flock
e.der denotes a gathered group of animals, and in pastoral imagery it can portray people as a group under care or gathering.
The term most often names groups of grazing or managed animals that are watered, pastured, counted, moved, or housed. It also supplies collective pastoral imagery for people and appears in poetic comparisons involving hair and teeth.
Senses in use
-
Managed groups of animals · dominant
The singular and plural forms occur for animal groups in practical settings: in Genesis 29:2 the APB renders “three flocks of sheep” gathered at a well to be watered, and in Genesis 30:40 it describes Jacob separating animals and setting his own groups apart from Laban’s. In Proverbs 27:23 the APB renders attention to their condition, while 2 Chronicles 32:28 places them with stalls and livestock.
-
Pastoral collective image for people · common
The term is used in clauses that portray a people collectively through shepherding and gathering imagery. In Ezekiel 34:12 the APB renders a shepherd seeking and rescuing a scattered group, while Jeremiah 31:10 describes Israel being gathered and kept as a shepherd keeps his animals; Psalm 78:52 likewise renders people being led “like a flock.”
-
Animal group in poetic comparison · occasional
In Song of Songs 4:1 and Song of Songs 6:5, the APB renders hair as being “like a flock of goats” descending from Gilead. In Song of Songs 4:2 and Song of Songs 6:6, teeth are compared to “a flock of shorn ewes” coming up from washing.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly renders the term with “flock” or “flocks,” including groups of sheep, goats, and animals under pasture or care. In the supplied verses it also retains that pastoral wording when the surrounding clause portrays people collectively.