H2089 H2089
one of the flock; individual sheep or goat, member of a collective flock
This singular noun refers to a single animal from a flock, whether sheep or goat, distinguishing individual members of the collective term 'flock.' Legal and ritual texts use it when specifying single animals for sacrifice, compensation, or property laws. The word emphasizes individual identity within the collective—one sheep among many. Deuteronomy's laws about helping a neighbor's straying animal, Samuel's account of taking a poor man's single lamb, and Exodus regulations about theft all employ this term. It never appears in plural, as the collective noun serves that function.
Senses
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שֶׂה n.m. Gn 30:32 and (less often) f. Je 50:17 one of a flock, a sheep (or goat) (Assyrian šuʾu, Arabic شَاةٌ, pl. شَآءٌ, شِوَاهٌ, etc. (also wild ox), cf. Egyptian sau, sheep Bondi65, cf. Id.Ba NB § 2 b δ);—abs. שֶׂה Gn 30:32 +, cstr. שֵׂה Is 43:23 +; sf. שֵׂיוֹ Dt 22:1, שְׂיֵ֫הוּ 1 S 14:34; not in pl.;— 1. a sheep, or goat, nom. unit. of צֹאן: as property Gn 30:32(×2) (E; + צֹאן coll.,…