צֹאן
flock
also: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flocks fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Both
- Attested as both masculine and feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H6629 appears in the Book of Genesis — 52 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis
- Genesis 4:2 צֹ֔אן n c bs Again she gave birth, to Cain's brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
- Genesis 4:4 צֹאנ֖/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat of it. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering,
- Genesis 12:16 צֹאן n c bs He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, and oxen, and male donkeys, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and female donkeys, and camels.
- Genesis 13:5 צֹאן n c bs Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
- Genesis 20:14 צֹ֣אן n c bs Abimelech took sheep and oxen, men-servants and women-servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored Sarah, his wife to him.
- Genesis 21:27 צֹ֣אן n c bs Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech. Those two made a covenant.
- Genesis 21:28 הַ/צֹּ֖אן ptcl def.art + n c bs Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
- Genesis 24:35 צֹ֤אן n c bs Yahweh has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, men-servants and maid-servants, and camels and donkeys.
- Genesis 26:14 צֹאן֙ n c bs He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him.
- Genesis 27:9 הַ/צֹּ֔אן ptcl def.art + n c bs Go now to the flock, and get me from there two good kids of the goats. I will make them savory food for your father, such as he loves.
- Genesis 29:2 צֹאן֙ n c bs He looked, and behold, a well in the field, and, behold, three flocks of sheep lying there by it. For out of that well they watered the flocks. The stone on the well's mouth was great.
- Genesis 29:3 הַ/צֹּ֑אן ptcl def.art + n c bs There all the flocks were gathered. They rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again on the well's mouth in its place.
- Genesis 29:6 הַ/צֹּֽאן ptcl def.art + n c bs He said to them, "Is it well with him?" They said, "It is well. See, Rachel, his daughter, is coming with the sheep."
- Genesis 29:7 הַ/צֹּ֖אן ptcl def.art + n c bs He said, "Behold, it is still the middle of the day, not time to gather the cattle together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them."
- Genesis 29:8 הַ/צֹּֽאן ptcl def.art + n c bs They said, "We can't, until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll the stone from the well's mouth. Then we water the sheep."
- Genesis 29:9 הַ/צֹּאן֙ ptcl def.art + n c bs While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she kept them.
- Genesis 29:10 צֹ֥אן צֹ֥אן n c bs cs n c bs cs It happened, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.
- Genesis 30:31 צֹֽאנְ/ךָ֖ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it.
- Genesis 30:32 צֹֽאנְ/ךָ֜ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms I will pass through all your flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted one, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. This will be my hire.
- Genesis 30:36 צֹ֥אן n c bs cs He set three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
- Genesis 30:38 הַ/צֹּ֤אן הַ/צֹּ֔אן ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs He set the rods which he had peeled opposite the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink. They conceived when they came to drink.
- Genesis 30:39 הַ/צֹּ֖אן הַ/צֹּ֔אן ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs The flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.
- Genesis 30:40 הַ/צֹּ֧אן בְּ/צֹ֣אן צֹ֥אן ptcl def.art + n c bs prep + n c bs cs n c bs cs Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the streaked and all the black in the flock of Laban: and he put his own droves apart, and didn't put them into Laban's flock.
- Genesis 30:41 הַ/צֹּ֣אן הַ/צֹּ֖אן ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs It happened, whenever the stronger of the flock conceived, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods;
- Genesis 30:42 הַ/צֹּ֖אן ptcl def.art + n c bs but when the flock were feeble, he didn't put them in. So the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
- Genesis 30:43 צֹ֣אן n c bs The man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, maid-servants and men-servants, and camels and donkeys.
- Genesis 31:4 צֹאנֽ/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock,
- Genesis 31:8 הַ/צֹּ֖אן הַ/צֹּ֖אן ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs If he said this, 'The speckled will be your wages,' then all the flock bore speckled. If he said this, 'The streaked will be your wages,' then all the flock bore streaked.
- Genesis 31:10 הַ/צֹּ֔אן הַ/צֹּ֔אן ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs It happened at the time that the flock conceive, that I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which leaped on the flock were streaked, speckled, and grizzled.
- Genesis 31:12 הַ/צֹּ֔אן ptcl def.art + n c bs He said, 'Now lift up your eyes, and behold, all the male goats which leap on the flock are streaked, speckled, and grizzled, for I have seen all that Laban does to you.
- Genesis 31:19 צֹאנ֑/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's.
