H5742 H5742
lentils; a legume used for food, especially in stews and bread
Lentils are a common legume in the ancient Near East, used both as a field crop and as a staple food. Genesis 25:34 records Esau selling his birthright for "pottage of lentils." 2 Samuel 17:28 lists lentils among provisions brought to David, while 2 Samuel 23:11 recounts a battle fought in a lentil field. Ezekiel 4:9 includes lentils in the prophet's symbolic bread recipe. Lentils provided protein and were a key component of the peasant diet.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A leguminous plant and its edible seeds, used for food. The most famous reference is Genesis 25:34, where Esau trades his birthright for lentil stew. 2 Samuel 17:28 and 23:11 attest to lentils as a field crop and food source, while Ezekiel 4:9 includes them in siege-bread. Multilingual glosses are uniform: "lentils/lentejas/lentilles/Linsen." Some bracket [ועדשים], possibly indicating conjunctive forms. The term is fundamentally agricultural and culinary, representing a basic, nutritious food of the ancient diet, though Genesis 25 imbues it with cultural meaning (despising the sacred for the mundane). 4×
AR["عَدَسًا", "عَدَسٍ", "وَ-عَدَسًا"]·ben["আর-মসুর", "এবং-মসুর", "মশুরের", "মসুর"]·DE["Linsen", "[ועדשים]", "lentils", "und-lentils"]·EN["and-lentils", "lentils"]·FR["et-lentils", "et-pétrir", "lentilles", "lentils"]·heb["ו-עדשים", "עדשים"]·HI["और-मसूर", "मसूर-का", "मसूरों-से"]·ID["dan-kacang-merah", "dan-miju-miju", "kacang-merah", "kacang-miju-miju"]·IT["[ועדשים]", "e-lentils", "lentils"]·jav["brambang", "kacang", "lan-lentil"]·KO["그리고-녹두와", "그리고-렌즈콩과", "렌즈씽의", "팔의"]·PT["e-lentilhas", "lentilhas"]·RU["и-чечевицу", "чечевицы"]·ES["lentejas", "y-lentejas"]·SW["dengu", "na-dengu", "wa-dengu"]·TR["mercimek", "mercimeklerin", "ve-mercimek"]·urd["اور-مسور", "مسور-سے", "مسور-کا", "و-مسور"]
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
† [עֲדָשָׁה] n.f. lentile (NH עֲדָשָׁה id.; LöwNo. 140; Arabic عَدَسٌ; on formation v. LagBN 50);—pl. עֲדָשִׁים growing 2 S 23:11; art. of food, 2 S 17:28; Ez 4:9; נְוִיד ע׳ Gn 25:34 (J) pottage of lentiles.