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תּוֹר

𐤕𐤅𐤓

tôwr

H8450 noun

SILEX Entry

Root uncertain male bovine, bull, ox

Definition

Male bovine, generally an adult bull or ox; used as a term for cattle, especially in the context of sacrificial animals or agricultural beasts of burden. In Aramaic biblical texts, denotes a bull, bullock, or ox without implied qualifications (age, castration status, etc.) unless specified by context.

Semantic Range

bull, ox, bullock, adult male cattle, sacrificial bovine, agricultural beast of burden

Root / Etymology

Root uncertain, but the form corresponds by metathesis to Hebrew שׁוֹר (shor, 'ox, bull'). Aramaic תּוֹר (tôr) is a cognate term reflecting the typical change of shin to tav between Hebrew and Aramaic. Not derived from an independently productive Semitic root, but rather reflects an inherited noun form common to Northwest Semitic languages.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Found exclusively in Aramaic portions of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Daniel, Ezra); its Hebrew counterpart is שׁוֹר (shor). Functionally, תּוֹר refers to the same animal—a large male cattle—utilized both for agricultural work and for ritual sacrifice. English translations often render this simply as 'bull' or 'ox,' but the word lacks precise distinction between those (unlike English agricultural terminology, which distinguishes 'bull' from 'ox'). In biblical Aramaic, the term retains neutral specificity; context (such as ritual context in Daniel 4:25, 32) determines connotation. Early Jewish translators later used Greek ταῦρος for the term, conflating meanings with both 'bull' and 'ox.' The word does not possess ethnic or religious connotations on its own.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) corresponding (by permutation) to שׁוֹר; a bull; bullock, ox.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

תור (t-w-r) — male bovine, bull, ox

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H8446 תּוּר the exploring ones
H8447 תּוֹר arranged rows
H8448 תּוֹר as a turn of
H8449 תּוֹר the turtledove

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8450-01 כְ/תוֹרִ֣ין khetorin AR/Ncmpa like-oxen like bulls 4
H8450-02 תוֹרִ֣ין torin ANcmpa bulls bulls 3

Occurrences in Scripture

7 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8450-01 Daniel 4:22 כְ/תוֹרִ֣ין khetorin AR/Ncmpa like-oxen like bulls
H8450-01 Daniel 4:29 כְ/תוֹרִין֙ khetorin AR/Ncmpa as-oxen like bulls
H8450-01 Daniel 4:30 כְ/תוֹרִין֙ khetorin AR/Ncmpa like-oxen like bulls
H8450-01 Daniel 5:21 כְ/תוֹרִין֙ khetorin AR/Ncmpa like oxen like bulls
H8450-02 Ezra 6:9 תוֹרִ֣ין torin ANcmpa rams bulls
H8450-02 Ezra 6:17 תּוֹרִ֣ין torin ANcmpa bulls bulls
H8450-02 Ezra 7:17 תּוֹרִ֤ין torin ANcmpa bulls bulls
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