In the Bible, the term "vegetable" refers to edible plants or plant parts that are consumed as food. While the Bible does not extensively categorize vegetables as we do today, it does mention various plants and herbs that were part of the diet in biblical times. Vegetables, along with grains and fruits, formed a significant part of the diet in ancient Israel and surrounding regions.

Biblical References and Context

1. Creation and Diet: In the Genesis account of creation, God provides plants for food. Genesis 1:29 states, "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 verse indicates that from the beginning, plants, including vegetables, were intended as sustenance for humanity.

2. Daniel's Diet: One of the most notable references to vegetables in the Bible is found in the Book of Daniel. Daniel and his companions, while in Babylonian captivity, chose to eat vegetables instead of the king's rich food. Daniel 1:12 records, "Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink." This choice was made to maintain ritual purity and faithfulness to God's laws, and it resulted in better health for Daniel and his friends.

3. Herbs and Bitter Herbs: Vegetables and herbs were also part of religious observances. During the Passover, the Israelites were commanded to eat bitter herbs along with the Passover lamb. Exodus 12:8 states, "They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs." These bitter herbs likely included various leafy greens and vegetables available at the time.

4. Provision in the Wilderness: In the wilderness, the Israelites longed for the vegetables they had in Egypt. Numbers 11:5 recounts their lament, "We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic." This passage highlights the variety of vegetables that were part of their diet in Egypt and their desire for such foods during their journey.

5. Symbolism and Metaphor: Vegetables are sometimes used metaphorically in Scripture. For example, in Isaiah 61:11 , the prophet uses the imagery of a garden to describe God's righteousness: "For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes its seeds to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations."

Cultural and Historical Insights

In ancient Israel, vegetables were cultivated in gardens and fields. Common vegetables included cucumbers, leeks, onions, garlic, and various legumes. These were often grown alongside grains and fruits, providing a balanced diet. The agricultural practices of the time were closely tied to the seasons and the land's fertility, which was seen as a blessing from God.

Vegetables also played a role in hospitality and daily meals. They were often prepared in stews or eaten raw, depending on the type and availability. The simplicity of a vegetable-based diet is sometimes contrasted with the opulence of royal feasts, as seen in the account of Daniel.

Overall, vegetables in the Bible are depicted as a vital part of sustenance, a symbol of God's provision, and an element of religious observance. They reflect the agrarian lifestyle of the biblical world and the importance of the land's produce in the life and faith of the people.1. (v.) of or pertaining to plants; having the nature of, or produced by, plants; as, a vegetable nature; vegetable growths, juices, etc.

2. (v.) Consisting of, or comprising, plants; as, the vegetable kingdom.

3. (v.) Plants having distinct flowers and true seeds.

4. (v.) Plants without true flowers, and reproduced by minute spores of various kinds, or by simple cell division.

5. (n.) A plant. See Plant.

6. (n.) A plant used or cultivated for food for man or domestic animals, as the cabbage, turnip, potato, bean, dandelion, etc.; also, the edible part of such a plant, as prepared for market or the table.

3001. lachanon -- a garden herb, a vegetable
... a garden herb, a vegetable. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: lachanon
Phonetic Spelling: (lakh'-an-on) Short Definition: an herb, garden plant ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3001.htm - 6k

5451. phuteia -- a planting
... plant. From phuteuo; trans-planting, ie (concretely) a shrub or vegetable -- plant.
see GREEK phuteuo. (phuteia) -- 1 Occurrence. 5450, 5451. phuteia. 5452 > ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5451.htm - 6k

4550. sapros -- rotten, worthless
... 4550 -- properly, (putrid), over-ripe; (figuratively) (ripened); hence, . "4550 ()
is (akin to , 'to rot'), primarily, of vegetable and animal substances ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4550.htm - 7k

2590. karpos -- fruit
... Transliteration: karpos Phonetic Spelling: (kar-pos') Short Definition: fruit, result,
gain Definition: (a) fruit, generally vegetable, sometimes animal, (b ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2590.htm - 7k

2235. zeroa' -- vegetable
... 2234, 2235. zeroa'. 2235a . vegetable. Transliteration: zeroa' Phonetic
Spelling: (zay-ro'-ah) Short Definition: pulse. pulse Or ...
/hebrew/2235.htm - 5k

2235a. zeroa -- vegetable
... zeroa. 2235b . vegetable. Transliteration: zeroa Short Definition: vegetables.
Word Origin from zara Definition vegetable NASB Word Usage vegetables (1). ...
/hebrew/2235a.htm - 5k

2235b. zereon -- vegetable
... zereon. 2236 . vegetable. Transliteration: zereon Short Definition: vegetables.
Word Origin from zara Definition vegetable NASB Word Usage vegetables (1). ...
/hebrew/2235b.htm - 5k

3419. yaraq -- herbs, herbage
... Word Origin from the same as yereq Definition herbs, herbage NASB Word Usage
green (2), vegetable (2), vegetables (1). green, herbs. ...
/hebrew/3419.htm - 6k

3768. karpas -- cotton or fine linen
... 1). byssus or fine vegetable wool. Of foreign origin; byssus or fine vegetable
wool: 3767, 3768. karpas. 3769 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/3768.htm - 5k

