BullockBUL-uhk

Bullock: The Young Bull of Israel's Sacrificial System

Understanding how to pronounce bullock—BOOL-uhk—takes readers into the world of Levitical sacrifice, where this term for a young bull appears repeatedly in the King James Version as the standard animal for the most significant offerings. Modern translations have largely replaced it with "bull" or "young bull," but the word remains essential for reading older biblical texts.

Etymology and Meaning

The word "bullock" comes from Old English "bulluc," a diminutive of "bull"—literally "little bull" or "young bull." In biblical usage, a bullock designated a young male bovine in prime physical condition, suitable for sacrifice. The underlying Hebrew term is most often "par" (פַּר), meaning "bull" or "young bull." The KJV's consistent use of "bullock" gave the term a distinctly liturgical resonance that persisted in English religious vocabulary for centuries.

Biblical Context

The bullock occupied the highest tier of Israel's sacrificial system. Leviticus 4 specifies a bullock as the required sin offering when the high priest sinned unintentionally (Leviticus 4:3) and when the whole congregation sinned (Leviticus 4:14)—the most serious categories of inadvertent sin, requiring the most costly animal. The burnt offering in Leviticus 1:3–9 also permits a bullock from the herd as the highest-value option: the worshiper lays his hand on the animal's head, slaughters it, and the priests arrange the portions on the altar.

The festival calendar prescribes bullocks in striking quantities. Numbers 29 details offerings for the Feast of Tabernacles beginning with thirteen young bulls on the first day, decreasing by one each day—totaling 70 bulls over seven days. Rabbinic tradition interpreted these 70 bulls as corresponding to the 70 nations of the world, giving Israel's worship an intercessory dimension on behalf of all humanity. The bullock also featured prominently in Elijah's contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:23–38).

Pronunciation Guide

Bullock is two syllables with stress on the first. The first syllable is "BOOL"—a long OO sound, rhyming with "pool." The second is an unstressed "uhk," like the ending of "hammock." The correct pronunciation is BOOL-uhk. Both a long OO (BOOL-) and a short U (BUL-uhk, as in "bull") are heard; the long OO is traditional in KJV-influenced reading.