דְּבֵלָה
de.ve.lah
fig cake
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word דְּבֵלָה (de.ve.lah), Strong's number H1690, refers to a type of sweet food made from dried and crushed figs, similar to a cake. This fig cake is a product of agricultural labor, categorized under the domain of Agriculture & Land in the biblical lexicon. The word appears five times in the Bible, indicating its significance in ancient Hebrew cuisine and agricultural practices. The use of this specific word in the biblical text highlights the importance of figs as a valuable crop, not only as a source of sustenance but also as a component in preparing sweet treats. Given its limited occurrences, the word's usage is likely reserved for special occasions or high-end cuisine, underscoring the value placed on fig cake in ancient Hebrew culture. Understanding this aspect of biblical language can provide insight into the daily lives and culinary traditions of ancient Israelites.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
5 total occurrences across the text
Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”
1 Samuel 25:18Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five seahs of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.
1 Samuel 30:12They gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, and drank no water for three days and three nights.
2 Kings 20:7Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” They took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
1 Chronicles 12:40Moreover those who were near to them, as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, brought bread on donkeys, on camels, on mules, and on oxen: supplies of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, wine, oil, cattle, and sheep in abundance; for there was joy in Israel.