Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

Most English translations of "Parah Adumah" (Num 19:2) give "red heifer". My 
Webster's defines "heifer" as either a "full-grown young ox" or "a young cow 
that has not born a calf". Presumably, it is the second that is meant. 

As far as I know, a Parah is just a cow, with no special reference to its age 
or having had a calf. Does anyone know where the more specific definition of 
"heifer" came from?

Yigal Levin
>From Christopher.Heard AT pepperdine.edu  Wed Dec 22 03:03:00 2004
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Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2004 00:02:43 -0800
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] red heifer
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On 12/21/04 11:17 PM, "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il> wrote:

> Most English translations of "Parah Adumah" (Num 19:2) give "red heifer". My
> Webster's defines "heifer" as either a "full-grown young ox" or "a young cow
> that has not born a calf". Presumably, it is the second that is meant.
>
> As far as I know, a Parah is just a cow, with no special reference to its 
> age
> or having had a calf. Does anyone know where the more specific definition of
> "heifer" came from?

I don't know the historical roots of the translation, but the parah's youth
_might_ be suggested by v. 2 "on which no yoke has been laid." Would having
given birth disqualify the parah from being "unblemished" (tamiymah), v. 2?
I can't really see why it would, but perhaps someone else knows of such a
concept.

Chris

--
R. Christopher Heard
Assistant Professor of Religion
Armstrong Fellow in Religion
Pepperdine University
http://faculty.pepperdine.edu/cheard
http://www.iTanakh.org
http://www.semioticsandexegesis.info