Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical times, cakes were a common form of food, often made from grains such as wheat or barley, and sometimes mixed with oil, honey, or other ingredients. They were typically baked or cooked on a hearth and were used in various cultural and religious contexts.
Old Testament ReferencesCakes are mentioned numerous times throughout the Old Testament, often in the context of offerings and hospitality. In
Genesis 18:6, when three visitors came to Abraham, he instructed Sarah to "quickly prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread." The Hebrew word used here can be translated as "cakes," indicating a form of unleavened bread.
In Leviticus, cakes are part of the grain offerings presented to the Lord.
Leviticus 2:4 states, "Now if you bring a grain offering of baked goods from the oven, it must consist of fine flour: unleavened cakes mixed with oil or unleavened wafers anointed with oil." These offerings were a significant part of the sacrificial system, symbolizing dedication and thanksgiving to God.
Cakes also appear in narratives involving hospitality and sustenance. In
1 Kings 17:12-16, the widow of Zarephath, during a time of famine, tells Elijah, "I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug." Elijah instructs her to make a small cake for him first, promising that her supplies will not run out. This miracle underscores God's provision and faithfulness.
New Testament ReferencesWhile the New Testament does not frequently mention cakes, the concept of bread and baked goods remains significant, particularly in the context of the Last Supper and the breaking of bread as a symbol of fellowship and remembrance of Christ's sacrifice.
Cultural and Religious SignificanceCakes in the Bible often symbolize sustenance, hospitality, and offerings to God. They were a staple in the diet of ancient Near Eastern peoples and played a role in religious rituals. The preparation and sharing of cakes could signify fellowship and community, as well as obedience and devotion to God.
In some instances, cakes were associated with idolatrous practices.
Jeremiah 7:18 mentions the people of Judah making cakes for the "Queen of Heaven," a pagan deity, which was an act of apostasy against the worship of Yahweh.
ConclusionThroughout the Bible, cakes serve as a reminder of God's provision and the importance of offering the first and best to Him. They reflect the cultural practices of the time and provide insight into the daily lives and spiritual practices of biblical peoples.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Cakes made of wheat or barley were offered in the temple. They were salted, but unleavened (
Exodus 29:2;
Leviticus 2:4). In idolatrous worship thin cakes or wafers were offered "to the queen of heaven" (
Jeremiah 7:18;
44:19).
Pancakes are described in2 Samuel 13:8, 9. Cakes mingled with oil and baked in the oven are mentioned inLeviticus 2:4, and "wafers unleavened anointed with oil," inExodus 29:2;Leviticus 8:26;1 Chronicles 23:29. "Cracknels," a kind of crisp cakes, were among the things Jeroboam directed his wife to take with her when she went to consult Ahijah the prophet at Shiloh (1 Kings 14:3). Such hard cakes were carried by the Gibeonites when they came to Joshua (9:5, 12). They described their bread as "mouldy;" but the Hebrew word nikuddim, here used, ought rather to be rendered "hard as biscuit." It is rendered "cracknels" in1 Kings 14:3. The ordinary bread, when kept for a few days, became dry and excessively hard. The Gibeonites pointed to this hardness of their bread as an evidence that they had come a long journey.
We read also of honey-cakes (Exodus 16:31), "cakes of figs" (1 Samuel 25:18), "cake" as denoting a whole piece of bread (1 Kings 17:12), and "a [round] cake of barley bread" (Judges 7:13). InLeviticus 2 is a list of the different kinds of bread and cakes which were fit for offerings.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A small mass of dough baked; especially, a thin loaf from unleavened dough; as, an oatmeal cake; johnnycake.
2. (n.) A sweetened composition of flour and other ingredients, leavened or unleavened, baked in a loaf or mass of any size or shape.
3. (n.) A thin wafer-shaped mass of fried batter; a griddlecake or pancake; as buckwheat cakes.
4. (n.) A mass of matter concreted, congealed, or molded into a solid mass of any form, esp. into a form rather flat than high; as, a cake of soap; an ague cake.
5. (v. i.) To form into a cake, or mass.
6. (v. i.) To concrete or consolidate into a hard mass, as dough in an oven; to coagulate.
7. (v. i.) To cackle as a goose.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
CAKESeeBREAD.
Greek
2854. kollourion -- eye salve.... Neuter of a presumed derivative of kollura (a
cake; prob akin to the base of kollao);
properly, a poultice (as made of or in the form of crackers), ie (by
...1365. distazo -- twenty thousand
... positions; choosing "a double-stance" and hence (waver); (figuratively) because
refusing to choose way over the other -- "wanting to have ourcake and eat it...
Strong's Hebrew
5692. uggah -- a disc orcake of bread... 5691, 5692. uggah. 5693 . a disc or
cake of bread. Transliteration:
uggah Phonetic Spelling: (oog-gaw') Short Definition:
cake.
...1690. debelah -- a lump (of pressed figs), a pressed (fig)cake
... 1689, 1690. debelah. 1691 . a lump (of pressed figs), a pressed (fig)cake.
Transliteration: debelah Phonetic Spelling: (deb-ay-law') Short Definition:cake...
2471. challah -- acake (a type used in offerings)
... 2470b, 2471. challah. 2472 . acake (a type used in offerings). Transliteration:
challah Phonetic Spelling: (khal-law') Short Definition:cake....
