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; /RAPC Wis 14:21). In Jeremiah 2:27, Jeremiah 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 Thessalonians 5:37Ezra 5:37; Tob Ezra 5:13, 1Ma 12:21, 2Ma 1:10, Acts 13:26, Philippians 3:5).
(3) Elsewhere (Job 13:27, etc.) the word refers to an instrument of punishment.
See PUNISHMENTS.