Lexical Summary
chittah: Wheat
Original Word:חִטָּה
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:chittah
Pronunciation:khit-taw'
Phonetic Spelling:(khit-taw')
KJV: wheat(-en)
NASB:wheat
Word Origin:[of uncertain derivation]
1. wheat, whether the grain or the plant
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
wheaten
Of uncertain derivation; wheat, whether the grain or the plant -- wheat(-en).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
chanatDefinitionwheat
NASB Translationwheat (30).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
wheat, see below .
(√ of following; compare Arabic
make lines, marks,
line, streak, stripe; Aramaic
,dig,
furrow, trench).
(Late Hebrewid., Aramaic , ,
; Arabic
); — absoluteExodus 9:32 6t.; pluralGenesis 30:14 20t.;Ezekiel 4:9; constructEzekiel 27:17; —wheat, singular chiefly in poetry, of growing wheatExodus 9:32 (E),Deuteronomy 8:8;Job 31:40;Joel 1:11; sownIsaiah 28:25; food-productDeuteronomy 32:14 (kidney-fat of wheat, i.e. the choicest, see ),Psalm 81:17 (comparePsalm 147:14 below); elsewhere plural; wheat as sownJeremiah 12:13;wheat-harvestGenesis 30:14 (J),Exodus 34:22 (JE),Judges 15:1;1 Samuel 6:13;1 Samuel 12:17;Ruth 2:23, +2 Samuel 24:15 where insert according to We Dr; wheat threshedJudges 6:11;1 Chronicles 20:21 compare1 Chronicles 20:23; measured1 Kings 5:25 2Chron 2:9 (, read as1 Kings 5:25 =wheat for food Th Be Ke after Vrss), v.1 Kings 4:14; 1Ki 27:5;Ezekiel 45:13; stored (with barley, oil and honey)Jeremiah 41:8; for food2 Samuel 17:28,Psalm 147:14 (comparePsalm 81:14 above);2 Samuel 4:6 (read We Dr);fine wheaten flourExodus 29:2 (P);Ezekiel 4:9 (, Aramaic plural) mixed with barley, beans, lentils, etc., and made into bread.
[] (see Biblical Hebrew , √ ; NöLCB. Nö1896 Nö703 compare Egyptianchnt; Old Aramaic has , plural , Palmyrene Lzb279 SAC51); — pluralEzra 6:9;Ezra 7:22.
Topical Lexicon
Overview of usageThe noun חִטָּה (wheat) appears about thirty times across narrative, legal, poetic, and prophetic books, marking it as a staple of diet, economy, worship, and symbolism from the patriarchs to the post-exilic community.
Botanical and agricultural background
Wheat was sown with the early rains (October–November) and reaped in late spring (May–June). “Now during the wheat harvest” (Genesis 30:14) gives a seasonal indicator used repeatedly (Ruth 2:23;1 Samuel 6:13; 12:17). The grain needed moderate moisture and well-tilled soil; Isaiah notes the farmer “plants wheat in rows” (Isaiah 28:25). Threshing floors such as Ornan’s (1 Chronicles 21:23) or Gideon’s winepress (Judges 6:11) illustrate traditional processing by beating, sledging, and evening winnowing.
Economic and social importance
Tribute: Jotham received “ten thousand cors of wheat” from the Ammonites (2 Chronicles 27:5). International trade: Solomon promised Hiram “twenty thousand cors of crushed wheat” (2 Chronicles 2:10, 15). Crisis economics: families mortgaged fields “to get grain” (Nehemiah 5:2) and dishonest merchants “sell the chaff of the wheat” (Amos 8:6). Provision for royalty and armies appears in2 Samuel 17:28 and1 Kings 5:11. Such texts show wheat as both currency and lifeline.
