Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, December 22nd, 2024
the Fourth Week of Advent
Bible Encyclopedias
Sheepcote; Sheepfold
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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shēp´kot , shēp´kōt , shēp´fōld ( גּדרה , gedhērāh , מכלה , mikhlāh , משׁפּתים , mishpethayim , נוה , nāweh ; αὐλή , aulḗ ): At night the sheep are driven into a sheepfold if they are in a district where there is danger from robbers or wild beasts. These folds are simple walled enclosures ( Numbers 32:16; Judges 5:16; 2 Chronicles 32:28; Psalm 78:70; Zephaniah 2:6; John 10:1 ). On the top of the wall is heaped thorny brushwood as a further safeguard. Sometimes there is a covered hut in the corner for the shepherd. Where there is no danger the sheep huddle together in the open until daylight, while the shepherd watches over them (Genesis 31:39; Luke 2:8 ). In the winter time caves are sought after (1 Samuel 24:3; Zephaniah 2:6 ). The antiquity of the use of some of the caves for this purpose is indicated by the thick deposit of potassium nitrate formed from the decomposition of the sheep dung.
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Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Sheepcote; Sheepfold'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/isb/s/sheepcote-sheepfold.html. 1915.
