H0809 H0809
Raisin cake; a pressed cake of dried grapes used as food, festive provision, and in cultic offerings.
A noun denoting a pressed cake made from raisins, a prized delicacy in ancient Israel distributed at celebrations and used in religious feasts. David distributed raisin cakes to all Israel at the ark's procession (2 Sam 6:19; 1 Chr 16:3). Song of Songs 2:5 uses them as a remedy for lovesickness—'sustain me with raisin cakes.' Hosea 3:1 specifically condemns Israel's love of raisin cakes offered to other gods, linking the treat to idolatrous worship. Spanish 'tortas de pasas' (raisin cakes) and French 'gâteaux de raisins' vividly convey the confection's nature.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A pressed raisin cake—a confection of dried grapes compacted into a cake, served as festive food and used in sacrificial contexts. In 2 Samuel 6:19 and 1 Chronicles 16:3, David distributes them alongside bread and meat to the assembled people, marking national celebration. Song of Songs 2:5 employs them metaphorically as a restorative for the lovesick. Hosea 3:1 explicitly connects 'raisin cakes of grapes' (אֲשִׁישֵׁי עֲנָבִים) with idolatrous sacrificial feasts, making the same delicacy a marker of apostasy. Spanish 'tortas de pasas' and French 'gâteaux de raisins' both capture the pressed-fruit-cake sense. 4×
AR["بَ-أَشِيشُوت", "كَعكِ", "وَ-كَعْكَةَ زَبِيبٍ", "وَكَعْكَةً"]·ben["-কিশমিশ-রুটিতে", "আর-কিশমিশের-পিঠা", "এক-পিঠা", "কিশমিশের-পিঠের"]·DE["[אשישי]", "[באשישות]", "[ואשישה]", "und-raisin-cake"]·EN["and-raisin-cake", "raisin-cakes-of", "with-raisin-cakes"]·FR["[ואשישה]", "avec-des-gâteaux-de-raisins,", "et-raisin-cake", "raisin"]·heb["אשישי", "ב-אשישות", "ו-אשישה"]·HI["और-किशमिश-की-टिकिया", "किशमिश-के-टिकियों-के", "किशमिशों-से"]·ID["dan-kue-kismis", "dengan-kue-kue-kismis", "kue-kue"]·IT["[אשישי]", "[ואשישה]", "e-uva-passa-focaccia", "nel-con-raisin-cakes"]·jav["kanthi-kismis", "kué-kismis", "lan-juwadah-anggur", "lan-kue-anggur"]·KO["건포도-과자들-을", "건포도-떡들-로", "그-와-건포도떡", "그리고-건포도-둥이"]·PT["bolos-de", "com-bolos-de-passas", "e-bolo-de-uvas", "e-um-bolo-de-passas"]·RU["и-изюмный-пирог", "и-лепёшку-изюмную", "лепёшками-изюмными", "лепёшки"]·ES["con-tortas-de-pasas", "tortas-de", "y-torta-de-pasas"]·SW["kwa-keki-za-zabibu", "mikate-ya-zabibu", "na-keki-ya-zabibu"]·TR["keklerini", "keklerle", "ve-bir-üzüm-keki", "ve-üzüm-kefi"]·urd["اور-کشمش-کی-ٹکیا", "کشمش-کی-ٹکیاں", "کشمش-کے-کیکوں-سے"]
Related Senses
H8081 1. oil (substance) (180×)H3196 1. wine (fermented grape juice) (141×)H1706 1. honey (54×)H4682 1. unleavened bread/cakes (53×)H2461 1. milk (42×)H8492 1. new wine / must (38×)H0400 1. food, nourishment (36×)G3631 1. wine (34×)H3978 1. food, nourishment (30×)H1314 1. spice / perfume / balsam (29×)H7416 1. pomegranate (fruit/ornament) (28×)H3323 1. fresh oil, olive oil (23×)H2964 1. prey, torn flesh (19×)H3899 2. food, sustenance (19×)G1033 1. food (17×)G5160 1. food (16×)H5561 1. spices, aromatic substances (16×)H0402 1. food, nourishment (14×)G2219 1. leaven (13×)H4478a 1. manna (13×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אֲשִׁישָׁה n.f. (pressed) raisin-cake—א׳ 2 S 6:19 1 Ch 16:3 distributed, with other viands, to people, especially as stimulating, pl. אֲשִׁישׁוֹת Ct 2:5; more explicitly אֲשִׁישֵׁי עֲנָבִים Ho 3:1 used in sacrificial feasts (cf. RSOTJC Lect. xi. n. 7); אֲשִׁישֵׁי קִיר חֲרֶשֶׂת Is 16:7, i.e. the raisin-cakes which were an article of trade at Qir-ḥareseth (taken by Thes al. = foundations, i.e. foundations exposed by ruin, from [אָשִׁישׁ] with such a meaning).