Bible Dictionary
DAM
A dam is the mother of an animal or bird. Israel’s law required that a mother bird be released when its young were taken and prohibited slaughtering an animal before it had been with its mother for the appointed period.
Definition
A dam is the mother of an animal or bird. The word is the ordinary Hebrew term for mother when applied to the parent of young animals or birds.
Biblical Usage
Israelite law required that a mother bird be released when its young were taken. It also prohibited taking an animal for slaughter before it had been seven days with its mother.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>('em, ordinary Hebrew word for "mother"): Hebrew law prohibited the destruction of the "dam" and the young of birds at the same time, commanding that if the young be taken from a nest the dam be allowed to escape (De 22:6,7). In the same spirit it enjoined the taking of an animal for slaughter before it had been seven days with its "dam" (Ex 22:30; Le 22:27; compare Ex 23:19).</p>