In the Bible, herbs are frequently mentioned as part of the natural world created by God, serving various purposes such as food, medicine, and offerings. The term "herb" in biblical times generally referred to any plant used for culinary or medicinal purposes, including vegetables and aromatic plants.

Creation and Provision

Herbs are first mentioned in the context of creation. In Genesis 1:29 , God provides herbs as sustenance for humanity: "Then God said, 'Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.'" This passage underscores the provision of herbs as a fundamental part of God's creation, intended for human nourishment.

Dietary Use

Herbs were a staple in the diet of the Israelites. In Numbers 11:5 , the Israelites recall the foods they ate in Egypt, including herbs: "We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic." This highlights the role of herbs in enhancing the flavor and variety of their meals.

Medicinal and Ritual Use

Herbs also held medicinal value. While specific herbs are not always named, the general use of plants for healing is implied in various passages. For example, in Ezekiel 47:12 , the leaves of trees are described as having healing properties: "And on the banks, on both sides of the river, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."

In addition to their practical uses, herbs were part of religious rituals and offerings. Exodus 30:34-35 describes the use of aromatic spices, which would have included herbs, in the sacred incense: "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha, and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal measures, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.'"

Symbolism and Metaphor

Herbs are sometimes used metaphorically in Scripture. In Matthew 13:31-32 , Jesus uses the mustard seed, a small herb, to illustrate the Kingdom of Heaven: "He put before them another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.'" This parable emphasizes the growth and expansive nature of God's kingdom from humble beginnings.

Cultural and Historical Context

In biblical times, the cultivation and use of herbs were integral to daily life. The climate and geography of the ancient Near East were conducive to growing a variety of herbs, which were used not only for food and medicine but also for trade. The mention of herbs in various contexts throughout the Bible reflects their importance in the cultural and economic life of the people.

Overall, herbs in the Bible are depicted as a vital part of God's creation, serving practical, medicinal, and symbolic purposes. They illustrate the provision and care of God for His people, as well as the richness and diversity of the natural world.Genesis 1:30
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps on the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
Topicalbible.org

Genesis 1:29
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Topicalbible.org

Proverbs 15:17
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
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John 19:29-30
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it on hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
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Psalm 51:7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
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Numbers 9:11
The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Topicalbible.org

Exodus 12:8
And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
Topicalbible.org

BITTER HERBS

hurbs, or urbs (merorim): Originally in the primitive Passover (Exodus 12:8 Numbers 9:11) these were probably merely salads, the simplest and quickest prepared form of vegetable accompaniment to the roasted lamb. Such salads have always been favorites in the Orient. Cucumbers, lettuce, water-cress, parsley and endive are some of those commonly used. Later on the Passover ritual (as it does today) laid emphasis on the idea of "bitterness" as symbolical of Israel's lot in Egypt. In modern Palestine the Jews use chiefly lettuce and endive for the "bitter herbs" of their Passover. In Lamentations 3:15 the same word is used: "He hath filled me with bitterness merorim, he hath sated me with wormwood." Here the parallelism with "wormwood" suggests some plant more distinctly bitter than the mild salads mentioned above, such, for example, as the colocynth (Citrullus colocynthus) or the violently irritating squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium).

E. W. G. Masterman

5521. chole -- gall (a bitter herb)
... gall (a bitter herb). Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: chole Phonetic
Spelling: (khol-ay') Short Definition: gall, bitter herbs Definition: gall ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5521.htm - 6k

2779. kepos -- a garden
... Noun, Masculine Transliteration: kepos Phonetic Spelling: (kay'-pos) Short Definition:
a garden Definition: a garden, any place planted with trees and herbs. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2779.htm - 6k

3419. yaraq -- herbs, herbage
... 3418, 3419. yaraq. 3420 . herbs, herbage. Transliteration: yaraq Phonetic
Spelling: (yaw-rawk') Short Definition: green. ... green, herbs. ...
/hebrew/3419.htm - 6k

219b. orah -- an herb
... orah. 220 . an herb. Transliteration: orah Short Definition: herbs. Word Origin
from or Definition an herb NASB Word Usage herbs (1). 219a, 219b. orah. 220 ...
/hebrew/219b.htm - 5k

4844. maror -- bitter thing, bitter herb
... 4843, 4844. maror or maror. 4845 . bitter thing, bitter herb. Transliteration:
maror or maror Phonetic Spelling: (mer-ore') Short Definition: herbs. ...
/hebrew/4844.htm - 6k

