, ensuring that all parties are treated justly.

Contracts and Agreements

While the Bible does not provide explicit examples of written contracts for cattle, it does highlight the importance of verbal agreements and covenants. In Genesis 31:44 , Laban and Jacob enter into a covenant, saying, "Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us." Such covenants often included livestock and served as binding agreements, witnessed by God and the community.

Stewardship and Responsibility

The Bible also emphasizes the responsibility of caring for one's cattle. Proverbs 27:23-24 advises, "Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds; for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation." This passage highlights the importance of diligent stewardship and the recognition that wealth, including cattle, is a temporary blessing from God.

Protection of Property

The protection of one's cattle and property is another theme in biblical law. Exodus 22:1 prescribes restitution for theft, stating, "If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he must repay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep." This law underscores the value of cattle and the need for justice in cases of theft or loss.

Conclusion

The biblical approach to contracts for cattle reflects broader themes of justice, stewardship, and community responsibility. By adhering to principles of fairness and integrity, individuals were expected to honor their agreements and care for their livestock as part of their covenantal relationship with God and their neighbors.

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Genesis 30:27-29,31-34
And Laban said to him, I pray you, if I have found favor in your eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.
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Library

Abraham's Faith
... Just what keeps a herd of cattle together"selfishness and fear ... It is not constitutions,
and acts of parliament, and social contracts, and rights of the people ...
/.../kingsley/twenty-five village sermons/sermon xii abrahams faith.htm

On the Words, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of all Things visible ...
... longer, giving men good time for their works: but in winter contracts his course ...
same earth come forth creeping things, and wild beasts, and cattle, and trees ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/lecture ix on the words.htm

Of the World, and Its Parts, the Elements and Seasons.
... And on this account it was appointed by the ancients that marriage contracts should
be ... Therefore the cattle do not look up to heaven, nor do they entertain ...
/.../lactantius/the divine institutes/chap x of the world and.htm

Chapter xxxi
... or Masse (KW) rather than wealth, for the heads of cattle, numerous as ... to produce
such nice differentiations in colouring as the new contracts made necessary. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxxi.htm

The Israelites
... We find it in contracts drawn up in Babylonia in the time of Abraham ... lived, separate
from the native agriculturists, herding their flocks and cattle, and in ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter i the israelites.htm

On his Father'S Silence, Because of the Plague of Hail.
... I began with the flocks and the cattle and the sheep, the fifth plague, and ... For if
even our dust contracts somewhat of wickedness, and the earthly tabernacle ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xvi on his fathers.htm

Chaldaean Civilization
... the ideograms, grammatical tablets, and dictionaries"Their contracts, and their ... of
functionaries and workmen: administrators of corn, cattle, precious metals ...
/.../chapter iiichaldaean civilization.htm

What Carey did for Science --Founder of the Agricultural and ...
... their "proportionally simple and wretched farming utensils," the cattle, the primitive ...
gradually crushed by the expensive and unsatisfactory contracts made at ...
/.../smith/the life of william carey/chapter xii what carey did.htm

Sennacherib (705-681 BC )
... He burnt their villages, and carried off herds of cattle and troops of captives;
but this ... It contracts Umman-minanu, the name of the Elamite king, to Minanu. ...
/.../chapter isennacherib 705-681 b c.htm

The First Chaldaean Empire and the Hyksos in Egypt
... it flows at first through a wide and fertile plain, which soon contracts, however,
and ... and supporting life by the chase and by the rearing of cattle; but the ...
/.../chapter ithe first chaldaean empire.htm