צֹאן
tsôʼn · H6629 · Hebrew · 274 occurrences
Thing
- Flock, herdSheep, lamb317 verses
Meanings
-
flock, small cattle, sheep and goats
Group of small domestic animals traveling and feeding together; consisting of sheep and goats; hair or wool shorn for weaving into cloth; female milked for food; may be killed and eaten for meat; used as sacrificial animal; associated with large quantities and also with God's people, who are often seen as a flock with God as their shepherd
ExamplesGenesis 4:2 And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground.
Genesis 4:4 Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering;
Genesis 12:16 Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and he gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
-
Sheep Gate
One of the city gates of Jerusalem, through which small cattle could be taken
ExamplesNehemiah 3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and installed its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.
Nehemiah 3:32 And between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out repairs.
How it’s used In 9 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
97 occurrences in 22 groups
- ךָyour 22
- יmy 19
- הוּhis 11
- הֶםtheir 10
- לָבָןwhite 5
- מִרְעִיתpasture land 5
- Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (14) 14
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
30 occurrences in 22 groups
- מֵאָהhundred 3
- שֶׁבַעseven 3
- Other words · 20 groups that occur once or twice (28) 28
Named alongside itApposition
15 occurrences in 15 groups
- מִקְנֶהlivestock, possession 3
- Other words · 14 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15
What it doesIt is the subject
36 occurrences in 20 groups
- הָיָהto be, to become 9
- יָחַםto mate 3
- יָלַדto bear 3
- Other words · 17 groups that occur once or twice (21) 21
What is done to itIt is the object
78 occurrences in 27 groups
- רָעָהto shepherd, to feed, to graze 15
- לָקַחto take, to receive 13
- זָבַחto sacrifice, to slaughter 9
- שָׁקָהto give to drink, to water 7
- גַּזָזto shear 4
- דָּרַשׁto seek, to inquire 3
- Other words · 19 groups that occur once or twice (22) 22
What it is said to bePredicate
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- מֵאָהhundred 1
- צֹאןflock, small cattle, sheep and goats 1
- וֹhim 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
8 occurrences in 7 groups
- קׇרְבָּןoffering 2
- הָיָהto be, to become 1
- יָזִיזJaziz 1
- אֲנַחְנוּwe 1
- צֹאןflock, small cattle, sheep and goats 1
- קֹדֶשׁholiness 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
68 occurrences in 8 groups
- כlike/as 34
- מִןfrom 25
- בin/on/with 20
- עַלon, upon, over, against 7
- לto/for 7
- אֵלto, toward 4
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
65 occurrences in 33 groups
- בְּכוֹרfirstborn 6
- רֹעִיshepherd 5
- גְּדֵרָהsheepfold, wall 4
- עַשְׁתְּרָהyoung sheep 4
- בֵּןson 3
- אַדִּירmighty 3
- Other words · 23 groups that occur once or twice (28) 28
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
In the other Testament 2 words
- πρόβατον próbaton · G4263 · sheep, a person who is like a sheep
- Greek πρόβατον is the standard LXX rendering of Hebrew צֹאן when referring to sheep specifically; both terms denote small livestock (sheep/goats), with πρόβατον emphasizing sheep as the prototypical forward-walking quadruped and צֹאן serving as the broader Hebrew collective for small cattle.
- ποίμνιον poímnion · G4168 · people who are like a flock
- ποίμνιον (poímnion, G4168) translates צֹאן (tsôʼn, H6629) in literal pastoral contexts but also extends metaphorically to refer to a group of believers as God's flock, whereas צֹאן (tsôʼn, H6629) remains consistently concrete (physical livestock, primarily sheep/goats).
Semantic domains 2 entries
- Domestic Animals001001002002
- צֹאן denotes small cattle, sheep, or a flock, as of Abel's keeping of flocks in Genesis 4:2, his offering from the firstborn of his flock in Genesis 4:4, and the sheep Pharaoh gives Abram in Genesis 12:16.
- Names of Constructions003001003
- This domain's connection to צֹאן is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which show the word's sense of the flock itself rather than a named sheepfold structure.
