The ox was a highly valued work animal used for plowing, threshing, hauling, sacrifice, and food. Israelite law required humane treatment, including allowing an ox to eat while threshing and rest on the Sabbath.
Definition
The ox was a highly valued cattle animal and the principal working animal of ancient Israelite rural life. Oxen plowed fields, trod out grain, drew loads, carried burdens, and supplied meat. Cows provided milk and butter, and oxen were also used in sacrifices. They were generally yoked in pairs and commonly grazed in plains or on hills, though some cattle were stall-fed. Because their labor was essential, Israelite law included measures for their protection.
Biblical Usage
Scripture commands that an ox treading grain must not be muzzled and indicates that oxen, like their masters, were to receive Sabbath rest. Jesus referred to the accepted practice of rescuing an ox from a pit when reproving the Pharisees. Oxen also appear in sacrificial, agricultural, dietary, and proverbial contexts.
Historical Background
Oxen were central to the rural economy of Israel and the ancient Near East. They were seldom slaughtered except when needed, and cattle grazing in open country could become fierce or wild because lions and other predators roamed the land.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Heb. bakar, “cattle;” “neat cattle”, (Gen. 12:16; 34:28; Job 1:3, 14; 42:12, etc.); not to be muzzled when treading the corn (Deut. 25:4). Referred to by our Lord in his reproof to the Pharisees (Luke 13:15; 14:5).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
There was no animal in the rural economy of the Israelites, or indeed in that of the ancient Orientals generally, that was held in higher esteem than the ox and deservedly so, for the ox was the animal upon whose patient labors depended all the ordinary operations of farming. Oxen were used for ploughing, (22:10; 1 Samuel 14:14) etc.; for treading out corn, (25:4; Hosea 10:11) etc.; for draught purposes, when they were generally yoked in pairs, (Numbers 7:3; 1 Samuel 6:7) etc.; as beasts of burden, (1 Chronicles 12:40) their flesh was eaten, (14:4; 1 Kings 1:9) etc.; they were used in the sacrifices; cows supplied milk, butter, etc. (32:14; 2 Samuel 17:29; Isaiah 7:22) Connected with the importance of oxen in the rural economy of the Jews is the strict code of laws which was mercifully enacted by God for their protection and preservation. The ox that threshed the corn was by no means to be muzzled; he was to enjoy rest on the Sabbath as well as his master. (Exodus 23:12; 5:14) The ox was seldom slaughtered. (Leviticus 17:1-6) It seems clear from (Proverbs 15:17) and 1Kin 4:23 That cattle were sometimes stall-fed though as a general rule it is probable that they fed in the plains or on the hills of Palestine. The cattle that grazed at large in the open country would no doubt often become fierce and wild, for it is to be remembered that in primitive times the lion and other wild beasts of prey roamed about Palestine. Hence the force of the Psalmist’s complaint of his enemies. (Psalms 22:13)