- Genesis 31:38 צֹאנְ/ךָ֖ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms These twenty years have I been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not cast their young, and I haven't eaten the rams of your flocks.
- Genesis 31:41 בְּ/צֹאנֶ֑/ךָ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms These twenty years have I been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.
- Genesis 31:43 וְ/הַ/צֹּ֣אן צֹאנִ֔/י conj + ptcl def.art + n c bs n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs Laban answered Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine: and what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have borne?
- Genesis 32:5 צֹ֖אן n c bs I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, men-servants, and maid-servants. I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.'"
- Genesis 32:7 הַ/צֹּ֧אן ptcl def.art + n c bs Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed: and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies;
- Genesis 33:13 וְ/הַ/צֹּ֥אן הַ/צֹּֽאן conj + ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds with me have their young, and if they overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die.
- Genesis 34:28 צֹאנָ֥/ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field;
- Genesis 37:2 בַּ/צֹּ֔אן prep det + n c bs This is the history of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father.
- Genesis 37:12 צֹ֥אן n c bs cs His brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
- Genesis 37:14 הַ/צֹּ֔אן ptcl def.art + n c bs He said to him, "Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again." So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
- Genesis 38:12 צֹאנ/וֹ֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms After many days, Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep-shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite.
- Genesis 38:13 צֹאנֽ/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms It was told Tamar, saying, "Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep."
- Genesis 38:17 הַ/צֹּ֑אן ptcl def.art + n c bs He said, "I will send you a kid of the goats from the flock." She said, "Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?"
- Genesis 45:10 וְ/צֹאנְ/ךָ֥ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you will be near to me, you, your children, your children's children, your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.
- Genesis 46:32 צֹ֔אן וְ/צֹאנָ֧/ם n c bs conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp These men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.'
- Genesis 46:34 צֹֽאן n c bs that you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers:' that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians."
- Genesis 47:1 וְ/צֹאנָ֤/ם conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own, have come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen."
- Genesis 47:3 צֹאן֙ n c bs Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers."
- Genesis 47:4 לַ/צֹּאן֙ prep det + n c bs They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to live as foreigners in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."
- Genesis 47:17 הַ/צֹּ֛אן ptcl def.art + n c bs They brought their cattle to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and for the herds, and for the donkeys: and he fed them with bread in exchange for all their cattle for that year.
- Genesis 50:8 וְ/צֹאנָ֣/ם conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
At its core, צאן (tsôʼn) means “flock.” Not a single-sense word: its full sense range also takes in “small cattle”, “sheep”, and “sheep and goats”. With 247 verses in 30 books, it is a common word in the Hebrew Bible. First canonically at Genesis 4:2, it enters the text early. From the same root come צנא and צאנן. Dig into 247-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H6629 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 247
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 247 distinct verses.
- 30 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 30 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #180
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 180 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 247 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 247 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 103 verses · 42%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 95 verses · 38%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 49 verses · 20%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Sheep 97×, Flock 68×, Flocks 43×
- American Standard Version: Sheep 88×, Flock 63×, Flocks 40×
- Berean Standard Bible: Sheep 85×, Flock 70×, Flocks 62×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Flock 95×, Sheep 69×, Flock s 32×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H6629 across 264 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 28 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 10 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H6629 across 265 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 50 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H6629 across 259 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 22 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 15 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H6629 across 277 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 19 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 5 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1. lit.
