Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
HEIF'ER, Hos 10:11. The figurative allusions of the sacred writers to the wildness, sportiveness, and indocility of this animal, especially when well fed, are very striking. Jer 46:20; Jer 50:11; Hos 4:16. In Isa 15:5 allusion is probably made to the lowing of a heifer — a mournful sound that can be heard at a great distance; so should the lamentation of the Moabites be in the day of their visitation. The heifer was used in sacrifice on a
particular occasion, Num 19:1-10; comp. Heb 9:13-14, the manner and design of which are fully stated in the passage cited.