Greek word · G1151

δάμαλις

damalis

heifer

A heifer, a young cow. In biblical usage it especially means the "red heifer" (δάμαλις πυρρά, Num 19:2), and also the heifer whose neck was broken for an unsolved murder (Deut 21:3–6).

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 21, 2026

What it means

δάμαλις, -εως, ἡ

(fem. of δαμάλης, a bullock), [in LXX chiefly for פָּרָה, עֶגְלָה ;]

a heifer, Hebrews 9:13.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Hebrews 9:13

Range of meaning: A heifer, a young cow. In biblical usage it especially means the "red heifer" (δάμαλις πυρρά, Num 19:2), and also the heifer whose neck was broken for an unsolved murder (Deut 21:3–6).
Against the English: Most versions keep "heifer"; the NLT says "a young cow". None of them tells the reader that a specific, rare rite is meant.
Used elsewhere in the period: Num 19:1–22 (LXX: δάμαλις, σποδός, and "water of sprinkling", ὕδωρ ῥαντισμοῦ). Numbers 19:9 classes the heifer as a ḥaṭṭāʾt, a purification offering, the same category as the Day of Atonement bull and goat. Josephus, Antiquities 4.78–81, describes the rite. Philo, Special Laws 1.261–272, allegorises the ash and water. Mishnah tractate Parah records that only a handful of red heifers were ever prepared, seven or nine from Moses to the Temple's destruction. Epistle of Barnabas 8 reads the heifer as a type of Christ.

Where it appears

Hebrews · 1

Hebrews 9:13 δαμάλεως of a heifer

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,

Here: A young cow that had never been yoked. Here it is the red heifer of Numbers 19, the one rite in the Torah for removing the impurity caused by contact with a dead body.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.