Rye
Rye
See Spelt
Fuente: Plants Animals Of Bible
Rye
(, kussemeth), occurs in three places of Scripture (Exo 9:32; Isa 28:25; and fitches in Eze 4:9); but its true meaning still remains uncertain. It was one of the cultivated grains both of Egypt and of Syria, and one of those employed as an article of diet. It was also sown along with wheat, or, at least, its crop was in the same state of forwardness; for we learn from Exo 9:32 that in the seventh plague the hailstorm smote the barley which was in the ear, and the flax which was bolled; but that the wheat and the kussemeth were not smitten, for they were not grown up. Respecting the wheat and the barley, we know that they are often sown and come to maturity in different months. Thus Forskal says, Barley ripens in February, but wheat stands till the end of March (Flora AEgypt. p. 43). The events above referred to probably took place in February (see Kitto, Pict. Bible, ad loc.). That kussemeth was cultivated in Palestine we learn from Isa 28:25, where it is mentioned along with ketsah (nigella) and oumin, wheat and barley; and sown, according to some translators, on the extreme border () of the fields, as a kind of fence for other descriptions of corn. SEE AGRICULTURE.
This is quite an Oriental practice, and may be seen in the case of flax and other crops in India at the present day. The rye is a grain of cold climates, and is not cultivated even in the south of Europe. Korte declares (Travels, p. 168) that no rye grows in Egypt; and Shaw states (p. 351) that rye is little known in Barbary and Egypt (Rosenmller, p. 76). That the kussemeth was employed for making bread by the Hebrews we know from Eze 4:9, where the prophet is directed to take wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and kussemeth, and put them in a vessel, and make bread thereof.
Though it is very unlikely that kussemeth can mean rye, it is not easy to say what cultivated grain it denotes. The principal kinds of grain, it is to be observed, are mentioned in the same passages with the kussemeth. Celsius has, as usual, with great labor and learning, collected together the different translations which have been given of this difficult word. In the Arabic translation of Exo 9:32, it is rendered julban: cicercula, non circula, ut perperam legitur in versione Latina. By other Arabian writers it is considered to mean pease, and also beans. Many translate it vicia, or vetches, as in the A.V. of Exo 9:32; for according to Maimonides (ad tract. Shabb. 20, 3), carshinin is a kind of legume, which in the Arabic is called kirsana, but in the sacred language kussemeth. Both julban and kirsana mean species of pulse, but it is not easy to ascertain the specific kinds. The majority, however, instead of a legume, consider kussemeth to indicate one of the cereal grains, as the rye (secale), or the oat (avena), neither of which it is likely to have been. These have probably been selected because commentators usually adduce such grains as they themselves are acquainted with, or have heard of as commonly cultivated. Celsius, however, informs us that in the Syriac and Chaldee versions kussemeth is translated kunta; far in the Latin Vulg.; fan adoreum, Guisio, tract. Peah, 8, 5, and tract. Chilaim, 1, 1; in the Sept., Isaiah 28. Aquila, Symmachus, and others render it spelta. So Ben-Melech, on Exodus 9 and Ezekiel 4, says kyssemeth, vulg. spelta, and the Sept. has . Upon this Celsius remarks, All these that is, kunta, far, ador, , spelta, and are one and the same thing. This he proves satisfactorily by quotations from the ancient authors (Hierobot. 2, 100). Dr. Harris states (Nat. Hist. of the Bible, s.v.) that the word kussemeth seems to be derived from , to have long hairs; and that hence a bearded grain must be intended; which confirms the probability of spelt being the true meaning. Gesenius derives it from , to shear, to poll, and translates it, a species of grain like wheat, with a smooth or bald ear, as if shorn.
Dioscorides has stated (2, 111) that there are two kinds of , one simple, and the other called dicoccos. Sprengel concludes that this is, without doubt, the Triticum spelta of botanists; that the olyra was a variety, which Host has called T. zea; and also that the simple kind is the T. monococcon. That these grains were cultivated in Egypt and Syria, and that they were esteemed as food in those countries, may also be satisfactorily proved. Thus Herodotus states that the Egyptians employ olyra, which others call zea, as an article of Dict. Pliny (Hist. Nat. 18, 8) mentions it as found both in Egypt and in Syria, as it is in more modern times (Dapper, Descriptio Asioe, p. 130; Johannes Phocas, De Locis Syr. et Paloestinoe, p. 34; Cels. loc. cit. p. 100). That it was highly esteemed by the ancients is evident from Dioscorides describing it as more nourishing than barley, and grateful in taste. Pliny also (18, 11) and Salmasius prefer it, in some respects, to wheat. The goodness of this grain is also implied from the name of semen having been especially applied to it (C. Bauhin, Pinox, p. 22).
Triticum spelta, or spelt, is in many respects so closely allied to the common wheats as to have been thought by some old authors to be the original stock of the cultivated kinds; but for this there is no foundation, as the kind cultivated for ages in Europe does not differ from specimens collected in a wild state. These were found by a French botanist, Michaux, in Persia, on a mountain four days’ journey to the north of Hamadan. It is cultivated in many parts of Germany, in Switzerland, in the south of France, and in Italy. It is commonly sown in spring, and collected in July and August. There are three kinds of spelt, viz. T. spelta, T. dicoccum (rice wheat), and T. monococcum In its general appearance the more frequent form of spelt differs little from common bearded wheat (T. vulgare). It is equally nutritious, and in its habits more hardy. It grows on a coarser soil, and requires less care in its cultivation. There is an awnless variety, which is perhaps the most naked of all the cerealia: so that, betwixt the smooth sort and the bearded, spelt should conciliate even the etymologists. See Tristram, Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 479. SEE CEREALS.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Rye
=Rie, (Heb. kussemeth), found in Ex. 9:32; Isa. 28:25, in all of which the margins of the Authorized and of the Revised Versions have “spelt.” This Hebrew word also occurs in Ezek. 4:9, where the Authorized Version has “fitches’ (q.v.) and the Revised Version “spelt.” This, there can be no doubt, was the Triticum spelta, a species of hard, rough-grained wheat.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Rye
Exo 9:32. Hebrew kussemeth; Arabic chirsanat; rather “spelt,” Triticum spelta. Eze 4:9. Rye is a northern plant, whereas spelt was long cultivated in Egypt and the East (Herodotus ii. 36). Nutritious, hardy, like bearded wheat; but there is a smooth variety also. The root is casam, suiting the bearded form in in its meaning “to have hair,” and the smooth bald variety in its meaning “to shear.”
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Rye
RYE.See Rie.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Rye
r. See SPELT.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Rye
The word thus rendered (Kussemeth) in Exo 9:32; Isa 28:25, is translated fitches in Eze 4:9; but its true meaning still remains uncertain. It was one of the cultivated grains both of Egypt and of Syria, and one of those employed as an article of diet. It was also sown along with wheat, or, at least, its crop was in the same state of forwardness; for we learn from Exo 9:32, that in the seventh plague the hail-storm smote the barley which was in the ear, and the flax which was bolled; but that the wheat and the kussemethwere not smitten, for they were not grown up. That kussemethwas cultivated in Palestine we learn from Isa 28:25, where it is mentioned along with ketzah and cumin, wheat and barley; and sown, according to some translators, ‘on the extreme border of the fields,’ as a kind of fence for other kinds of corn. This is quite an Oriental practice, and may be seen in the case of flax and other grains in India, at the present day. The rye is a grain of cold climates, and is not cultivated even in the south of Europe. Korte declares that no rye grows in Egypt; and Shaw states that rye is little known in Barbary and Egypt. That the kussemeth was employed for making bread by the Hebrews we know from Eze 4:9, where the prophet is directed to take wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and kussemeth, and put them in a vessel, and make bread thereof.’
Though it is very unlikely that kussemethcan mean rye, it is not easy to say what cultivated grain it denotes. The principal kinds of grain, it is to be observed, are mentioned in the same passages with the kussemeth. Celsius has, as usual, with great labor and learning, collected together the different translations which have been given of this difficult word. In the Arabic translation of Exo 9:32, it is rendered julban, a species of pulse. By other Arabian writers it is considered to mean peas, and also beans. Many translate it vetches, as in the Authorized Version of Exo 9:32. The majority, however, instead of a legume, consider kussemethto indicate one of the cereal grains, as the rye or the oat, neither of which is it likely to have been. Several eminent authors consider that ‘spelt’ is the grain referred to, and it seems very probable that this is the true meaning. There are two kinds of spelt, both of which were cultivated and esteemed as food in Egypt and Syria. That it was highly esteemed by the ancients is evident from Dioscorides describing it as more nourishing than barley, and grateful in taste. The goodness of this grain is also implied from the name of semen having been especially applied to it.
Triticum Spelta, or Spelt, is in many respects so closely allied to the common wheats as to have been thought by some old authors to have been the original stock of the cultivated kinds; but for this there is no foundation, as the kind cultivated for ages in Europe does not differ from specimens collected in a wild state. These were found by a French botanist, Michaux, in Persia, on a mountain four days’ journey to the north of Hamadan. It is cultivated in many parts of Germany, in Switzerland, in the south of France, and in Italy. It is commonly sown in spring, and collected in July and August. Though some circumstances seem to point to this species as the kussemeth of Scripture, the subject is still susceptible of further investigation, and can only be finally determined by first ascertaining the modern agriculture of eastern countries, and comparing it with the ancient accounts of the agriculture of Syria and Egypt.
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Rye
See RIE.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Rye
A small grain grown in Egypt
Exo 9:32
Cultivated in Canaan
Isa 28:25
Used in bread
Eze 4:9
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Rye
Rye. The word, so rendered in Exo 9:32; Isa 28:25, A. V., is translated “fitches” in Eze 4:9, “spelt” in the margin. There is little doubt that the plant intended by the Hebrew word is not rye, but spelt, as it is translated in the R. V.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Rye
Rye. (Hebrew, cussemeth). Rye occurs in Exo 9:32; Isa 28:25. In the latter, the margin reads “spelt.” In Eze 4:9, the text has “fitches” and the margin has “rie.” It is probable that by cussemeth, “spelt” is intended. Spelt, (Triticum spelta), is grown in some parts of the south of Germany; it differs but slightly from our common wheat (Triticum vulgare).