sheep
seh denotes a sheep, whether kept among livestock, designated for an offering, or used in flock imagery.
The term denotes a sheep in ordinary livestock, ownership, and loss contexts; it also identifies an animal selected for sacrifice, redemption, or other offerings. Several passages use sheep or flock language in comparisons and descriptions of a scattered or judged flock.
Senses in use
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Sheep among livestock and possessions · dominant
In 1 Samuel 17:34, the singular absolute form occurs when an animal is taken from a flock; the APB renders the clause “took a sheep from the flock.” In Deuteronomy 22:1, the construct singular occurs alongside an ox as a brother's straying property, while Genesis 30:32 describes marked animals being separated from a flock.
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Sheep designated for sacrifice or redemption · common
In Exodus 12:3, Exodus 12:4, and Exodus 12:5, singular absolute forms occur in instructions for the animal assigned to each house and described as unblemished. Genesis 22:7 and Genesis 22:8 place the same form in the question and answer concerning an animal for a burnt offering, and Exodus 13:13 uses it in redeeming a firstborn donkey.
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Sheep and flock imagery · occasional
Psalm 119:176 compares the speaker's going astray to “a perishing sheep” in the APB. Jeremiah 50:17 calls Israel “a scattered flock,” while Ezekiel 34:17 and Ezekiel 34:20 use repeated singular absolute forms in the announced judgment “between sheep and sheep” and between fat and lean sheep.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term as “sheep,” especially in livestock lists and flock language, but renders it “lamb” in Exodus 12:3, Exodus 12:4, Exodus 12:5 and Isaiah 53:7. These English variations do not by themselves establish separate lexical meanings.