H3646 H3646
cumin, an aromatic seed used as a spice and condiment
An herb cultivated in ancient Israel for its pungent seeds, used as a culinary seasoning. Isaiah 28 describes agricultural practices involving cumin—how it's planted, threshed with care (unlike grain, it's beaten with a rod rather than crushed with a heavy sledge), illustrating God's wisdom in adapting methods to each plant's nature. The passage uses farming imagery to reassure Judah of God's measured discipline.
Senses
1. sense 1 — All three occurrences cluster in Isaiah 28:25, 27 (×2), where the prophet contrasts cumin with wheat and barley to demonstrate proportionate wisdom in both agriculture and divine judgment. The delicate seeds require gentle threshing—a rod or staff, not a cart wheel. Multilingual glosses (Spanish comino, French kept Hebrew transliterations) reflect continuity from the ancient spice trade; cumin remains widely known across Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. 3×
AR["الْكَمُّونِ", "وَ-الْكَمُّونَ", "وَ-الْكَمُّونُ"]·ben["ও-জিরা", "জিরা"]·DE["[וכמן]", "[כמן]"]·EN["and-cumin", "black-cumin", "is-turned"]·FR["[וכמן]", "[כמן]"]·heb["ו-כמון", "כמון"]·HI["और-जीरा", "जीरा"]·ID["dan-jintan-putih", "jintan-putih"]·IT["[וכמן]", "[כמן]"]·jav["jinten", "lan-jinten"]·KO["그리고-대회향을", "대회향"]·PT["cominho", "e-cominho"]·RU["и-кумин", "кумину"]·ES["el-comino", "y-comino", "y-el-comino"]·SW["bizari", "na-bizari"]·TR["kimyonun", "ve-kimyon", "ve-kimyonu"]·urd["اور-زیرہ", "زیرے"]
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
† כַּמֹּן n.m. cumin, plant grown as condiment (𝔊 κύμινον, cuminum cyminum; PlinNH xix. 8; Germ. ‘römischer Kümmel;’ LöwNo. 152; √ dub.; NH id. Aramaic כַּמּוֹנָא, ܟܰܡܘܽܢܳܐ; Arabic كَمُّونٌ, Ethiopic ከሚን on format. cf. LagBN 89; loan-word according to Di832);—Is 28:25, 27, 27.