- a. small cattle, usually of sheep and goats in one flock (RobBR i. 477) Gn 30:31, 32 +; sheep specified also 21:28 (כִּבְשׂת הַצּ׳), 31:38 (אֵילֵי צ׳) +; sheep only 1 S 25:2 (+ עִזִּים); goats specified Gn 27:9; Je 50:8; צ׳ as yielding (1) animals for food Am 6:4 (כָּרִים), 1 S 14:32; 2 S 12:4; Ne 5:18 +; צ׳ מַאֲכָל ψ 44:12 (in sim.); (2) wool Gn 31:19 + (v. [גָּזַז], גֵּז); (3) milk, חֲלֵב צ׳ Dt 32:14 (? goats’ milk, cf. Pr 27:27); (4) sacrif. victims Gn 4:4 (J), Lv 1:2, 10; 3:6; Nu 15:3 (all P), 22:40 (E), Dt 12:6, 17, 21 + often; so צֹאן קָדָשִׁים Ez 36:38a, cf. בְּכוֹרֵי בְקָרֵינוּ וְצֹאנֵינוּ Ne 10:37; in gen. as property (often + בָּקָר, etc.) Gn 12:16; 13:5; 24:35 Jb 1:3; 42:12 + often (v. also ii. [עַשְׁתָּרוֹת]); gift Gn 20:14; 21:27; 38:17 (goat), Dt 15:14; 2 Ch 17:11; booty 1 S 15:9, 15 +. e.g. Genesis 30:31
- b. צ׳ sometimes of a definite number of animals (i.e. as pl. of שֶׂה, etc.): two Is 7:21, four Ex 21:37 (larger numbers v. 1 S 25:2, 5, 18; Nu 31:32, 36; Ne 5:18; Jb 1:3; 42:12 supr.).—Vid. also בֵּן 7 b; גְּדֵרָה, מִכְלָה, מַרְבֵּץ, נָוֶה, עֵדֶר; כֶּלֶב, רֹעֶה, שַׁעַר. e.g. Isaiah 7:21
- 2. sim. of multitude Ez 36:37, 38, cf. ψ 107:41; of children Jb 21:11; of dead, with death as shepherd ψ 49:15; of (shepherdless) Isr. Nu 27:17; 1 K 22:17 = 2 Ch 18:16; Zc 10:2; 13:7, wandering in sin Is 53:6; of Isr. led by י׳ ψ 77:21; 78:52; 80:2, cf. Zc 9:16 (on text v. We Now); Ez 34:12; of Isr. in distress, כְּצ׳ טִבְחָה ψ 44:23, cf. (of wicked) צ׳ לְטִבְחָה Je 12:3; of scattered Bab. Is 13:14. e.g. Ezekiel 36:37
- 3. metaph. of multitude, צ׳ אָדָם Ez 36:38; of Isr. 2 S 24:17 = 1 Ch 21:17; Je 23:1, 2, 3; Ez 24:5, and especially sustained fig. 34:2, 3 + 17 times 34, also Zc 11:7, 17; צ׳ אֹבְדוֹת Je 50:6, צ׳ תִּפְאַרְתֵּךְ 13:20; of Isr. under י׳’s care, (-וֹ, י—ִ) צ׳ מַרְעִיתֶ֑ךָ ψ 74:1; 79:13; 100:3; Ez 34:31, also צ׳ יָדוֹ ψ 95:7 (‖ עַם־מַרְעִיתוֹ; read perhaps צ׳ מַרְעִיתוֹ, עַם יָדוֹ, so Che al.); צ׳ נַחֲלָתֶ֑ךָ Mi 7:14; also in combinations: אַדִּירֵי הַצּ׳ Je 25:34, 35, 36, צ׳ חַהֲרֵגָה Zc 11:4, 7 (cf. ψ 44:23), עֲנִיֵּי הַצּ׳ v 7, 11 (all of Isr.); of Edom צְעִירֵי הַצּ׳ Je 49:20; 50:45. e.g. Ezekiel 36:38
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
n.coll.f. Gn 30:36 (poss. m. v 39a +, KöSynt. § 247 g, but dub., v 39b c. vb. fpl., as usually; in 1 S 15:14 join הַזֶּה with קוֹל; v. further Albr ZAW xv (1895), 316 ff.) small cattle, sheep and goats, flock, flocks;—צ׳ abs. Gn 4:2 +, cstr. 29:9 +; sf. צֹאנוֹ 4:4 +; צֹאנֵנוּ Ex 10:9, צֹאונֵנוּ ψ 144:13; as pl. צֹאנֵינוּ Ne 10:37 van d. H. Gi (not Baer); s. [צֹנֶא] צֹנֶה p. 856, etc.;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: from an unused root meaning to migrate
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
צֹאן
- (b. h.) flock, small cattle. Gen. R. s. 73 צֹאנוֹ של לבן Laban’s flock. Gen. R. s. 42 אם אין תישים אין צ׳ אם אין צ׳ וכ׳ where there are no bucks, there is no flock, and where there is no flock, there is no shepherd; Lev. R. s. 11; Esth. R. introd.; a. fr.—צ׳ ברזל, v. בַּרְזֶל.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 117 distinct written forms H6629 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 57 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H6629, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 231 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 247 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 4:2
- Exodus 2:16
- Leviticus 1:2
- Numbers 11:22
- Deuteronomy 7:13
- Joshua 7:24
- 1 Samuel 8:17
- 2 Samuel 7:8
- 1 Kings 1:9
- 2 Kings 5:26
- 1 Chronicles 4:39
- 2 Chronicles 5:6
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