Wheat in covenant blessing and judgment
Blessing is promised in “a land of wheat and barley” (Deuteronomy 8:8) and fulfilled when the Lord “fills you with the finest wheat” (Psalm 147:14). Judgment reverses the pattern: “They have sown wheat but reap thorns” (Jeremiah 12:13) and locusts ruin crops (Joel 1:11).Psalm 81:16 links obedience to divine provision: “I would feed you with the finest of wheat.”
Wheat in worship and sacrificial system
Fine flour for the grain offering (Leviticus 2) was normally ground from wheat. David’s purchase of the future temple site included “wheat for the grain offering” (1 Chronicles 21:23). Darius’ decree ordered daily temple supplies of “wheat, salt, wine, and oil” (Ezra 6:9; 7:22). At Shavuot the firstfruits were two leavened loaves baked from the new wheat harvest (Leviticus 23:17), connecting agricultural bounty to thanksgiving and foreshadowing Pentecost.
Prophetic and poetic imagery
True versus false: “For what does straw have in common with grain?” (Jeremiah 23:28) contrasts nourishing revelation with worthless deception. Job’s oath (“Let thorns grow instead of wheat,”Job 31:40) and Amos’ marketplace satire expose moral corruption.Song of Solomon 7:2 poetically likens the bride’s waist to “a mound of wheat,” picturing abundance and beauty. Wheat fields symbolize God’s care (Psalm 81:16) or impending judgment (Exodus 9:32;Joel 2:24).
Typology and redemptive themes
The seed-to-bread cycle prefigures the gospel. Wheat that dies to bear fruit (anticipated inIsaiah 55:10–11) finds explicit fulfillment when Jesus says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone” (John 12:24). The Old-Testament prominence of חִטָּה lays the groundwork for New-Testament images of resurrection, harvest, and evangelistic labor.
Ministry applications
1. Dependence: Israel’s yearly reliance on God for wheat encourages believers to trust the Father for “daily bread.”
2. Holiness: Separating grain from chaff mirrors the Spirit’s refining of character and doctrine.
3. Compassion: Leaving gleanings for Ruth models generosity to the poor.
4. Mission: Just as ripe heads demand swift sickles, the present age calls laborers into a ready spiritual harvest.
Selected references
Genesis 30:14;Exodus 9:32;Deuteronomy 8:8;Judges 6:11;Ruth 2:23;1 Samuel 6:13;1 Samuel 12:17;2 Samuel 17:28;1 Chronicles 21:23;2 Chronicles 2:10;2 Chronicles 27:5;Job 31:40;Psalm 81:16;Psalm 147:14;Song of Solomon 7:2;Isaiah 28:25;Jeremiah 12:13;Jeremiah 23:28;Ezekiel 4:9;Ezekiel 27:17;Joel 1:11;Amos 8:5-6.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּחִטֵּ֣י בחטי הַֽחִטִּ֑ים הַֽחִטִּ֔ים הַחִטִּ֨ים החטים וְהַחִטִּ֥ים וְהַחִטָּ֥ה וְחִטִּ֥ים והחטה והחטים וחטים חִ֝טִּ֗ים חִטִּ֑ים חִטִּ֔ים חִטִּ֖ים חִטִּ֗ים חִטִּ֡ין חִטִּ֥ים חִטִּ֨ים ׀ חִטִּֽים׃ חִטִּים֙ חִטָּ֑ה חִטָּ֖ה חִטָּ֤ה חִטָּ֨ה ׀ חִטָּה֙ חטה חטים חטים׃ חטין bə·ḥiṭ·ṭê bechitTei bəḥiṭṭê chitTah chitTim chitTin ha·ḥiṭ·ṭîm hachitTim haḥiṭṭîm ḥiṭ·ṭāh ḥiṭ·ṭîm ḥiṭ·ṭîn ḥiṭṭāh ḥiṭṭîm ḥiṭṭîn vechitTim vehachitTah vehachitTim wə·ha·ḥiṭ·ṭāh wə·ha·ḥiṭ·ṭîm wə·ḥiṭ·ṭîm wəhaḥiṭṭāh wəhaḥiṭṭîm wəḥiṭṭîm
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