SHEEP. A number of Heb. and Gr. words are used:

עַתּוּד, H6966, which is tr. in the KJV twice as ram and in the RSV as he-goat, which is correct;

אַ֫יִל֒, H380, which is tr. ram in all Eng. VSS. Of more than 150 occurrences, thirteen are fig., mostly symbolic in prophecy, six refer to the rams’ skins for the Tabernacle covering, five are used generally, and the rest for a wide range of sacrifices;

Aram. אִמְּרִ֣ינ׃׀ is tr. lamb in Ezra only. It speaks of the burnt offering at the dedication of the rebuilt Temple;

כֶּ֫בֶשׂ, H3897, lamb 102 times and sheep twice. The word is used in a proverbial sense once, fig. four times and as a sacrifice ninety-seven times. This is used for nearly all types, including cleansing of the leper and first-fruits.

כִּשְׂבָּה, H4167, is tr. as the ewe lamb six times and lamb twice. It is also used for cleansing leper once, Nazirite vow once, sealing covenant three times, and in the parable told to David three times (2 Sam 12:3);

כֶּ֫שֶׂב, H4166. This is a transposition of כֶּ֫בֶשׂ, H3897, lamb, four times and sheep, eight times. It is used mostly for sacrifice, but some lit. includes sheep bred by Jacob (Gen 30:32);

כִּשְׂבָּה, H4167, f., is used only once—for trespass offering;

כַּר֮, H4120, is tr. lamb ten times, ram twice, battering ram twice, and by derivation, pasture, twice. This is a very interesting word. It is first used in the Song of Moses (Deut 32:14) contrasted with צֹאן, H7366, and אַ֫יִל֒, H380. The words refer to sheep in or brought from nearby lands, esp. semi-desert, e.g. Moab (2 Kings 3:4), Edom (Isa 34:6); also from Babylon, Arabia, Bashan, etc. This word never was used for sacrifice but דְּכַר, H10175, the Aram. derivation, is found three times in Ezra 6 and 7 for rams supplied by Darius for the dedication of the rebuilt Temple. This may well be a special name of an exotic breed. They speak of battering rams used against Jerusalem (Ezek 4:2; 21:22); the identical metaphor is used in Eng. רָחֵל֒, H8161, is tr. ewe twice, sheep twice, esp. breeding ewe (e.g. Gen 31:38);

שֶׂה, H8445, see Cattle. This word is used for the individual member of a flock, almost always sing.: the Passover lamb (Exod 12) and a lamb led to the slaughter (Isa 53:7). In both vv. the tr. could be either sheep or goat. Sometimes it is particularized by attaching to עֵז, H6436, or כֶּ֫בֶשׂ, H3897;

טָלֶה, H3231, (sing.) and טְלָאִ֔ים (pl.). This word is used for very young lambs, prob. not weaned: “He will gather the lambs in his arms” (Isa 40:11);

צֹאן, H7366, is tr. sheep 108 times, flocks 137 times, lamb once, cattle four times and small cattle once. It can mean either sheep or goats but mostly the former: “Abel was a keeper of sheep (צֹאן, H7366)...and brought the firstlings of his flock (צֹאן, H7366)” (Gen 4:2, 4). The word is always collective. Cf. Lev 5:15: “a ram without blemish out of the flock [צֹאן, H7366]”; Isa 53:6: “All we like sheep [צֹאן, H7366]....” It was used rarely for “sacrifice” and only as flock out of which the animal was selected; often qualified by fold, shearer, etc.;

עָלֹ֖ות, ewes, great with young. Sheep is inferred from the context; elsewhere it means milch camels and cows. The Eng. names for sheep have not changed since early Eng. VSS. The male is ram and the female is ewe; young is lamb. In farming communities other names are also used to signify ages and types, and many breeds are carefully named.

The NT word for sheep is πρόβατον, G4585.

1. Origin and early history. This is complex and many views have been published about possible wild ancestors, and their period and place of origin. Zeuner’s work is most complete and unlikely to be superseded unless some radically new material or method is found. The following paragraph owes much to his research, which includes a full review of the lit. Although several wild sheep have contributed to the stock, two species are the main ancestors. Urial (Ovis orientalis) is the more important; this is Central and W Asiatic species, living mostly in mountains, from W Tibet to Transcaspia. The adult sheep stands nearly three ft. at the shoulder, with strongly wrinkled horns curled in typical “Ammon” shape at the sides of the head; reddish in summer, with whitish underparts; grayish brown in winter. The other is the mouflon, now found only in Corsica, Sardinia, and Asia Minor: the smallest wild sheep and is dark reddish brown. In winter the adult rams have white or cream side patches. The problem of early dating is discussed under goat (q.v.). The Belt Cave in N Iran supplies earliest known evidence of domesticated sheep, and this is near Urial country. By the Neolithic pottery age (c. 5000 b.c.) sheep were being herded, prob. by dogs, and breeding under some control had started. They then spread rapidly, meeting with other groups domesticated independently, and finally few breeds could be regarded as purely from one source.

