דֹּחַן
millet
Definition
Dōchan is a Hebrew noun referring to a type of grain, specifically identified as millet. In its single biblical occurrence, it is listed among several grains and legumes used to make bread (Ezekiel 4:9). The word denotes a small-seeded cereal crop, likely proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), which was valued for its hardiness and short growing season. While the exact species is debated, the context clearly places it within the category of staple food grains cultivated in the ancient Near East.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, in Ezekiel 4:9. It appears in a list of ingredients—wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet (dōchan), and spelt—that the prophet is commanded to combine into a bread. This usage is purely descriptive, specifying a component of a survival diet meant to symbolize the siege and scarcity facing Jerusalem. There are no other occurrences or varied contextual uses.
Etymology
The etymology of דֹּחַן (dōchan) is uncertain. It appears to be a primitive noun with no clear verbal root in Biblical Hebrew. Scholars suggest it may be a loanword from a neighboring language or an ancient agricultural term. Cognates exist in other Semitic languages, such as Arabic ‘dukhn,’ which also means millet, indicating a shared regional vocabulary for this specific grain.
Semantic Range
Millet was a secondary but important grain in the ancient Israelite diet, often grown in poorer soils or as a quick crop. Its inclusion in Ezekiel's bread recipe (Ezekiel 4:9) highlights it as a basic, humble foodstuff. This contrasts with more prized grains like wheat, emphasizing the severity of the famine conditions the prophecy portrays. Understanding it as a hardy, common grain enriches the imagery of scarcity and survival in the prophetic message.
חִטָּה (chittah, H2406) — wheat, the primary and most valued grain. שְׂעֹרָה (se'orah, H8184) — barley, a coarser, hardier grain often for animal feed or the poor. כֻּסֶּמֶת (kussemeth, H3698) — spelt or emmer, another hardy, ancient grain.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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