עֶגְלָה (eg.lah)
eg.lah
heifer; Eglath-shelishiyah
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 13 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The noun eglah refers simply to a young cow, or heifer, an animal valued in ancient Israel for its strength and potential as a sacrificial offering. It appears thirteen times in the Hebrew Bible, primarily within prophetic books like Jeremiah and Isaiah, where it often serves as a concrete image of national weakness or impending judgment.
While the word itself denotes a young female bovine, it also functions as part of a proper noun. Eglath-shelishiyah is identified in 2 Kings 15:29 as a place near Zoar and south of Moab, claimed by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III. This geographical usage highlights how everyday terms were often repurposed for local landmarks.
The term’s theological weight emerges in its symbolic use. In Jeremiah 34:18-19, a covenant ceremony involves cutting a young cow in two, mirroring the ritual described in Deuteronomy 21 where a heifer is slaughtered to atone for an unsolved murder. These passages show eglah not just as livestock, but as a solemn instrument of legal and religious significance.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word eglah refers to a young cow or heifer, an animal central to ancient Israel’s daily life and worship. It was valued for its strength in the fields and its role in sacred rituals. When we encounter this term in Scripture, it reminds us that God cares about the practical details of human existence, from agricultural labor to solemn covenant ceremonies.
In passages like Genesis 15:9, a heifer is part of a profound divine promise, linking ordinary livestock to God’s faithfulness. In Deuteronomy 21:3-6, the ritual involving an unworked heifer shows how justice and community responsibility were woven into religious practice. These instances reveal that eglah is not just a farm animal but a symbol of life, duty, and divine connection.
For your faith today, this word invites you to see the sacred in the ordinary. Just as the heifer was used in meaningful ways, your daily tasks and responsibilities can be offered with intention and reverence. God meets us in the concrete realities of life, inviting trust and obedience in the present moment.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 13 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- the/ heifer3×
- a heifer of3×
- Eglath2×
- with/ heifer/ my1×
- like/ a heifer1×
- for/ [the] heifers of1×
- a heifer1×
- [was] a heifer1×
- [is] a heifer1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- עֶגְלַ֣ת2×
- הָ/עֶגְלָ֖ה2×
- עֶגְלָ֥ה1×
- עֶגְלָ֤ה1×
- עֶגְלָ֣ה1×
- עֶגְלַ֥ת1×
- עֶגְלַ֤ת1×
- עֶגְלַ֖ת1×
- לְ/עֶגְלוֹת֙1×
- כְּ/עֶגְלָ֣ה1×
- הָֽ/עֶגְלָה֙1×
- בְּ/עֶגְלָתִ֔/י1×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 15:9
He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
This verse places the heifer within a covenant ritual where God initiates a promise with Abraham, highlighting the animal's role in divine agreement.
-
Deuteronomy 21:3
It shall be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with and which has not drawn in the yoke.
Here the unworked heifer serves as a unique instrument for atoning for an unsolved murder, emphasizing communal responsibility and ritual purity.
-
Jeremiah 46:20
“Egypt is a very beautiful heifer; but destruction out of the north has come. It has come.
Egypt is metaphorically described as a beautiful heifer to illustrate its impending destruction by northern invaders, using the image of strength turned to vulnerability.