Topical Encyclopedia
In the Bible, herbs are frequently mentioned as part of the natural world created by God, serving various purposes such as food, medicine, and offerings. The term "herb" in biblical times generally referred to any plant used for culinary or medicinal purposes, including vegetables and aromatic plants.
Creation and ProvisionHerbs are first mentioned in the context of creation. In
Genesis 1:29 , God provides herbs as sustenance for humanity: "Then God said, 'Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.'" This passage underscores the provision of herbs as a fundamental part of God's creation, intended for human nourishment.
Dietary UseHerbs were a staple in the diet of the Israelites. In
Numbers 11:5 , the Israelites recall the foods they ate in Egypt, including herbs: "We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic." This highlights the role of herbs in enhancing the flavor and variety of their meals.
Medicinal and Ritual UseHerbs also held medicinal value. While specific herbs are not always named, the general use of plants for healing is implied in various passages. For example, in
Ezekiel 47:12 , the leaves of trees are described as having healing properties: "And on the banks, on both sides of the river, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."
In addition to their practical uses, herbs were part of religious rituals and offerings.
Exodus 30:34-35 describes the use of aromatic spices, which would have included herbs, in the sacred incense: "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha, and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal measures, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.'"
Symbolism and MetaphorHerbs are sometimes used metaphorically in Scripture. In
Matthew 13:31-32 , Jesus uses the mustard seed, a small herb, to illustrate the Kingdom of Heaven: "He put before them another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.'" This parable emphasizes the growth and expansive nature of God's kingdom from humble beginnings.
Cultural and Historical ContextIn biblical times, the cultivation and use of herbs were integral to daily life. The climate and geography of the ancient Near East were conducive to growing a variety of herbs, which were used not only for food and medicine but also for trade. The mention of herbs in various contexts throughout the Bible reflects their importance in the cultural and economic life of the people.
Overall, herbs in the Bible are depicted as a vital part of God's creation, serving practical, medicinal, and symbolic purposes. They illustrate the provision and care of God for His people, as well as the richness and diversity of the natural world.
Topical Bible Verses
Genesis 1:30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps on the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
Topicalbible.orgGenesis 1:29
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Topicalbible.org
Proverbs 15:17
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
Topicalbible.org
John 19:29-30
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it on hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
Topicalbible.org
Psalm 51:7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Topicalbible.org
Numbers 9:11
The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Topicalbible.org
Exodus 12:8
And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
Topicalbible.org
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
BITTER HERBShurbs, or urbs (merorim): Originally in the primitive Passover (Exodus 12:8Numbers 9:11) these were probably merely salads, the simplest and quickest prepared form of vegetable accompaniment to the roasted lamb. Such salads have always been favorites in the Orient. Cucumbers, lettuce, water-cress, parsley and endive are some of those commonly used. Later on the Passover ritual (as it does today) laid emphasis on the idea of "bitterness" as symbolical of Israel's lot in Egypt. In modern Palestine the Jews use chiefly lettuce and endive for the "bitter herbs" of their Passover. InLamentations 3:15 the same word is used: "He hath filled me with bitterness merorim, he hath sated me with wormwood." Here the parallelism with "wormwood" suggests some plant more distinctly bitter than the mild salads mentioned above, such, for example, as the colocynth (Citrullus colocynthus) or the violently irritating squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium).
E. W. G. Masterman
Greek
5521. chole -- gall (a bitter herb)... gall (a bitter herb). Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: chole Phonetic
Spelling: (khol-ay') Short Definition: gall, bitter
herbs Definition: gall
...2779. kepos -- a garden
... Noun, Masculine Transliteration: kepos Phonetic Spelling: (kay'-pos) Short Definition:
a garden Definition: a garden, any place planted with trees andherbs....
Strong's Hebrew
3419. yaraq --herbs, herbage... 3418, 3419. yaraq. 3420 .
herbs, herbage. Transliteration: yaraq Phonetic
Spelling: (yaw-rawk') Short Definition: green.
... green,
herbs.
...219b. orah -- an herb
... orah. 220 . an herb. Transliteration: orah Short Definition:herbs. Word Origin
from or Definition an herb NASB Word Usageherbs (1). 219a, 219b. orah. 220...
4844. maror -- bitter thing, bitter herb
... 4843, 4844. maror or maror. 4845 . bitter thing, bitter herb. Transliteration:
maror or maror Phonetic Spelling: (mer-ore') Short Definition:herbs....
4840. merqach -- spice, perfume
... 4839, 4840. merqach. 4841 . spice, perfume. Transliteration: merqach Phonetic
Spelling: (mer-kawkh') Short Definition:herbs. Word...
6212a. eseb -- herb, herbage
... Word Origin from an unused word Definition herb, herbage NASB Word Usage grass
(8), herb (1),herbs (1), plant (9), plants (3), vegetation (11). 6212, 6212a....
Library
Why God Has Blessed Men, Fishes, Flying Creatures, and notHerbs...
... Book XIII. Chapter XXIV."Why God Has Blessed Men, Fishes, Flying Creatures,
and NotHerbs and the Other Animals (Ver. 28). 35....
Why Choice of Meats was Prescribed.
... a just man, to eat of every animal, but not of flesh with the blood, which is dead."
[1996] And as he was ready to say, "as the greenherbs," I anticipated him...
For, in the First Place, He is of Opinion that "Thunders...
... the works of God, they are brought into existence not more for the support of us
who are human beings, than for that of plants, and trees, andherbs, and thorns...
Hebrews vi. 7, 8
... "For the Earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth
forthherbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God....
Interpretation of the Expression in I Tim. Ii. 4:00 "Who Will have...
... He says to the Pharisees: "Ye tithe mint, and rue, and every herb." [1297] For the
Pharisees did not tithe what belonged to others, nor all theherbs of all...
Meditation vi. The Last Pasch.
... the Paschal roast meat, then came a plate with green vegetables balanced against
each other, and another plate with small bundles of bitterherbs, which had...
The Mustard Seed
... the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth, yet when
it is sown, groweth up, and becometh greater than all theherbs, and putteth...
Of the Three Woe Trumpets.
... that they should not hurt any herb, (for this is the meaning ofchortos with the
Hellenists,) nor any thing green, nor any tree, unless thoseherbs, trees, and...
The Embalming of the Body of Jesus.
... They then placed beneath his hips a sheet which was a yard in width and three in
length, laid upon his lap bundles of sweet-scentedherbs, and shook over the...
The Life of Adam
... The third day were made on the earthherbs and fruits in their kind.... And there is
a well, which casteth out water for to water the trees andherbs of Paradise....
Thesaurus
Mustard (5 Occurrences)... This garden herb sometimes grows to a considerable height, so as to be spoken of
as "a tree" as compared with garden
herbs. Noah Webster's Dictionary.
...Vegetation (18 Occurrences)
... Genesis 1:11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass,herbs yielding seed, and
fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth...
Pulse (3 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary (Dan. 1:12, 16), RV "herbs," vegetable food in general.
Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (n.) Leguminous plants...
Garden (68 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) A piece of ground appropriated to the
cultivation ofherbs, fruits, flowers, or vegetables. 2. (n...
Bitter (203 Occurrences)
... The Passover was to be eaten with "bitterherbs" (Exodus 12:8; Numbers 9:11).
The kind ofherbs so designated is not known.... BITTERHERBS....
Thereof (845 Occurrences)
... Matthew 13:32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is
the greatest amongherbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air...
Yielding (19 Occurrences)
... Genesis 1:11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass,herbs yielding seed, and
fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth...
Vegetable (3 Occurrences)
... to possess it, isn't as the land of Egypt, from whence you came out, where you sowed
your seed, and watered it with your foot, as a garden ofherbs; (See NAS...
Nests (9 Occurrences)
... But when it is grown, it is greater than theherbs, and becomes a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches." (See RSV)....
Lodge (64 Occurrences)
... But when it is grown, it is greater than theherbs, and becomes a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches." (WEB KJV ASV WBS)....
Resources
What is the Haggadah / Aggadah? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about smudging? | GotQuestions.orgHow do the elements of the Passover Seder point to Christ? | GotQuestions.orgHerbs: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
Bible Thesuarus