Word family 2 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H6629. tson צאֹן273 collective noun feminineGen 30:36 (possibly masculine Gen 30:39 a +,…
צאֹן273 collective noun feminineGen 30:36 (possibly masculine Gen 30:39 a +, KöSynt. § 247 g, but dubious, Gen 30:39b with verb feminine plural, as usually; in 1Sa 15:14 join הַוֶּה with קוֺל; see further AlbrZAW xv (1895), 316 ff.) small cattle, sheep and goats, flock, flocks; — ׳צ absolute Gen 4:2 +; construct Gen 29:9 +; suffix צאֹנוֺ Gen 4:4 +; צאֹנֵנוּ Exo 10:9, צאֹונֵוּ Psa 144:13; as plural צאֹנֵינוֺ Neh 10:37 van d. H. Gi (not Baer; very late, si vera lectio), etc.; —
1 literally
a. small cattle, usually of sheep and goats in one flock (RobBR i. 477) Gen 30:31-32, +; sheep specified also Gen 21:28 (הַצּ ׳כִּבְשׂת), Gen 31:28 (צ ׳אֵילֵי) +; sheep only 1Sa 25:2 (+עִוִּים); goats specified Gen 27:9; Jer 50:8; ׳צ as yielding (1) animals for food Amo 6:4 (בָּרִים), 1Sa 14:32; 2Sa 12:4; Neh 5:18 +; ׳צ מַאְַבָל Psa 44:12 (in simile); (2) wool Gen 31:19 + (see [ גָּזַז], גֵּז); (3) milk, צ ׳חֲלֵב Deu 32:14 (? goats' milk, compare Pro 27:27); (4) sacrificial victims Gen 4:4 (J), Lev 1:2, Lev 1:10; Lev 3:6; Num 15:3 (all P), Num 22:40 (E), Deu 12:6, Deu 12:17, Deu 12:21 + often; so קָדָשִׁים צאֹן Eze 36:38 a, compare בְּכוֺרֵי וְצאֹנֵינוּ בְקָרֵינוּ Neh 10:37; in General as property (often + בָּקָר, etc.) Gen 12:16; Gen 13:5; Gen 24:35; Job 1:3; Job 42:12 + often (see also II. [עַשְׁתָּרוֺת]); gift Gen 20:14; Gen 21:27; Gen 38:17 (goat), Deu 15:14; 2Ch 17:11; booty 1Sa 15:9, 1Sa 15:15 + .
b. ׳צ sometimes of a definite number of animals (i.e. as plural of שֶׂה, etc.): two Isa 7:21, four Exodus 21:37 (larger numbers see 1Sa 25:2, 1Sa 25:5, 1Sa 25:18; Num 31:32, Num 31:36; Neh 5:18; Job 1:3; Job 42:12 above). — See also בֵּן 7b; עֵדֶר נָוֶה, מַרְבֵּץ, מִכְלָה, גְּדֵרָה,; שַׁצֵר רֹצֶה, כֶלֶב,.
2 simile of multitude Eze 36:37-38, compare Psa 107:41; of children Job 21:11; of dead, with death as shepherd Psa 49:15; of (shepherdless) Israel Num 27:17; 1Ki 22:17 2Ch 18:16; Zec 10:2; Zec 13:7, wandering in sin Isa 53:6; of Israel led by ׳י Psalm 77:21; Psa 78:52; Psa 80:2, compare Zec 9:16 (on text see We Now); Eze 34:12; of Israel in distress, ׳כְּצ טִבְחָת Psa 44:23, compare (of wicked) ׳צ לְטִבְתָה Jer 12:3; of scattered Babylonian Isa 13:14.
3 metaphor of multitude, ׳צ אָרָם Eze 36:38; of Israel 2Sa 24:17 = 1Ch 21:17; Jer 23:1-2, Jer 23:3; Eze 24:5, and especially sustained figurative Eze 34:2, 317t. 34, also Zec 11:7, Zec 11:17; ׳צ אֹבְדוֺת Jer 50:6, ׳צ תִּפְאַרְתֵךְ Jer 13:20; of Israel under ׳יs care, (וֺ-, יִ֯) ׳צ מַרְעִיתֶ֑ךָד Psa 74:1; Psa 79:13; Psa 100:3; Eze 34:31, also ׳צ יָדוֺ Psa 95:7(|| מַרְעִיתוֺעַםֿ; read perhaps יָדוֺ צַם ׳צ, מַרְעִיתוֺ, so Che and others); ׳צ נַחֲלָתֶךָ Mic 7:14; also in combinations: הַצֵּ ׳אַדִּירֵי Jer 25:34-35, Jer 25:36, ׳צ חַהֲרֵגָה Zec 11:4, Zec 11:7 (compare Psa 44:23), הַצּ ׳עֲנִיֵּי Psa 44:7; Psa 44:11 (all of Israel); of Edom צּ הַ ׳צְעִירֵי Jer 49:20; Jer 50:45.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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