Bible Dictionary
STOCK
Stock may mean the stem or trunk of a tree, a family line, or an instrument of punishment. In some biblical passages it is associated with idolatrous wooden objects; elsewhere it denotes ancestry or confinement.
Definition
Stock may denote the stem or trunk of a living or felled tree, a family or lineage, or an instrument of punishment. In some passages it refers simply to wood, while in others the precise sense is uncertain.
Biblical Usage
The Bible uses stock for tree stems, wooden objects possibly associated with idolatry, family descent, and instruments of punishment. It can therefore belong to natural, genealogical, religious, or judicial contexts.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>stok: In English Versions of the Bible is used for:</p><p>(1) The stem of a tree, whether alive (Job 14:8; Isa 40:24) or cut down (Isa 44:19; /RAPC Wis 14:21). In Jer 2:27; 3:9; Ho 4:12, where the Hebrew has simply `ets, "wood," either meaning is possible (tree-worship? idolatry?). In Jer 10:8 the text is doubtful.</p><p>(2) A family (Le 25:47; /RAPC 1Es 5:37; Tob 5:13; 1Ma 12:21; 2Ma 1:10; Ac 13:26; Php 3:5).</p><p>(3) Elsewhere (Job 13:27, etc.) the word refers to an instrument of punishment.</p><p>See PUNISHMENTS.</p>