International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Daughter

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Daughter


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dô´tẽr (בּת, bath; θυγάτηρ, thugátēr): Used in Scriptures in several more or less distinct senses: (a) for daughter in the ordinary, literal sense (; ); (b) daughter-in-law (); (c) grand-daughter or other female descendant (Ex 21; ; ); (d) The women of a country, or of a place, taken collectively (), of a particular religion (); (e) all the population of a place, taken collectively, especially in Prophets and poetic books (; ; ; ); (f) used in familiar address, “Daughter, be of good comfort” ( the King James Version; ; ); (g) women in general (); (h) The personification of towns or cities, as of the female sex (; , ; compare , ), especially of dependent towns and villages (; margin; margin); (i) in Hebrew idiom for person or thing belonging to or having the characteristics of that with which it is joined, as “daughter of ninety years,” of Sarah, ninety years old (); “daughters of music,” singing birds, or singing women (); daughters of a tree, i.e. branches; daughter of the eye, i.e. the pupil.

Daughters were not so highly prized as sons, not being usually mentioned by name. A father might sometimes sell his daughter as bondwoman (); though not to a foreigner (); daughters might sometimes inherit as did sons, but could not take the inheritance outside of the tribe (-12).