Bullock - Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words

Usage Number: 1
Strong's Number: H6499
Original Word: par
Usage Notes: "bullock." Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic, Aramaic, Syriac, and Arabic. Par appears about 132 times in the Bible and in every period, although most of its appearances are in prose contexts dealing with sacrifices to God.

Par means "young bull," which is the significance in its first biblical appearance (Gen. 32:15), which tells us that among the gifts Jacob sent to placate Esau were "ten bulls." In Psa. 22:12, the word is used to describe "fierce, strong enemies": "Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round." When God threatens the nations with judgment in Isa. 34:7, He describes their princes and warriors as "young bulls," which He will slaughter (cf. Jer. 50:27; Ezek. 39:18).

Parâ is the feminine form of par, and it is used disdainfully of women in Amos 4:1: "Hear this word, you cows [kjv, "kine"] of Bashan …" (rsv). Parâ occurs 25 times in the Old Testament, and its first appearance is in Gen. 32:15.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words