Lexical Summary
karmel: Carmel, fruitful field, plantation
Original Word:כַּרְמֶל
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:karmel
Pronunciation:kar-MEL
Phonetic Spelling:(kar-mel')
KJV: full (green) ears (of corn), fruitful field (place), plentiful (field)
NASB:fertile field, fruitful field, new growth, thickest, fertile fields, fresh ears, fresh ears of grain
Word Origin:[fromH3754 (כֶּרֶם - vineyard)]
1. a planted field (garden, orchard, vineyard or park)
2. (by implication) garden produce
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
full green ears of corn, fruitful field place, plentiful field
Fromkerem; a planted field (garden, orchard, vineyard or park); by implication, garden produce -- full (green) ears (of corn), fruitful field (place), plentiful (field).
see HEBREWkerem
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom the same as
keremDefinitiona plantation, garden land, fruit, garden growth
NASB Translationfertile field (5), fertile fields (1), fresh ears (1), fresh ears of grain (1), fruitful (1), fruitful field (3), fruitful garden (1), fruitful land (1), new growth (2), thickest (2).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I.
Isaiah 29:17 .
( + , compare Ges§ 85, 52 Sta§ 299); — absoluteIsaiah 16:10 12t.; suffixIsaiah 10:18 2t.; —
garden-land,Isaiah 16:10 "" ,Isaiah 10:18 "" ,Isaiah 29:17 (twice in verse) (opposed to ),Isaiah 32:15 (twice in verse) (opposed to ),Isaiah 32:16;Jeremiah 4:26 (opposed to ),Jeremiah 48:33; 2Chronicles 26:10 (opposed to );Jeremiah 2:7the country of garden-land, i.e. fertile;2 Kings 19:23 =Isaiah 37:24,the garden-like forest of it (namely of Lebanon). OnMicah 7:14 see II. .
by metonymy (fresh)fruit, garden growth,2 Kings 4:42 (+Leviticus 2:14 (+ and , q. v.);Leviticus 23:14.
Topical Lexicon
Definition and Range of UseThe Hebrew noun karmel (§3759) denotes the richest, most fruitful part of a cultivated field, orchard, or garden-land. It speaks of produce at its peak—ears of grain full, moist, and ready to be roasted or ground, or land so well-watered and tended that it yields abundance without stint. In English versions it is variously rendered “fresh grain,” “ripe grain,” “fruitful field,” or “choice land.”
Occurrences and Theological Context
Leviticus 2:14 andLeviticus 23:14 introduce karmel in the context of the grain offering. The worshiper brings “roasted grain of fresh kernels” as firstfruits, an act that publicly acknowledges the Lord as the ultimate Giver of harvest. Israel’s life in the land was to be marked by this rhythm of gratitude: the first and best belong to God.
2 Kings 4:42 records a man from Baal-shalishah who brings Elisha “twenty loaves of barley and newly ripened grain in his sack”. Set against famine, the gift of karmel becomes the material God multiplies to feed a hundred men, prefiguring the compassion and power later revealed in Jesus’ feeding miracles (Matthew 14:13-21;John 6:1-14).
In the Assyrian taunt of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:23;Isaiah 37:24) karmel is figurative: the arrogant king boasts that he will enter “its farthest heights, its densest forest”—the choicest, most inaccessible orchard-land of Lebanon. His threatened desecration of the most fruitful places heightens the LORD’s vindication when the boast is overturned (2 Kings 19:35-37).
The prophets use karmel to contrast judgment and restoration.Isaiah 10:18 depicts karmel consumed “both soul and body” in the day of the LORD’s wrath; yetIsaiah 29:17 promises, “In a very short time, will not Lebanon become an orchard, and the orchard be considered a forest?”. The transformation of desert to karmel becomes a signature of messianic renewal (Isaiah 32:15-16).
Jeremiah likewise laments covenant unfaithfulness: “I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you have defiled My land” (Jeremiah 2:7). InJeremiah 48:33 karmel is silenced in Moab, “no one treads winepresses; I have cut off the shout of joy.” Loss of karmel signals removal of covenant blessing.
