STOCK

stok: In English Versions of the Bible is used for:

(1) The stem of a tree, whether alive (Job 14:8; Isaiah 40:24) or cut down (Isaiah 44:19; The Wisdom of Solomon 14:21). In Jeremiah 2:27; 3:9; Hosea 4:12, where the Hebrew has simply `ets, "wood," either meaning is possible (tree-worship? idolatry?). In Jeremiah 10:8 the text is doubtful.

(2) A family (Leviticus 25:47; 1 Esdras 5:37; Tobit 5:13; 1 Macc 12:21; 2 Macc 1:10; Acts 13:26; Philippians 3:5).

(3) Elsewhere (Job 13:27, etc.) the word refers to an instrument of punishment.

See PUNISHMENTS .

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.