Leek
Summary
A vegetable similar to the onion that the Israelites in the wilderness longed for from Egypt.
☩Biblical Reference
The leek is mentioned in Numbers 11:5, where the Israelites, dissatisfied with manna, complained: 'We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick.' The Hebrew word 'chatsir' is translated 'leek' here but elsewhere means 'grass' or 'green herb.' The Septuagint translates it as 'ta prasa' (leeks), and ancient interpreters agreed on this identification in the Numbers passage due to its association with onions and garlic.
☩The Plant and Its Use
The leek (Allium porrum) is a bulbous vegetable related to the onion, cultivated from ancient times in Egypt. Hasselquist, an eighteenth-century traveler, confirmed that the 'karrat' (Arabic for leek) was cultivated and highly esteemed in Egypt from earliest times to his day. The Egyptian poor were particularly fond of eating it raw as sauce for roasted meat or with bread for breakfast. The Romans also used leeks extensively as seasoning. While some scholars suggest the Hebrew word might refer to other green vegetables or even fenugreek (which Egyptians ate in large quantities), the traditional identification as leeks remains most widely accepted.
Related Verses1 mention
Numbers· 1 verse
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Leek," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Leeks," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.Richard Watson, "Leek," in A Biblical and Theological Dictionary (John Mason, 1831).