2. Characteristics of domestic sheep. Most breeds now differ widely from their wild forebears, and these differences began appearing early. The most obvious are: (a) Wool. This is present in wild sheep but is most obvious only in winter, when it may cover the stiffer hairs. The felting and weaving properties of wool were soon recognized and strains were bred to yield good wool in large amounts. Hair sheep are still found, esp. in the tropics. (b) Tail. Some breeds have tails with two or three times as many vertebrae as wild forms. In others the tail has become an organ for storing fat; this has been found with mummies of twelfth dynasty (c. 2000 b.c.) (c) Color. Western man is so used to seeing white sheep that any other color seems odd. Early sheep were prob. brown, but in Egypt there were white, brown, and black forms before 2000 b.c., perhaps much earlier. It is traditional to regard Biblical sheep as white; this is largely correct, but it is not supported entirely by the text, “They shall become like wool” (Isa 1:18). “White wool” is in a context suggesting wealth (Ezek 27:18). Both refer to a late period. It is obvious from Genesis 30:32ff. that both sheep and goats were in various colors, presumably including white, but “spotted” is shown also to mean white spots on dark animals. It is also assumed that the sacrificial animals had to be white, without spot. KJV tr. תָמִֽיד “without spot” in Numbers 28:3, 9; 29:17, 26; elsewhere “without blemish,” which RSV trs. throughout. This refers to imperfections generally, not necessarily to color markings. (d) Habitat. From a mountain origin the sheep developed into many breeds in a wide range of country from marsh to uplands, and the desert edge. It became more demanding than the goat, needing better quality forage, largely grass, as we note in 1 Chronicles 4:39, 40: “pasture for their flocks...rich, good pasture.” The erratic winter rains in parts of Pal. made the grass grow in patches, and shepherds, knowing where to find pasture, led their flocks there. David, from such an experience wrote, “He makes me lie down in green pastures” (Ps 23:2).

3. Uses. It is generally agreed that sheep were domesticated at first for their meat. Meat of the sheep, in contrast to that of the goat, is good from adult as well as young. Like cattle and goats, sheep are cloven-hoofed ruminants and therefore provide clean meat which became an important part of the Heb. diet, as it still is in many Arab. lands. Weaving had first begun with plant fibers; possibly also wool shed by wild animals had been used. With selective breeding, both quality and quantity of wool improved, and finally there was great trade in it. Part of the annual tribute paid by Mesha, king of Moab was the wool of 100,000 rams (2 Kings 3:4). In some communities sheep were highly regarded for their milk, but there is only one clear Biblical reference to this (Deut 32:14). A modern breed (Awassi) derived from races long native to Pal. is now used there widely for milk and cheese production. The use of skins was general long before domestication and thereafter increased greatly. “Tanned rams’ skins” (Exod 25:5) is the only specific mention in the OT. “The priest...shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering” (Lev 7:8); this was either sheep or goat. Also persecuted refugees “went about in skins of sheep or goats” (Heb 11:37). In addition, many peoples recognized the value of sheep for manuring pastures. In Egypt they were used for treading in seed as early as c. 2,500 b.c. The wealth of Heb. names indicates the importance of sheep to the Israelites who were able shepherds and prob. had several distinct breeds. Genesis 30:32ff. is interesting in describing a false theory still widely believed—that things eaten or seen by the mother before or at birth can affect the color, shape, etc. of the young. Jacob put a striped white pattern in front of the lambing ewes in order to increase the proportion of marked animals. Verses 41, 42 explain that he selected for vigor; the inference is that he unconsciously understood the flock genetics and mated accordingly, while wrongly attributing his success to his cleverness with the rods. However, it was God’s providence in the breeding that brought success (cf. 31:11, 12).

4. Figurative meaning. The sheep became pre-eminent in offerings and sacrifices, and very large numbers were used every year. Certain classes were wholly burnt (see Sacrifice and Offerings), but in others most of the meat was used by offerer or priest. Some Heb. names are seldom used except in this connection. Above all, the sheep has deep metaphorical significance. Typified in OT by the whole of Psalm 23 and Isaiah 53:6: “All we like sheep have gone astray”; in the NT by John 1:29: “Behold the Lamb of God” and 10:14: “I am the good shepherd.” Of seventy-four mentions in NT, only one is lit.—sheep sold in the Temple court (2:14). See NBD p. 1174 for detailed development.

Bibliography F. E. Zeuner, A History of Domesticated Animals, ch. 7. (See comment in par. 2 above.)