Bible Dictionary
EWE
A female sheep, especially one that may be nursing or bearing young. Biblical Hebrew uses several terms for a ewe depending on the context.
Definition
An ewe is a female sheep, especially one that is nursing, bearing young, or otherwise identified by sex in context. Biblical Hebrew uses several terms according to the particular situation.
Biblical Usage
The ordinary Hebrew word for ewe is used where context makes the animal’s sex clear. Other terms describe ewes that suckle or have their young. In Leviticus 22:28, the word may refer either to a ewe or a she-goat.
Historical Background
The Hebrew vocabulary includes terms connected with a female sheep, suckling, or a flock animal that may include sheep or goats.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>u (rachel, `ul, seh, "a female sheep"):</p><p>Rachel (compare pr. note Rachel, and Arabic rachala, "to migrate") is the ordinary Hebrew word for ewe, but is translated "sheep," though with clear indication of sex in context, in Isa 53:7 and So 6:6 (the Revised Version (British and American) "ewes"). `Aloth, participle of `ul, "to suckle" (compare Arabic ghal) is found in Ps 78:71 and Isa 40:11 (the King James Version "are with young," the English Revised Version "that give suck," the American Standard Revised Version "have their young"). In 1Sa 6:7,10 occurs paroth `aloth, "milch kine." Seh, in Le 22:28, while translated "ewe," might from the context be "ewe" or "shegoat" and indeed seems to be used here as a term applying equally to either, being used elsewhere for one of a flock of sheep or goats.</p><p>See SHEEP.</p><p>Alfred Ely Day</p>