תּוֹר
𐤕𐤅𐤓
tôwr
H8450 noun
SILEX Entry
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.
Translation Consistency
Tôwr denotes an adult male bovine used as sacrificial or agricultural cattle. "Bull" is the natural, specific English noun for an adult male bovine and best covers the SILEX range (bull, bullock, ox) without implying castration or other qualifications.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
(Aramaic) corresponding (by permutation) to שׁוֹר; a bull; bullock, ox.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
uncertain (Baleadan) — uncertain
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1002 | בִּירָה | the citadel |
| H105 | אֲגַרְטָל | bowls of |
| H1081 | בַּלְאֲדָן | Baladan |
| H1085 | בִּלְדַּד | Bildad |
| H1095 | בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר | Belteshatsar |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8450-01 |
כְ/תוֹרִ֣ין | khetorin | AR/Ncmpa |
like-oxen | like bulls | like bulls | 4 |
H8450-02 |
תוֹרִ֣ין | torin | ANcmpa |
bulls | bulls | bulls | 3 |
Occurrences in Scripture
7 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8450-01 |
Daniel 4:22 | כְ/תוֹרִ֣ין | khetorin | AR/Ncmpa |
like-oxen | like bulls | like bulls |
H8450-01 |
Daniel 4:29 | כְ/תוֹרִין֙ | khetorin | AR/Ncmpa |
as-oxen | like bulls | like bulls |
H8450-01 |
Daniel 4:30 | כְ/תוֹרִין֙ | khetorin | AR/Ncmpa |
like-oxen | like bulls | like bulls |
H8450-01 |
Daniel 5:21 | כְ/תוֹרִין֙ | khetorin | AR/Ncmpa |
like oxen | like bulls | like bulls |
H8450-02 |
Ezra 6:9 | תוֹרִ֣ין | torin | ANcmpa |
rams | bulls | bulls |
H8450-02 |
Ezra 6:17 | תּוֹרִ֣ין | torin | ANcmpa |
bulls | bulls | bulls |
H8450-02 |
Ezra 7:17 | תּוֹרִ֤ין | torin | ANcmpa |
bulls | bulls | bulls |