4840. merqach -- spice, perfume
... 4839, 4840. merqach. 4841 . spice, perfume. Transliteration: merqach Phonetic
Spelling: (mer-kawkh') Short Definition: herbs. Word ...
/hebrew/4840.htm - 6k

6212a. eseb -- herb, herbage
... Word Origin from an unused word Definition herb, herbage NASB Word Usage grass
(8), herb (1), herbs (1), plant (9), plants (3), vegetation (11). 6212, 6212a. ...
/hebrew/6212a.htm - 5k

Why God Has Blessed Men, Fishes, Flying Creatures, and not Herbs ...
... Book XIII. Chapter XXIV."Why God Has Blessed Men, Fishes, Flying Creatures,
and Not Herbs and the Other Animals (Ver. 28). 35. ...
/.../the confessions and letters of st/chapter xxiv why god has blessed.htm

Why Choice of Meats was Prescribed.
... a just man, to eat of every animal, but not of flesh with the blood, which is dead."
[1996] And as he was ready to say, "as the green herbs," I anticipated him ...
/.../chapter xx why choice of meats.htm

For, in the First Place, He is of Opinion that "Thunders...
... the works of God, they are brought into existence not more for the support of us
who are human beings, than for that of plants, and trees, and herbs, and thorns ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/origen/origen against celsus/chapter lxxv for in the.htm

Hebrews vi. 7, 8
... "For the Earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth
forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God. ...
/.../homilies on the gospel of st john and hebrews/homily x hebrews vi 7.htm

Interpretation of the Expression in I Tim. Ii. 4:00 "Who Will have ...
... He says to the Pharisees: "Ye tithe mint, and rue, and every herb." [1297] For the
Pharisees did not tithe what belonged to others, nor all the herbs of all ...
/.../augustine/the enchiridion/chapter 103 interpretation of the expression.htm

Meditation vi. The Last Pasch.
... the Paschal roast meat, then came a plate with green vegetables balanced against
each other, and another plate with small bundles of bitter herbs, which had ...
/.../the dolorous passion of our lord jesus christ/meditation vi the last pasch.htm

The Mustard Seed
... the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth, yet when
it is sown, groweth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth ...
/.../chadwick/the gospel of st mark/chapter 4 30-34 the mustard seed.htm

Of the Three Woe Trumpets.
... that they should not hurt any herb, (for this is the meaning ofchortos with the
Hellenists,) nor any thing green, nor any tree, unless those herbs, trees, and ...
/.../mede/a key to the apocalypse/of the three woe trumpets.htm

The Embalming of the Body of Jesus.
... They then placed beneath his hips a sheet which was a yard in width and three in
length, laid upon his lap bundles of sweet-scented herbs, and shook over the ...
/.../the dolorous passion of our lord jesus christ/chapter li the embalming of.htm

The Life of Adam
... The third day were made on the earth herbs and fruits in their kind. ... And there is
a well, which casteth out water for to water the trees and herbs of Paradise. ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the life of adam.htm

Mustard (5 Occurrences)
... This garden herb sometimes grows to a considerable height, so as to be spoken of
as "a tree" as compared with garden herbs. Noah Webster's Dictionary. ...
/m/mustard.htm - 11k

Vegetation (18 Occurrences)
... Genesis 1:11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and
fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth ...
/v/vegetation.htm - 11k

Pulse (3 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary (Dan. 1:12, 16), RV "herbs," vegetable food in general.
Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (n.) Leguminous plants ...
/p/pulse.htm - 8k

Garden (68 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) A piece of ground appropriated to the
cultivation of herbs, fruits, flowers, or vegetables. 2. (n ...
/g/garden.htm - 38k

Bitter (203 Occurrences)
... The Passover was to be eaten with "bitter herbs" (Exodus 12:8; Numbers 9:11).
The kind of herbs so designated is not known. ... BITTER HERBS. ...
/b/bitter.htm - 42k

Thereof (845 Occurrences)
... Matthew 13:32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is
the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air ...
/t/thereof.htm - 35k

Yielding (19 Occurrences)
... Genesis 1:11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and
fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth ...
/y/yielding.htm - 12k

Vegetable (3 Occurrences)
... to possess it, isn't as the land of Egypt, from whence you came out, where you sowed
your seed, and watered it with your foot, as a garden of herbs; (See NAS ...
/v/vegetable.htm - 8k

Nests (9 Occurrences)
... But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches." (See RSV). ...
/n/nests.htm - 8k

Lodge (64 Occurrences)
... But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches." (WEB KJV ASV WBS). ...
/l/lodge.htm - 29k

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