In a message dated 12/22/2004 5:45:37 AM Pacific Standard Time,
leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il writes:
>
> All very intersting, but my question was, why the translators took such a
> general term as "cow" and translated it as the more narrow "heifer". Did
> they have any reason to think that this particular cow was special in any
> way, besides its color?
It seems to me that the red cow was something left over from the pagan
religion of the Canaanites. I recall that a certain goddess was called "the
red cow
of Baal", perhaps Baalath, herself, but I would have to check that.
Unfortunately, I am leaving on vacation today and don't have much time-- but
I
remember thinking of the "red heifer" when I read this about the goddess.
These
deities, BTW, were also worshipped in the north of Egypt. Anyway, the color
of
the cow seems to have had some significance.