Number: 1971
Proto-Semitic: *baḳar-
Meaning: 'large cattle'
Eblaitic: ba-ga-lum = ÁB.UDU [MEE 4 1101], /baḳarum/ [Kreb. 39] (according to Krebernik, the logoram is to be rendered as ÁB.LU).
Phoenician: bḳr 'cattle' [T 54], [Krah. 124]. // In the combination bʕl bḳr 'owner of large cattle' (KAI 24:11-2) opposed to bʕl ʕdr 'owner of small cattle' (cf. [Gibson 35]; note bʕl ʔlpm in a similar passage KAI 26 A III:8-9).
Hebrew: bāḳār 'cattle; herd, cattle (both sexes)' [KB 151], pB. 'a beef; oxen, cattle' [Ja. 187].
Judaic Aramaic: baḳrā 'herd' [Ja. 187], [Levy WTM I 256]; bḳr 'cattle' [Sok 110], bḳwrh, det. bḳwrth 'herd of cattle' [ibid.]. // Sam. bḳr, bwḳrh 'cattle' [Tal 112].
Syrian Aramaic: baḳrā 'grex (bovum, ovium, suum, camelorum, simiarum, daemonum, haereticorum)' [Brock. 88], [PS 575].
Mandaic Aramaic: baḳra 'herd, flock' [DM 49].
Arabic: baḳar- 'boeufs et vaches, race bovine', baḳarat- 'pièce de bétail de la race bovine; vache' [ibid.], baḳīr- 'troupeau des boeufs' [ibid.], bāḳūr(-at)- 'troupeau des boeufs' [BK 1 149], [Fr. I 141-2], [Lane 234], [LA IV 73ff.] (more details see in [Hommel 222ff.]).
Epigraphic South Arabian: Sab. bḳr 'bovines, large cattle; head of cattle' [SD 30]. // Min. bḳr 'bovin, gros bétail, tête de gros bétail' [LM 23]. // Hdr. bḳr 'Oryx' [Sima 50]. // All ESA passages are quoted and discussed in [Sima 44-52]. Of special interest are the occurrences listed by Sima under bḳr (II) which proceed from the inscriptions dealing with hunt: here b. obviously denotes something different from the domestic cattle. These are ʕAbadān 1/37 (wṭrdw ʕly ʔfrs1hmw bḳr Rynm 'ils ont chassé sur leurs chevaux les vaches de Rayyānum', translation from [Robin-Gajda 116]) and Ja 949/2 (mt t_brw bn ṣydn whrgw h̊ms1 ws2lt_y bḳrm 'als sie die Jagd abgebrochen haben; und sie haben getötet 35 Oryx', translation from [Sima 50]). According to Sima, b. in such cases denotes the animal called baḳar waḥšī by the Arabs, i.e. Oryx leucoryx.
Mehri: bǝḳǝrēt 'cow' [JM 47].
Harsusi: beḳerét 'cow' [JH 17]. // Most probably Arabisms (cf. [Sima 47]).
Notes: Akk. buḳāru 'cattle' [CAD b 323], [AHw. 139] is found in one passage from Mari (ṣābu u buḳāru šalmū 'people and cattle are safe' ARM 2 131:39) and is rightly thought to be a WS loan in both dictionaries (cf. now [Streck 87]). As rightly pointed out in [Duran 1998 78], spelling with -GA- is unusual and probably implies the reading bugārum (but see [Streck 87] against this view). // WS backgound is to be supposed also for baḳru 'Kuh' in ARM 24 42:1' (1 AMAR GA ša ba-aḳ-ri-im 'Ein Milchkalb von einer Kuh (?)' according to [Streck 85]) and bu-ḳà-ri 'cattle' in the Akk. texts from Emar ([Zadok Emar 116]). // Comparison with Eža Enm. bäxar, Gyt.. baxar 'fat cow or ox' [LGur. 137] is tempting but phonologically difficult (see discussion [ibid.]). // [Fron. 30]: *baḳar- 'mandria (di bovini)' (ESA, Arb., Syr., Hbr.); [DRS 80]: *baḳar- 'gros bétail' (Akk., Pho., Hbr., Arm., Arb., ESA); [KB 151]: Hbr., Pho., Arm., Arb., ESA, Akk.; [Brock. 88]: Syr., Arm., Arb., Hbr., ESA; [Firmage 1152]: Hbr., Arm., Arb.; [Kreb. 39]: Ebl., Hbr., Arb.; [Hommel 222]: *baḳaru 'rindvieh' (Arb., Hbr., Arm.); [Sima 47]: ESA, Arb., Pho., Hbr., Arm. (CЮЯ and Akk. Mari also mentioned and discussed).
