Bible Dictionaries
Sheepshearers
Holman Bible Dictionary
Persons who cut wool from the sheep. Evidently, these are not professionals but the owners of the sheep (Genesis 31:19 ) or persons working for the owner (Genesis 38:12 ). The Hebrew does not distinguish between “sheepshearers” and “sheepshearing,” so that both translations are possible in several passages. The time of shearing sheep was a festive time of parties and inviting friends (1 Samuel 25:1; 2 Samuel 13:1 ). The word for shearing sheep was also used for cutting human hair (Jeremiah 7:29; Micah 1:16 ).
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Sheepshearers'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/s/sheepshearers.html. 1991.