2755. chare yonim -- doves' dung
... doves {or perhaps rather the plural of a single word charapyown {khar-aw-yone'};
of similar or uncertain derivation, probably a kind of vegetable -- doves' dung ...
/hebrew/2755.htm - 6k

1686. dibyonim -- probably dove's dung
... In the margin for the textual reading, cheryown {kher-yone'}; both (in the plural
only and) of uncertain derivation; probably some cheap vegetable, perhaps a ...
/hebrew/1686.htm - 6k

1287. borith -- lye, alkali, potash, soap
... of bor Definition lye, alkali, potash, soap NASB Word Usage soap (2). sope. Feminine
of bor; vegetable alkali -- sope. see HEBREW bor. 1286, 1287. ...
/hebrew/1287.htm - 6k

1253. bor -- lye, potash
... never so, purely The same as bor; vegetable lye (from its cleansing); used as a
soap for washing, or a flux for metals -- X never so, purely. see HEBREW bor. ...
/hebrew/1253.htm - 5k

Blind Force or Intelligence, Which?
... Sixteen simple substances are known to exist in vegetable organisms, and many of
them are more strongly inclined to unite with substances which have no ...
/.../blind force or intelligence which.htm

On the Study of Zoology.
... Certain broad laws have a general application throughout both the animal and the
vegetable worlds, but the ground common to these kingdoms of nature is not of ...
/.../huxley/lay sermons addresses and reviews/vi on the study of.htm

The Beauty and Glory of the Risen Body.
... If we now look for a moment into the vegetable kingdom, we see this glorification
of matter still more wonderfully displayed. Of what are all plants composed? ...
/.../boudreaux/the happiness of heaven/chapter v the beauty and.htm

The Deaf and Dumb.
... Eclipses, meteors, auroras, earthquakes, storms, and especially monstrosities,
animal or vegetable, exercised their barbaric wonder. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/westminster sermons/sermon v the deaf and.htm

Theophilus. ...
... For though the dark wrathful properties of fallen nature could only, in their
compaction, be made the ground of a vegetable and bestial life; yet you are to ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/law/the way to divine knowledge/way-3-40 theophilus .htm

The Sovereignty of God in Creation
... fishes. But consider now the vegetable kingdom. ... poisonous? Why should one vegetable
be capable of enduring frost and another wither under it? ...
/.../pink/the sovereignty of god/chapter two the sovereignty of.htm

The Dew and the Plants
... eye. This whole chapter is full of emblems drawn from the vegetable world.
The ... beauty. We go back to Hosea's vegetable metaphors. 'He ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/the dew and the plants.htm

On the Physical Basis of Life.
... manifest those transitory changes of form which we class under irritability and
contractility; and, it is more than probable, that when the vegetable world is ...
/.../huxley/lay sermons addresses and reviews/vii on the physical basis.htm

Fourth Tractate. Our Tutelary Spirit.
... by its motion, to which is due the sensitive faculty " that in any of its
expression-forms " Nature and all forms of life down to the vegetable order. ...
/.../plotinus/the six enneads/fourth tractate our tutelary spirit.htm

Conformity to Type
... still. Compare next the two sets of germs, the vegetable and the animal. ... kingdom.
The vegetable supplies the material for the animal. ...
/.../drummond/natural law in the spiritual world/conformity to type.htm

Vegetable (3 Occurrences)
... 1. (v.) of or pertaining to plants; having the nature of, or produced by, plants;
as, a vegetable nature; vegetable growths, juices, etc. ...
/v/vegetable.htm - 8k

Food (2953 Occurrences)
... Originally the Creator granted the use of the vegetable world for food to man (Genesis
1:29), with the exception mentioned (2:17). ... I. Vegetable Foods. ...
/f/food.htm - 36k

Wax (32 Occurrences)
... wax. See Wax insect, below. 9. (n.) A wax like product secreted by certain
plants. See Vegetable wax, under Vegetable. 10. (n.) A ...
/w/wax.htm - 18k

Fruit (318 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary A word as used in Scripture denoting produce in
general, whether vegetable or animal. The Hebrews divided ...
/f/fruit.htm - 40k

Plant (92 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) A vegetable; an organized living being, generally without feeling and voluntary
motion, and having, when complete, a root, stem, and leaves, though ...
/p/plant.htm - 37k

Putrid (3 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (a.) Tending to decomposition or decay; decomposed;
rotten; -- said of animal or vegetable matter; as, putrid flesh. ...
/p/putrid.htm - 7k

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

Honey (62 Occurrences)
... 4:11). (3.) Debash denotes bee-honey (Judges 14:8); but also frequently a vegetable
honey distilled from trees (Genesis 43:11; Ezek. 27:17). ...
/h/honey.htm - 34k

Soap (4 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary (Jeremiah 2:22; Malachi 3:2; Hebrews borith), properly
a vegetable alkali, obtained from the ashes of certain plants, particularly ...
/s/soap.htm - 10k

Garden (68 Occurrences)
... Here the vegetable gardens of the peasants of Siloam present an aspect of green
freshness unknown elsewhere in Jerusalem. EWG Masterman. HOUSE, GARDEN. ...
/g/garden.htm - 38k

Who was Naboth in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Cain in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

How do the elements of the Passover Seder point to Christ? | GotQuestions.org

Vegetable: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus