Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical terminology, the term "parched" often refers to dryness or a lack of moisture, typically in the context of land or food. This concept is frequently used in Scripture to illustrate spiritual truths, physical conditions, and divine provision.
Old Testament References1.
Physical Condition of the Land: The term "parched" is often used to describe the arid and dry conditions of the land, particularly in the context of the wilderness or desert. In
Isaiah 35:1, the prophet speaks of a transformation: "The wilderness and the land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose." This imagery of a parched land becoming fruitful is symbolic of spiritual renewal and divine intervention.
2.
Provision of Food: In the context of food, "parched" refers to grain that has been roasted or dried. This was a common method of preparing grain in ancient times. In
Leviticus 2:14, the Israelites are instructed: "If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire." This offering of parched grain signifies the firstfruits of the harvest, symbolizing gratitude and dedication to God.
3.
Spiritual Symbolism: The parched land is often used metaphorically to describe spiritual desolation or a longing for God.
Psalm 63:1 expresses this yearning: "O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land without water." Here, the psalmist's spiritual thirst is likened to the physical thirst experienced in a parched land.
New Testament ReferencesWhile the New Testament does not frequently use the term "parched," the concept of spiritual thirst and dryness is present. Jesus speaks of Himself as the source of living water, offering spiritual refreshment to those who are spiritually parched. In
John 4:14, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well, "But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life."
Theological ImplicationsThe imagery of parched land and the provision of water or sustenance is rich with theological significance. It underscores humanity's dependence on God for both physical and spiritual sustenance. The transformation of a parched land into a fertile one serves as a powerful metaphor for the transformative power of God's grace in the life of a believer. The provision of parched grain as an offering highlights the importance of giving back to God from the firstfruits of one's labor, acknowledging His sovereignty and provision.
In summary, the concept of "parched" in the Bible serves as a vivid illustration of both physical and spiritual realities, emphasizing the need for divine intervention and the fulfillment found in God's provision.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Parched ground
(Isaiah 35:7), Hebrews sharab, a "mirage", a phenomenon caused by the refraction of the rays of the sun on the glowing sands of the desert, causing them suddenly to assume the appearance of a beautiful lake. It is called by the modern Arabs by the same Hebrew name serab.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(
imp. & p. p.) of Parch.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PARCHEDparcht: Four different root words have been translated "parched" in English Versions of the Bible:
(1) qalah, "roasted." This word is applied to corn or pulse. It is a common practice in Palestine and Syria to roast the nearly ripe wheat for eating as a delicacy. A handful of heads of fully developed grain, with the stalks still attached, are gathered and bound together and then, holding the bunch by the lower ends of the stalks, the heads are toasted over a fire of straw or thorn bush. By the time most of the sheaths are blackened the grain is toasted, and, after rubbing off the husks between the hands, is ready to eat (Leviticus 2:14). A form of pulse is toasted in the same way and is more sought after than the grain. In the larger towns and cities, venders go about the streets selling bunches of toasted chick-peas. The Bible references, however, are probably to another form of roasted grain. The threshed wheat or pulse is roasted over a fire on an iron pan or on a fiat stone, being kept in constant motion with a stirrer until the operation is finished. The grain thus prepared is a marketable article. Parched grain is not now so commonly met with as the pulse, which either roasted or unroasted is called chommoc (from Arabic "to roast" or "parch"). Parched pulse is eaten not only plain, but is often made into confection by coating the seeds with sugar. In Bible times parched wheat or pulse was a common food, even taking the place of bread (Leviticus 23:14Joshua 5:11Ruth 2:14). It was a useful food supply for armies, as it required no further cooking (1 Samuel 17:17). It was frequently included in gifts or hostages (1 Samuel 25:182 Samuel 17:28).
(2) charer, "burned" or "parched" (compare Arabic chariq, "burned"), is used in the sense of dried up or arid inJeremiah 17:6.
(3) tsicheh, is used inIsaiah 5:13, the King James Version "dried up" the Revised Version (British and American) "parched" tsechichah inPsalm 68:6, the King James Version "dry," the Revised Version (British and American) "parched."
(4) sharabh, rendered "parched" in the King James Version, is "glowing" in the Revised Version (British and American). The word implies the peculiar wavy effect of the air above parched ground, usually accompanied by mirages (compare Arabic serdb, "mirage") (Isaiah 35:7;Isaiah 49:10). In predicting a happy future for Zion the prophet could have chosen no greater contrast than that the hot glowing sands which produce illusive water effects should be changed into real pools.
SeeMIRAGE.
James A. Patch
PARCHED CORN (GRAIN)
parcht.
SeeFOOD.
Greek
850. auchmeros -- to boast... auchmeros Phonetic Spelling: (owkh-may-ros') Short Definition: dingy, dusky, obscure,
dark, funereal Definition: (poetical, lit: dry and
parched; then: squalid
...Strong's Hebrew
6704. tsicheh --parched... 6703, 6704. tsicheh. 6705 .
parched. Transliteration: tsicheh Phonetic
Spelling: (tsee-kheh') Short Definition:
parched. Word Origin
...7039. qali --parched (grain)
... 7038, 7039. qali or qali. 7040 .parched (grain). Transliteration: qali or
qali Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-lee') Short Definition: grain....parched corn....
2788. charer -- aparched place
... 2787, 2788. charer. 2789 . aparched place. Transliteration: charer Phonetic
Spelling: (khaw-rare') Short Definition: wastes....parched place....
8273. sharab -- burning heat,parched ground
... 8272, 8273. sharab. 8274 . burning heat,parched ground. Transliteration: sharab
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-rawb') Short Definition: land.... heat,parched ground...
5405. nashath -- to be dry orparched
... 5404, 5405. nashath. 5406 . to be dry orparched. Transliteration: nashath
Phonetic Spelling: (naw-shath') Short Definition: dry. Word Origin a prim....
6773. tsimah --parched condition
... 6772, 6773. tsimah. 6774 .parched condition. Transliteration: tsimah Phonetic
Spelling: (tsim-aw') Short Definition: thirst. Word Origin fem....
6724. tsayon -- dryness,parched ground
... 6723, 6724. tsayon. 6725 . dryness,parched ground. Transliteration: tsayon
Phonetic Spelling: (tsee-yone') Short Definition: drought....
6707. tsechichah -- scorched land
... Word Origin from tsachach Definition scorched land NASB Word Usageparched land
(1).... Feminine of tschiyach; aparched region, ie The desert -- dry land....
6723. tsiyyah -- dryness, drought
... Word Origin from an unused word Definition dryness, drought NASB Word Usage desert
(3), drought (2), dry (5), dry places (1),parched (4),parched land (1)....
2717a. chareb -- to be dry or dried up
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to be dry or dried up NASB Word Usage becomes
parched (1), dried (10), dries (1), dry (3),parched (1). 2717, 2717a....
Library
The Heath in the Desert and the Tree by the River
... 'He shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but
shall inhabit theparched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not...
The Crowning with Thorns.
... the Passion than she again became extremely ill, oppressed with fever, and so tormented
by violent thirst that her tongue was perfectlyparched and contracted...
'A Dew from the Lord'
... night, and their poetic imagination found in it a fit symbol for all silent and
gentle influences from heaven that refreshed and quickenedparched and dusty...
The Dew and the Plants
... the word really means the heavy night-clouds that come upon the wings of the
south-west wind, to diffuse moisture and freshness over theparched plains, in the...
How Moses when He had Brought the People Out of Egypt Led
... had exceeding little water, so that it not only was not at all sufficient for the
men, but not enough to feed any of the cattle, for it wasparched up, and had...
Gideon's Fleece
... can freshen our worn and drooping souls, can give joy in sorrow, can keep us from
being touched by surrounding evils, and from beingparched by surrounding...
I Might Well Reply as I have done Even if it were a Question of a...
... or are drinking water to cool their thirst, and wake up with their throatsparched
and burning! You exact from me the fulfilment of a promise given in a dream....
The Effects of this Fourth State of Prayer. Earnest Exhortations...
... high without this,"if it be well broken up by great detachment from all self-interest,
it will drink in so much water that it can hardly ever beparched again...
St. Ambrose Returns to the Story of the Widow of Sarepta...
... in the vision of his mind, that that rain was the dew of the Divine Word, which
first came down on the fleece, when all the earth wasparched with continual...
Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Words of Jesus on the Cross.
... Jesus was almost fainting; his tongue wasparched, and he said: 'I thirst.' The
disciples who were standing round the Cross looked at him with the deepest...
Thesaurus
Parched (37 Occurrences)... Easton's Bible Dictionary
Parched ground.
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. (imp.
& pp) of Parch. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
PARCHED.
...Pulse (3 Occurrences)
... (2) In 2 Samuel 17:28, "pulse" after "parched" is not in the original, but is probably
more correct than the translation in (1), as "pulse" usually implies...
Beans (2 Occurrences)
... and in 2 Samuel 17:28 David receives from certain staunch friends of his at Mahanaim
a present, which included "beans, and lentils, andparched pulse." EWG...
Corn (107 Occurrences)
...PARCHED CORN (GRAIN). parcht. See FOOD.... And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached
herparched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left....
Wheat (56 Occurrences)
... Ezek. 27:17; Acts 12:20).Parched grains of wheat were used for food in
Palestine (Ruth 2:14; 1 Samuel 17:17; 2 Samuel 17:28). The...
Negeb (37 Occurrences)
... ha-neghebh, "the negeb" or simply, neghebh, from a root meaning "to be dry," and
therefore in the first instance implying the "dry" or "parched regions," hence...
Negev (39 Occurrences)
... ha-neghebh, "the negeb" or simply, neghebh, from a root meaning "to be dry," and
therefore in the first instance implying the "dry" or "parched regions," hence...
Lentils (4 Occurrences)
... 2 Samuel 17:28 brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley,
and meal, andparched grain, and beans, and lentils, andparched pulse...
Grounded (5 Occurrences)
... sadheh, "a plain," "a field" (1 Chronicles 11:13, the Revised Version (British and
American) "plot of ground"); for other special words see DRY; FALLOW;PARCHED...
Earthen (19 Occurrences)
... 2 Samuel 17:28 brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley,
and meal, andparched grain, and beans, and lentils, andparched pulse...
Resources
What does it mean to wait on the Lord? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is spiritual dryness, and how can I overcome it? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the river of life? | GotQuestions.orgParched: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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