What does עֶגְלָה (eglah) mean in the Bible?
עֶגְלָה (eglah): Female bovine at prime maturity—sacrificial purity and covenant symbolism in ritual contexts.
Hebrew · H5697
עֶגְלָה
A (female) calf , especially one nearly grown (i.e. a heifer )
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עֶגְלָה H5697
Pronunciation eglah
What does עֶגְלָה (eglah) mean in the Bible?
עֶגְלָה (eglah): Female bovine at prime maturity—sacrificial purity and covenant symbolism in ritual contexts.
Full entry for עֶגְלָה (H5697) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5697?
The BSB source-word alignment has 14 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a heifer (2), heifer (2), the heifer (2), {and break} its (1), a young cow (1).
Where does עֶגְלָה (eglah) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 15:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Deuteronomy (4), Jeremiah (3), Hosea (2), Isaiah (2).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It a heifer 2× Genesis 15:9, Deuteronomy 21:3
heifer 2× Jeremiah 46:20, Hosea 10:11
the heifer 2× Deuteronomy 21:4, Deuteronomy 21:6
{and break} its 1× Deuteronomy 21:4
a young cow 1× Isaiah 7:21
and Eglath-shelishiyah 1× Jeremiah 48:34
as far as Eglath-shelishiyah 1× Isaiah 15:5
for the calf 1× Hosea 10:5
like a heifer 1× Jeremiah 50:11
vvv 1× 1 Samuel 16:2
with my heifer 1× Judges 14:18
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 15:9 עֶגְלָ֣ה to a heifer Noun - feminine singular Deuteronomy 21:3 עֶגְלַ֣ת to a heifer Noun - feminine singular construct Deuteronomy 21:4 הָֽעֶגְלָה֙ to the heifer Article | Noun - feminine singular Deuteronomy 21:4 הָעֶגְלָ֖ה to {and break} its Article | Noun - feminine singular Deuteronomy 21:6 הָעֶגְלָ֖ה to the heifer Article | Noun - feminine singular Judges 14:18 בְּעֶגְלָתִ֔י to with my heifer Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular 1 Samuel 16:2 עֶגְלַ֤ת to vvv Noun - feminine singular construct Isaiah 7:21 עֶגְלַ֥ת to a young cow Noun - feminine singular construct Isaiah 15:5 עֶגְלַ֣ת to as far as Eglath-shelishiyah Noun - proper - feminine singular Jeremiah 46:20 עֶגְלָ֥ה to heifer Noun - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 15:9
Aligned rows 14
Books represented 7
Genesis 1 Deuteronomy 4 Judges 1 1 Samuel 1 Isaiah 2 Jeremiah 3 Hosea 2
Source forms
הָעֶגְלָ֖ה 2x hā·‘eḡ·lāh Deuteronomy 21:4, Deuteronomy 21:6
עֶגְלַ֣ת 2x ‘eḡ·laṯ Deuteronomy 21:3, Isaiah 15:5
בְּעֶגְלָתִ֔י 1x bə·‘eḡ·lā·ṯî Judges 14:18
הָֽעֶגְלָה֙ 1x hā·‘eḡ·lāh Deuteronomy 21:4
כְּעֶגְלָ֣ה 1x kə·‘eḡ·lāh Jeremiah 50:11
לְעֶגְלוֹת֙ 1x lə·‘eḡ·lō·wṯ Hosea 10:5
עֶגְלָ֣ה 1x ‘eḡ·lāh Genesis 15:9
עֶגְלָ֥ה 1x ‘eḡ·lāh Jeremiah 46:20
Parsing patterns
Article | Noun - feminine singular 3x Deuteronomy 21:4, Deuteronomy 21:6
Noun - feminine singular 3x Genesis 15:9, Jeremiah 46:20, Hosea 10:11
Noun - feminine singular construct 3x Deuteronomy 21:3, 1 Samuel 16:2, Isaiah 7:21
Noun - proper - feminine singular 2x Isaiah 15:5, Jeremiah 48:34
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular 1x Judges 14:18
Preposition-k | Noun - feminine singular 1x Jeremiah 50:11
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine plural construct 1x Hosea 10:5
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Female bovine at prime maturity—sacrificial purity and covenant symbolism in ritual contexts.
Source Gloss
a (female) calf , especially one nearly grown (i.e. a heifer )
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Female bovine at prime maturity—sacrificial purity and covenant symbolism in ritual contexts.
a (female) calf, especially one nearly grown (i.e. a heifer) BDB: heifer Usage: calf, cow, heifer.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
young cow
Showing 1 selected witness from 14 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
עֶגְלָה is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Metaphor for Israel’s resistance to discipline. Hosea 10:9-15
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain