H7668 H7668
Grain or cereal foodstuff, especially as a commodity for purchase and trade.
A noun referring to grain as a purchasable commodity, distinguished from the more general word for grain (בָּר) by its emphasis on commercial exchange. Nearly all occurrences appear in the Joseph narrative (Genesis 42-44), where Jacob's sons travel to Egypt to buy grain during the famine. The word also appears in Amos 8:5, where dishonest merchants impatiently wait for the Sabbath to end so they can sell grain at inflated prices, and in Nehemiah 10:32 regarding Sabbath commerce. English 'grain,' Spanish 'grano,' German 'Getreide,' and French 'grain' all converge on the same agricultural-commercial meaning.
Senses
1. grain, foodstuff for trade — Grain or cereal foodstuff viewed primarily as a trade commodity, something bought and sold in times of need. The concentrated usage in Genesis 42-44 (Gen 42:1-2, 19, 26; 43:2; 44:2; 47:14) frames this word within the Joseph famine narrative, where acquiring שֶׁבֶר becomes the driving force of the plot. Amos 8:5 extends the commercial dimension, depicting corrupt grain merchants who cheat with false measures. BDB suggests an etymological connection to 'breaking' (i.e., threshed grain), underscoring the processed, market-ready character of the foodstuff. 9×
AR["الْ-قَمْحِ", "بِ-الْحُبُوبِ", "قَمْحًا", "قَمْحٌ", "قَمْحَهُمْ", "قَمْحِهِ", "مَبِيعٍ"]·ben["তার-শস্যের", "শস্য", "শস্যের-জন্য"]·DE["Getreide", "[שבר]", "das-Getreide", "für-das-Getreide", "ihr-Getreide", "seines-Getreides"]·EN["for-the-grain", "grain", "grain-for", "his-grain", "the-grain", "their-grain"]·FR["[שבר]", "grain", "grain-pour", "le-grain", "leur-grain", "pour-le-grain", "son-grain"]·heb["ב-ה-שבר", "ה-שבר", "שׁבר", "שבר", "שברו-ו", "שברם-ם"]·HI["अनाज", "अनाज-की-उसके", "अनाज-के-बदले", "अपना-अनाज"]·ID["gandum", "gandum-itu", "gandum-mereka", "gandumnya", "untuk-gandum"]·IT["[שבר]", "grain", "grain-per", "il-grain", "loro-grain", "per-il-grain", "suo-grain"]·jav["gandum", "gandum-punika", "gandum-tunumbasipun", "gandumènipun", "kangge-gandum"]·KO["곡식을", "곡식이", "그들의-곡식을", "그의-곡식의", "에-그-곡식"]·PT["cereal", "compra-dele", "compra-deles", "grão", "o-grão", "pelo-grão"]·RU["за-зерно", "зерна-его", "зерно", "зерно-своё"]·ES["el-grano", "grano", "grano-de", "grano-suyo", "por-el-grano"]·SW["katika-ununuzi", "mgati", "mkate", "nafaka", "ngano", "walileta", "yake"]·TR["-tahıl-karşılığında", "-tahılı", "tahıl", "tahıllarını", "tahılı", "tahılının"]·urd["اناج", "اناج-کے-بدلے", "غلہ", "غلہ-اپنا", "غلہ-وہ", "غلے-اُس-کی"]
Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† III. שֶׁ֫בֶר n.[m.] corn, grain, as food stuff (perhaps broken, i.e. threshed, HoffmZAW iii (1883), 122 SS Siegf Ne 10:32; > Köii. 1, 19 n breaking out, i.e. sprouting (as chief fruit of soil); hence NH שִׁבָּרוֹן price of corn);—שׁ׳ abs. Gn 42:1 +; cstr. v 19; sf. שִׁבְרָם v 26, שִׁבְרוֹ 44:2;—corn, grain 42:1, 2, 19, 26; 43:2; 44:2; 47:14 (acc. cogn.), Am 8:5 (id.); so perhaps (for בָּר) Gn 42:3 LagBN 230; כָּל־שׁ׳ Ne 10:32 all kinds of grain.