Bible Dictionary
Bullock
A bullock is an animal of the ox kind, sometimes referring to a bull, cow, or calf depending on the context. Bullocks were commonly used for food, agriculture, and sacrifices.
Definition
A bullock is an animal of the ox kind. Depending on the underlying term and context, it may mean a bull, cow, calf, or horned animal without distinction of age or sex.
Biblical Usage
Bullocks appear in ordinary descriptions of cattle and in sacrificial contexts. The term is also used for animals connected with the molten or golden calf and for bulls offered in sacrifice.
Historical Background
Several Hebrew words are translated “bullock,” and the Authorized and Revised Versions sometimes differ, using “calves” or “bullocks” according to the context.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(1.) The translation of a word which is a generic name for horned cattle (Isa. 65:25). It is also rendered “cow” (Ezek. 4:15), “ox” (Gen. 12:16). (2.) The translation of a word always meaning an animal of the ox kind, without distinction of age or sex (Hos. 12:11). It is rendered “cow” (Num. 18:17) and “ox” (Lev. 17:3). (3.) Another word is rendered in the same way (Jer. 31:18). It is also translated “calf” (Lev. 9:3; Micah 6:6). It is the same word used of the “molten calf” (Ex. 32:4, 8) and “the golden calf” (1 Kings 12:28). (4.) In Judg. 6:25; Isa. 34:7, the Hebrew word is different. It is the customary word for bulls offered in sacrifice. In Hos. 14:2, the Authorized Version has “calves,” the Revised Version “bullocks.”