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What the Bible Says About Ox, the

Overview

The Bible addresses ox, the across 111 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Exodus, Genesis and Deuteronomy. Closely related themes include Agriculture or Husbandry, Sheep, Trespass and Threshing. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Abraham, Lot, Moses and Samuel.

Key Bible verses about ox, the

Old Testament

Genesis

Genesis 12:16

And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

Genesis 13:2

And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Genesis 13:5

And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

Genesis 13:7

And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

Genesis 15:9

And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

Genesis 18:7

And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

Genesis 20:14

And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

Genesis 26:14

For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. servants: or, husbandry

Genesis 27:30

And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

Genesis 32:15

Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.

Genesis 41:2

And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.

Genesis 41:3

And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.

Genesis 41:26

The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

Genesis 41:29

Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:

Genesis 50:8

And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

Exodus

Exodus 10:9

And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.

Exodus 12:32

Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

Exodus 20:17

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Exodus 20:24

An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

Exodus 21:28

If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

Exodus 21:29

But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.

Exodus 21:30

If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.

Exodus 21:31

Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.

Exodus 21:32

If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

Exodus 21:35

And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.

Exodus 21:36

Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.

Exodus 22:4

If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.

Exodus 22:9

For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.

Exodus 22:10

If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:

Exodus 22:11

Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.

Exodus 22:12

And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.

Exodus 22:13

If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.

Exodus 23:4

If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.

Exodus 23:12

Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

Exodus 34:19

All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. sheep: or, kid

Numbers

Numbers 7:3

And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle.

Numbers 18:17

But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Numbers 19:2

This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:

Numbers 22:4

And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.

Numbers 32:4

Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 5:14

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

Deuteronomy 5:21

Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Deuteronomy 7:13

And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

Deuteronomy 14:4

These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,

Deuteronomy 14:5

The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.

Deuteronomy 22:1

Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother.

Deuteronomy 22:2

And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.

Deuteronomy 22:4

Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.

Deuteronomy 22:10

Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Deuteronomy 25:4

Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. treadeth: Heb. thresheth

Deuteronomy 28:4

Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

Deuteronomy 33:17

His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. unicorns: Heb. an unicorn

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 6:7

Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:

1 Samuel 11:7

And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. with: Heb. as one man

1 Samuel 15:14

And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

1 Samuel 21:7

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

1 Kings

1 Kings 1:9

And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants: Enrogel: or, the well Rogel

1 Kings 7:25

It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

1 Kings 19:19

So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

1 Kings 19:21

And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.

Job

Job 1:3

His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. substance: or, cattle household: or, husbandry men: Heb. sons

Job 1:14

And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:

Job 6:5

Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? when he: Heb. at grass?

Job 21:10

Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.

Job 24:3

They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.

Job 40:15

Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. behemoth: or the Elephant as some think

Psalms

Psalms 22:12

Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

Psalms 50:9

I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.

Psalms 68:30

Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war. the company: or, the beasts of the reeds scatter: or, he scattereth

Psalms 69:31

This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

Psalms 106:20

Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

Psalms 144:14

That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets. strong: Heb. able to bear burdens, or, loaden with flesh

Isaiah

Isaiah 1:3

The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

Isaiah 7:25

And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

Isaiah 11:7

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

Isaiah 15:5

My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction. his: or, to the borders thereof, even to Zoar, as an heifer destruction: Heb. breaking

Isaiah 30:24

The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. clean: or, savoury: Heb. leavened

Isaiah 32:20

Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

Isaiah 51:20

Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.

Isaiah 65:10

And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 11:19

But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered. the tree: Heb. the stalk with his bread

Jeremiah 31:18

I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.

Jeremiah 46:20

Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.

Jeremiah 46:21

Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation. fatted: Heb. bullocks of the stall

Jeremiah 48:34

From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. desolate: Heb. desolations

Jeremiah 50:11

Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls; fat: Heb. big, or, corpulent bellow: or, neigh as steeds

People in the Bible and ox, the

Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.

In the Bible dictionary

Studying ox, the for yourself

  • Begin with Genesis 12:16, then read the passages below in canonical order.
  • Compare how Exodus, Genesis and Deuteronomy each treat the theme.
  • Consider the lives of Abraham, Lot and Moses and how their stories intersect with it.
  • Widen the study to related themes: Agriculture or Husbandry, Sheep, Trespass and Threshing.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Bible say about ox, the?

The Bible addresses ox, the across 111 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Exodus, Genesis and Deuteronomy. Closely related themes include Agriculture or Husbandry, Sheep, Trespass and Threshing. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Abraham, Lot, Moses and Samuel.

How many Bible verses are about ox, the?

The Bible references ox, the in 111 verses (King James Version).

Where does the Bible first mention ox, the?

In canonical order, the first of these passages is Genesis 12:16: “And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.”

Which people in the Bible are associated with ox, the?

Abraham, Lot, Moses, Samuel and Saul.

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