3561. kavvan -- acake, sacrificialcake
... 3560, 3561. kavvan. 3562 . acake, sacrificialcake. Transliteration: kavvan
Phonetic Spelling: (kav-vawn') Short Definition: cakes....
7550. raqiq -- thincake, wafer
... 7549, 7550. raqiq. 7551 . thincake, wafer. Transliteration: raqiq Phonetic
Spelling: (raw-keek') Short Definition: wafers....cake, wafer....
6742. tselul -- acake, round loaf
... 6741, 6742. tselul or tselil. 6743 . acake, round loaf. Transliteration: tselul
or tselil Phonetic Spelling: (tsel-ool') Short Definition: loaf....cake....
4580. maog -- acake
... 4579, 4580. maog. 4581 . acake. Transliteration: maog Phonetic Spelling:
(maw-ogue') Short Definition: bread. Word... 1).cake, feast....
4682. matstsah -- unleavened bread orcake
... unleavened bread orcake. Transliteration: matstsah Phonetic Spelling: (mats-tsaw')
Short Definition: bread.... unleaved bread,cake, without leaven....
809. ashishah -- a raisincake
... 808, 809. ashishah. 810 . a raisincake. Transliteration: ashishah Phonetic
Spelling: (ash-ee-shaw') Short Definition: cakes. Word...
6838. tsappichith -- a flatcake, wafer
... 6837, 6838. tsappichith. 6839 . a flatcake, wafer. Transliteration: tsappichith
Phonetic Spelling: (tsap-pee-kheeth') Short Definition: wafers....
Library
Elijah and the Widow's Son.
... "As thy God liveth," she said earnestly, "I have not onecake left, but only
a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse....
"The Widow Woman was There. " I Kings xvii. 10
... This broke her down. "Ah, Master, we have not so much as acake.... MAKE ME ACAKE FIRST,.
and then make for thyself, and God will keep on supplying our wants."....
I Therefore Bent My Steps Toward the Hut which I had Beheld from a...
... He then serves up a breakfast truly luxurious, [91] consisting of the half of a
barleycake. Now, we were four, while he himself constituted the fifth....
Further Dissensions among the Arians at Constantinople. The...
... was denominated Psathyrians, [803] because one of the most zealous defenders of
this opinion was Theoctistus, a Syrian by birth, and acake-seller [Psathyropola...
Effects Require Causes
... If a housewife turns out a goodcake, it is the result of a sound receipt, carefully
applied.... It is not she who has made thecake; it is nature....
Elijah Fed by Ravens.
... The widow turned and said, "As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not acake, but only
a handful of meal, and a little oil in a cruse; and, behold, I am gathering...
The Voice of Stern Rebuke
... In response to Elijah's request for food and drink, the widow said, "As the Lord
thy God liveth, I have not acake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a...
A Prophet's Strange Providers
... And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not acake, but an handful of meal
in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two...
How Ahab when He had Taken Jezebel to Wife Became More Wicked than...
... Hereupon he said, "Go on with good courage, and hope for better things; and first
of all make me a littlecake, and bring it to me, for I foretell to thee that...
How the Midianites and Other Nations Fought against the Israelites...
... The dream was this:"He thought he saw a barley-cake, such a one as could hardly
be eaten by men, it was so vile, rolling through the camp, and overthrowing...
Thesaurus
Cake (25 Occurrences)... We read also of honey-cakes (Exodus 16:31), "cakes of figs" (1 Samuel 25:18), "
cake"
as denoting a whole piece of bread (1 Kings 17:12), and "a [round]
cake of
...Raisin-cake (2 Occurrences)
Raisin-cake. Raisin, Raisin-cake. Raisincakes . Multi-Version
Concordance Raisin-cake (2 Occurrences). 2 Samuel 6:19...
Grape-cake (1 Occurrence)
Grape-cake. Grape, Grape-cake. Grape-cakes . Multi-Version
Concordance Grape-cake (1 Occurrence). 1 Chronicles 16:3...
Fig-cake (1 Occurrence)
Fig-cake. Fig, Fig-cake. Fig-cakes . Multi-Version Concordance
Fig-cake (1 Occurrence). 1 Samuel 30:12 and gave him...
Barley-cake (1 Occurrence)
Barley-cake. Barley-bread, Barley-cake. Barley-harvest .
Multi-Version Concordance Barley-cake (1 Occurrence). Ezekiel...
Loaf (14 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Any thick lump, mass, orcake; especially, a large
regularly shaped or molded mass, as of bread, sugar, orcake....
Wafer (3 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) A thincake made of flour and other
ingredients. 2. (n.) A thincake or piece of bread (commonly...
Thin (39 Occurrences)
... Exodus 29:23 And take one bit of bread and onecake of oiled bread and one thin
cake out of the basket of unleavened bread which is before the Lord: (BBE YLT)....
Raisins (9 Occurrences)
... David, when flying from Absalom, with a hundred clusters of raisins (2 Samuel
16:1). (2) 'ashishah, something "pressed together," hence, a "cake." In Hosea 3:...
Flagon (4 Occurrences)
... 2:5; Hosea 3:1), meaning properly "acake of pressed raisins." "Flagons of wine"
of the Authorized Version should be, as in the Revised Version, "cakes of...
Resources
Flowers, and pictures, and cakes ' oh my! | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about eating junk food? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the significance of unleavened bread? | GotQuestions.orgCake: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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