כַּמֹּן
'cummin' (from its use as a condiment)
Definition
The Hebrew word כַּמֹּן (kammôn) refers to the aromatic seed of the cummin plant (Cuminum cyminum), a small annual herb in the parsley family. In the Bible, it is exclusively mentioned as a cultivated spice crop, harvested and threshed for its seeds. The term appears only in agricultural contexts within Isaiah 28:25 and 28:27, where it is listed among other grains and herbs like wheat, barley, and fitches (black cumin), illustrating God's detailed providence in farming.
Biblical Usage
This word is used twice in the Old Testament, both times in Isaiah 28. It appears in a prophetic metaphor about God's wise and varied methods of cultivation and judgment. In Isaiah 28:25, cummin is sown as a crop alongside wheat and barley, showing the diversity of agricultural produce. In Isaiah 28:27, it is described as being threshed not with a heavy threshing sledge, but with a gentler tool (a rod or staff), highlighting the specific, appropriate care God gives to different plants—and by extension, to His people.
Etymology
Derived from an unused Hebrew root likely meaning 'to store up' or 'to preserve,' which aptly describes the use of its seeds as a durable spice. Cognates exist in other Semitic languages, like Akkadian 'kamūnu' and Arabic 'kammūn,' indicating its long history as a known and traded commodity in the ancient Near East.
Semantic Range
While a common spice, cummin carries theological weight in its specific biblical context. In Isaiah 28, it is part of an extended agricultural metaphor (Isaiah 28:23-29) that illustrates God's wisdom and sovereign, tailored methods in both cultivation and judgment. The detail that cummin is threshed gently (Isaiah 28:27) underscores that God's dealings with His people are not uniform but are precisely measured and appropriate to the situation, blending justice with care. Understanding this enriches the reading by grounding a profound theological truth in everyday, tangible reality.
Cummin was a valuable, small-seeded spice in the ancient Near East, used both as a condiment to flavor bread and stews and for its purported medicinal properties. Its cultivation required specific knowledge, as indicated by the different threshing technique described in Isaiah 28:27. Unlike bulk grains, such spices represented a form of intensive, high-value farming. This cultural detail makes the prophetic metaphor more vivid, showing that God's wisdom extends even to the specialized care of minor crops.
קֶצַח (qetsach, H7100) — 'fitches' or black cumin (Nigella sativa), another small-seeded spice mentioned alongside cummin in Isaiah 28:25, 27, distinguished by its different plant and seed.
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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