Black cumin, also called fitches or nigella, is a plant producing small black aromatic seeds used as a condiment in ancient Near Eastern cuisine. Isaiah 28 discusses its cultivation and threshing in an extended agricultural metaphor about God's varied dealings with His people. Unlike grain threshed with heavy instruments, black cumin was beaten out with a stick to avoid crushing the delicate seeds—a detail the prophet uses to illustrate divine wisdom in appropriate, measured discipline.