Agricultural Significance in Israel’s Worship and Economy
1. Firstfruits and Dependence. By offering karmel, Israel confessed that harvest had come solely because the LORD faithfully supplied “rain in its season” (Leviticus 26:4). The roasted grain was eaten only after God received His portion (Leviticus 23:14), underscoring proper priority in stewardship.
2. Sustenance of Community. Ripe grain provided daily bread and seed for the next planting. In Elisha’s day it also became a channel of miraculous provision for the prophetic community, demonstrating that the LORD cares for both physical and spiritual needs.
3. Marker of Covenant Blessings.Deuteronomy 8:7-10 anticipates a land of wheat, barley, vines, and olive oil. Karmel epitomizes that promise realized; its absence signifies the curse of drought or invasion (Isaiah 5:5-6).
Prophetic Imagery and Spiritual Lessons
• Judgment turns karmel into desert (Jeremiah 4:26). Sin ruins not only souls but also the created order entrusted to humanity.
• Restoration reverses the curse: “Justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness will abide in the orchard” (Isaiah 32:16). When righteousness returns, fertile fields reappear; moral and ecological health rise together.
• Dependence on the Spirit.Isaiah 32:15 ties the blossoming of karmel to the outpouring of the Spirit: “until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes an orchard.” True fruitfulness—whether agricultural, moral, or ministerial—rests on divine enablement, not human effort alone.
Christological and Eschatological Perspectives
Jesus is called the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Just as karmel offered in Leviticus anticipated the full harvest, Christ’s resurrection guarantees the full ingathering of redeemed humanity. Moreover, millennial prophecies (e.g.,Amos 9:13) picture hills dripping with new wine and mountains flowing with sweet wine—landscape imagery aligned with karmel—signaling that final redemption restores abundance lost through the Fall.
Practical Ministry Applications
1. Giving the First and Best. Believers today mirror the karmel offering by dedicating their firstfruits—time, resources, talents—to the Lord’s service (Proverbs 3:9).
2. Trust in God’s Provision. In seasons of lack, Elisha’s narrative encourages expectancy that God can multiply scant resources for kingdom purposes (2 Corinthians 9:8-11).
3. Holistic Stewardship. Prophetic warnings against defiling the land urge modern stewardship of creation alongside moral fidelity; ecological degradation often accompanies spiritual decline.
4. Prayer for Spiritual Outpouring. Isaiah’s vision drives intercession: as the Spirit renews hearts, communities once spiritually barren can become orchards of righteousness and peace (Galatians 5:22-23).
Summary
Karmel encapsulates the biblical theme of fruitful abundance granted by God, forfeited through sin, and ultimately restored through divine visitation. From Levitical worship to prophetic promise, it testifies that the LORD alone supplies both material harvest and spiritual renewal, and calls His people to honor Him with the first and best of every field of life.
Forms and Transliterations
בַּכַּרְמֶ֥ל בכרמל הַכַּרְמֶ֔ל הַכַּרְמֶ֖ל הכרמל וְהַכַּרְמֶ֖ל וְהַכַּרְמֶ֖ל וְכַרְמִלּ֔וֹ וְכַרְמֶ֖ל וְכַרְמֶ֜ל והכרמל וכרמל וכרמלו כַּרְמִלּֽוֹ׃ כַּרְמֶ֔ל כרמל כרמלו׃ לַכַּרְמֶ֑ל לַכַּרְמֶ֔ל לכרמל מִכַּרְמֶ֖ל מכרמל bak·kar·mel bakkarmel hak·kar·mel hakkarmel kar·mel kar·mil·lōw karmel karmilLo karmillōw lak·kar·mel lakkarmel mik·kar·mel mikkarmel vecharMel vecharmilLo vehakkarMel wə·hak·kar·mel wə·ḵar·mel wə·ḵar·mil·lōw wəhakkarmel wəḵarmel wəḵarmillōw
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