† מְדֹכָה n.f. mortar, Nu 11:8. H4085
mortar (for grinding); stone vessel for pounding grain
This term appears once in Numbers 11:8, describing how the Israelites ground manna. The people would go about gathering it, then grind it 'in the mortar' or mill it in handmills. The mortar was a stone bowl where grain or manna was pounded with a pestle. The prepositional phrase 'in the mortar' locates where this food processing happened—a basic kitchen implement in ancient households.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Numbers 11:8 provides rare detail about daily life in the wilderness: people grinding manna like grain. The mortar (Spanish 'mortero,' French 'mortar') was essential technology for turning seeds or manna into flour. The domain assignment (Geographical Objects) may seem odd, but BDB's 'place of grinding' focuses on the location/instrument aspect. 1×
AR["بِ-الْهَاوُنِ"]·ben["-ওখলিতে"]·DE["in-der-mortar"]·EN["in-the-mortar"]·FR["dans-le-mortar"]·heb["ב-ה-במדכה"]·HI["ओखली-में"]·ID["dalam-lesung"]·IT["in-il-mortar"]·jav["wonten-ing-nutu"]·KO["에서-절구통"]·PT["no-pilão"]·RU["в-ступе"]·ES["en-mortero"]·SW["katika-kinu"]·TR["-de-havan"]·urd["اوکھلی-میں"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מְדֹכָה n.f. mortar, Nu 11:8.