Bread

Bread (לֶחֶם, le'chem; ἄρτος.), a word of far more extensive meaning among the Hebrews than at present with us. There are passages in which it appears to be applied to all kinds of victuals (Lu 11:3); but it more generally denotes all kinds of baked and pastry articles of food. It is also used, however, in the more limited sense of bread made from wheat or barley, for rye is little cultivated in the East. The preparation of bread as an article of food dates from a very early period: it must not, however, be inferred from the use of the word lechem in Ge 3:19 (" bread," A. V.) that it was known at the time of the fall, the word there occurring in its general sense of food: the earliest undoubted instance of its use is found in Ge 18:6.

1. Materials. — The corn or grain (שֵׁבֶר, she'ber, דָּנָן, dagan') employed was of various sorts: the best bread was made of wheat, which, after being ground, produced the "flour" or "meal" (קֶמִח, ke'mach; ἄλευρον; Jg 6:19; 1Sa 1:24; 1Ki 4:22; 1Ki 17:12,14), and when sifted the "fine flour" (סֹלֶת, so'leth, more fully סֹלֶת חַטַּים, Ex 29:2; or קֶמִח סֹלֶת, Ge 18:6; σεμίδαλις) usually employed in the sacred offerings (Ex 29:40; Le 2:1; Eze 46:14), and in the meals of the wealthy (1Ki 4:22; 2Ki 7:1; Eze 16:13,19; Re 18:13). "Barley" was used only by the very poor (Joh 6:9,18), or in times of scarcity (Ru 3:15, compared with 1:1; 2Ki 4:38,42; Re 6:6; Joseph. War, v, 10, 2): as it was the food of horses (1Ki 4:28), it was considered a symbol of what was mean and insignificant (Jg 7:13; comp. Joseph. Ant. v, 6, 4, μάζαν κριθίνην, ὑπ᾿ εὐτελείας ἀνθρώποις ἄβρωτον; Liv. 27:13). as well as of what was of a mere animal character, and hence ordered for the offering of jealousy (Numbers v, 15;' comp. Ho 3:2; Philo, ii, 307). "Spelt" (כֻּסֶּמֶת, kusse'meth; ὄλυρα, ζέα; V. rye, fitches, spelt) was also used both in Egypt (Ex 9:32) and Palestine (Isa 28:25; Eze 4:9; 1Ki 19:6; Sept. ἐλκρυφίας ὀλυρίτης): Herodotus I indeed states (ii. 36) that in the former country bread was made exclusively of olyra, which, as in the Sept., he identifies with zea; but in this he was mistaken, as wheat was also used (Ex 9:32; comp. Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. ii, 397). Occasionally the grains above mentioned were mixed, and other ingredients, such as beans, lentils, and millet, were added (Eze 4:9; comp. 2Sa 17:28); the bread so produced is called "barley cakes" (Eze 4:12; A. V. "as barley cakes"), inasmuch as barley was the main ingredient. The amount of meal required for a single baking was an ephah or three measures (Ge 18:6; Jg 6:19; 1Sa 1:24; Mt 13:33), which appears to have been suited to the size of the ordinary oven. Grain is ground daily in the East. See MILL.