Topical Bible: Sheep were Frequently: Given As Presents

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In the ancient Near Eastern culture, sheep were highly valued for their wool, milk, and meat, making them a significant asset and a symbol of wealth and prosperity. Consequently, sheep were often given as presents, serving as a gesture of goodwill, alliance, or reconciliation. The Bible provides several instances where sheep were presented as gifts, reflecting their importance in the socio-economic and religious life of the people.

One notable example is found in the account of Jacob and Esau. After years of estrangement, Jacob sought to reconcile with his brother Esau. To appease Esau and demonstrate his goodwill, Jacob sent a generous gift ahead of their meeting. This gift included a substantial number of livestock, among which were sheep. Genesis 32:14-15 records, "Two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams." This offering was intended to soften Esau's heart and pave the way for a peaceful reunion.

Another instance is seen in the account of David and Abigail. When Abigail sought to prevent David from avenging himself on her husband Nabal, she brought a gift to David, which included sheep. 1 Samuel 25:18 states, "Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys." This gift was instrumental in averting bloodshed and demonstrated the use of sheep as a means of diplomacy and peacemaking.

Sheep were also given as part of tribute or offerings to rulers and leaders. In 2 Kings 3:4 , we read about Mesha, the king of Moab, who was a sheep breeder and paid tribute to the king of Israel with sheep: "Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he used to pay the king of Israel a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams." This tribute underscores the economic value of sheep and their role in political relationships.

Furthermore, sheep were presented as offerings to God, signifying devotion and worship. While not a direct gift to another person, the offering of sheep to God was a significant aspect of the sacrificial system, reflecting the giver's reverence and submission to divine authority. In Leviticus 1:10 , the law prescribes, "If, however, one’s offering is a burnt offering from the flock—from the sheep or goats—he is to present an unblemished male."

These examples illustrate the multifaceted role of sheep as gifts in biblical times, highlighting their economic, diplomatic, and religious significance. The giving of sheep as presents was a common practice that facilitated relationships, demonstrated wealth, and expressed reverence, deeply embedded in the cultural and spiritual fabric of the biblical narrative.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Samuel 17:29
And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of cows, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

1 Chronicles 12:40
Moreover they that were near them, even to Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there was joy in Israel.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

On the Incarnation and Redemption
... were such animals as the ox, the sheep, the goat ... the hills large caves in which these
robbers frequently took refuge ... was near at hand His parents were living in ...
/.../kinkead/baltimore catechism no 4/lesson 7 on the incarnation.htm

Second Sunday after Easter
... This practice now frequently obtains since the world has learned to ... confess the truth
of Scripture testimony that we were but erring sheep, fleeing ever ...
/.../luther/epistle sermons vol ii/second sunday after easter.htm

It is a Ground for Thanksgiving that During the Last Three or Four ...
... He was sent "but unto the lost sheep of the ... and "clay." It would be passing strange
were it otherwise ... a millennial scene, and then, as is so frequently the case ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/it is a ground for.htm

The Origin of Species.
... ram became a nation of Ancon sheep, though the ... allied to that sterility which so
frequently affects pure ... For if such phaenomena as these were exhibited by only ...
/.../huxley/lay sermons addresses and reviews/xii the origin of species.htm

Chapter xxx
... The participle methah, as is frequently the case, points to a future event ... much as
possible and would so pasture all of Laban's sheep that were under his ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxx.htm

The Good Shepherd: a Farewell Sermon
... that he said was cavilled at; nay, their enmity frequently broke through ... at the day
of judgment; and if you never were among Christ's sheep before, may ...
/.../selected sermons of george whitefield/the good shepherd a farewell.htm

The Arrest.
... entered the Garden of Gethsemane, where He frequently went for ... if the Shepherd was
smitten the sheep would give ... on His side knew that the Jews were right, that ...
/.../dods/the expositors bible the gospel of st john vol ii/xvii the arrest.htm

The Resurrection of Christ; his Last Interview with his Disciples ...
... sorrowful disciples, the words of the angels were full of ... and in this way have been
frequently explained ... again gathered to their Master, and the sheep to their ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture i the resurrection of.htm

How David, when He had Twice the Opportunity of Killing Saul did ...
... at the time when he sheared his sheep, and by ... still he was often saved by him, and
frequently received his ... he came with the six hundred men that were with him ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 13 how david when.htm

P??dobaptism. Its Accordance with the Institution of Christ, and ...
... Church indeed, the Lord's Supper was frequently given to infants ... says, that under
the law, the sheep and the ... these reprobate spirits, as if they were under the ...
/.../chapter 16 paedobaptism its accordance.htm