Difference between revisions of "Flock"

<p> <em> Tsô'n </em> ( '''''צְאוֹן''''' , Strong'S #6629), “flock; small cattle; sheep; goats.” A similar word is found in Akkadian, Aramaic, and Syriac, and in the Tel Amarna tablets. In Hebrew, <em> tsô'n </em> kept its meaning in all stages of the development of the language. The word occurs 273 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, with its first occurrence in Gen. 4:2. The word is not limited to any period of Hebrew history or to any type of literature. The Book of Genesis, with the narratives on the patriarchs in their pastoral setting, has the greatest frequency of usage (about 60 times).The primary meaning of <em> tsô'n </em> is “small cattle,” to be distinguished from <em> baqar </em> (“herd”). The word may refer to “sheep” only (1 Sam. 25:2) or to both “sheep and goats”: “So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me” (Gen. 30:33). The “flock” was an important economic factor in the ancient Near East. The animals were eaten (1 Sam. 14:32; cf. Ps. 44:11), shorn for their wool (Gen. 31:19), and milked (Deut. 32:14). They were also offered as a sacrifice, as when [[Abel]] sacrificed a firstling of his “flock” (Gen. 4:4). </p> <p> In the metaphorical usage of <em> tsô'n </em> , the imagery of a “multitude” may apply to people: “As the holy flock, as the flock of [[Jerusalem]] in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezek. 36:38). God is viewed as the shepherd of His “flock,” God’s people: “Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Ps. 100:3; cf. Ps. 23; 79:13; Mic. 7:14). In a period of oppression, the psalmist compared God’s people to “sheep for the slaughter” (Ps. 44:22) and prayed for God’s deliverance. </p> <p> People without a leader were compared to a “flock” without a shepherd (1 Kings 22:17; cf. Zech. 10:2; 13:7). Jeremiah viewed the Judeans as having been guided astray by their shepherds, or leaders (Jer. 50:6). Similarly, Isaiah wrote: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6). </p> <p> The prophetic promise pertains to God’s renewed blessing on the remnant of the “flock”: “And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase” (Jer. 23:3). This would come to pass as the [[Messiah]] (“the [[Branch]] of David”) will establish His rule over the people (vv. 5-6). This idea is also expressed by Ezekiel: “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it” (Ezek. 34:23- 24). </p> <p> The Septuagint gives the following translations: <em> probaton </em> —(“sheep”) and <em> piomnion </em> —(“flock”). The KJV gives these senses: “flocks; sheep; cattle.” </p>

<div> '''1: '''''Ποίμνη''''' ''' (Strong'S #4167 — Noun [[Feminine]] — poimne — poym'-nay ) </div> <p> akin to poimen, "a shepherd," denotes "a flock" (properly, of sheep), &nbsp;Matthew 26:31; &nbsp;Luke 2:8; &nbsp;1—Corinthians 9:7; metaphorically, of Christ's followers, &nbsp;John 10:16 , RV, for the erroneous AV, "fold." What characterizes Christ's sheep is listening to His voice, and the "flock" must be one as He is one. </p> <div> '''2: '''''Ποίμνιον''''' ''' (Strong'S #4168 — Noun Neuter — poimnion — poym'-nee-on ) </div> <p> possibly a diminutive of No. 1, is used in the NT only metaphorically, of a group of Christ's disciples, &nbsp;Luke 12:32; of local churches cared for by elders, &nbsp;Acts 20:28,29; &nbsp;1—Peter 5:2,3 . </p>

<p> &nbsp;Psalm 77:20 (a) The people of Israel are compared to sheep under the leadership of the Lord GOD of Heaven. (See also &nbsp;Isaiah 40:11 - &nbsp;Isaiah 63:11; &nbsp;Jeremiah 13:17; &nbsp;Jeremiah 23:2; &nbsp;Jeremiah 25:34; &nbsp;Ezekiel 24:5; &nbsp;Micah 2:12; &nbsp;Matthew 26:31). </p> <p> &nbsp;Luke 12:32 (a) This refers to the followers of the Lord [[Jesus]] He is the shepherd, those who love Him are His sheep. </p> <p> &nbsp;Acts 20:28 (a) In this passage the church is compared to sheep. It refers to the true church of GOD, consisting only of believers, born-again people. It does not refer to those great national and international organizations which call themselves "The Church." (See1Pe &nbsp;5:2). </p>

<p> [[Flock]] n. L. floccus. It is the same radically as flake, and applied to wool or hair, we write it lock. See Flake. </p> 1. A company or collection applied to sheep and other small animals. A flock of sheep answers to a herd of larger cattle. But the word may sometimes perhaps be applied to larger beasts, and in the plural, flocks may include all kinds of domesticated animals. 2. A company or collection of fowls of any kind, and when applied to birds on the wing, a flight as a flock of wild-geese a flock of ducks a flock of blackbirds. in the United States, flocks of wild-pigeons sometimes darken the air. 3. A body or crowd of people. little used. Gr. a troop. 4. A lock of wool or hair. Hence, a flockbed. <p> FLOCK, To gather in companies or crowds applied to men or other animals. People flock together. They flock to the play-house. </p> <p> Friends daily flock. </p>

<p> <strong> FLOCK </strong> . See [[Sheep.]] </p>

<p> (usually and properly '''''עֵדֵר''''' , ''E'Der, '''''Ποίμνη''''' '' [or dimin. '''''Ποιμνίον''''' , a "little flock,' like '''''חֲשַׂי''''' , ''Chasiph','' &nbsp;1 Kings 20:27]; occasionally '''''מִקְנֶה''''' , ''Mikneh', Cattle,'' as generally rendered; frequently '''''צאֹן''''' , [[Sheep]] collectively, as commonly rendered; also '''''מִרְעִית''''' ," ''Marith','' &nbsp;Jeremiah 10:21, ''Pasture,'' as elsewhere rendered; and '''''עִשְׁתְּרוֹת''''' , ''Ashteroth''' [q.v.], &nbsp;Deuteronomy 7:13; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 28:4; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 28:18; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 28:51, i.e. Venuses, ewes for breeding). (See Fold); (See [[Pasturage]]); (See Sheep). </p>