Isaiah 28:25
in Isaiah 28When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots, and rye within its border.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When he hath levelled the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and put in the wheat in rows, and the barley in the appointed place, and the spelt in the border thereof?
KJV
When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?
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This verse in Isaiah 28
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
When he hath made plain ... - That is, when he has leveled, or made smooth the surface of the ground by harrowing, or rolling it. Doth he not scatter abroad - He does not sow one kind of grain merely, but different species according to the nature of the soil, or according to his wishes in regard to a crop. The fitches - (קצח qetsach). Vulgate, Gith; a kind of cockle (Nigella Romana), an herb of sweet savor. Septuagint, Μικρόν μελάνθιον Mikron melanthion. The word ‘fitch’ denotes a small species of pea.
This site's exposition
Listen and hear my voice
on Isaiah 28:23-26
The chapter turns from woe to parable with a call, "Listen and hear my voice". The plowman does not plow forever, for "When he has leveled its surface" he sows "caraway" and "cumin". Verse 26 credits his skill to God: "For his God instructs and teaches him properly".
This site's exposition
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin
Caraway here is black cumin, a small seed used in the East to season bread and as medicine. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown add that the plowman would sow wheat in rows and plant it sparingly to yield a larger crop. Each seed has its own place in the field.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 23 seqq.) Pay attention and listen to my voice: listen and hear my speech. Does the plowman plow all day to sow, break up the soil, and harrow it? When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow dill, scatter cumin, plant wheat in rows, barley, millet, and rye in their proper place? For his God instructs him and teaches him the right way.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he sets out the consolation under the likeness of a farmer: shall the ploughman plough all the day, through which he shows three things, namely, the intention of God to punish like the ploughman, that they might bear fruit, to sow. Gith, a kind …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The wheat - The best which he chuses for seed. Barley - That proportion of barley which he appointed. Place - Hebrew. in his border; each seed in a several place.
When he hath made plain the face thereof,.... By harrowing it, after it is ploughed: doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin; in sowing them in the ground, prepared for them; the former of these does not seem to be the same we so call, but something else. The Septuagint version calls it the little "melanthion" (c), the same with the "nigella" (d) of the Latins, and is sometimes called "gith" (e), as in the Vulgate Latin version here.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. The prophet warns the kingdom of the ten tribes of the judgments that were coming upon them for their sins, which were soon after executed by the king of Assyria, who laid their country waste, and carried the people into captivity.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Nigella romana, with black seed, easily beaten out, used as a condiment and medicine in the East. So the Septuagint, "cummin" was used in the same way. cast in . . . principal wheat--rather, plant the wheat in rows (for wheat was thought to yield the largest crop, by being planted sparingly [PLINY, Natural History, 18.21]); [MAURER]; "sow the wheat regularly" [HORSLEY].
THE whole passage runs on this wise—"Give you ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. Does the plowman plow all day to sow? Does he open and break the clods of his ground? When he has made plain the face thereof, does he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the spelt in its place? For his God does instruct him to discretion, and does teach him.
THE whole passage runs on this wise—"Give you ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. Does the plowman plow all day to sow? Does he open and break the clods of his ground? When he has made plain the face thereof, does he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the spelt in its place? For his God does instruct him to discretion, and does teach him. For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. This also comes forth from the Lord of Hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working." The Prophet, inspired of God, shows that the farmer is wise and skillful in the management of his farm, in plowing, sowing, threshing and in all the processes of farming. He asserts that this skill has been taught him of his God. I suppose that this is set before us, not as poetry, but as fact. The wisdom of earth is a reflection of the light of Heaven. Have you not read—"And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship"? God is the great teacher of agriculture as well as of handicrafts.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲלוֹא֙ | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| שִׁוָּ֣ה | shivah | he has leveled | H7737 → | 21 times |
| פָנֶ֔יהָ | faneiha | surface its | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְהֵפִ֥יץ | vehefitz | and does he scatter | H6327 → | 67 times |
| קֶ֖צַח | ketzach | black cumin | H7100 → | 3 times |
| וְכַמֹּ֣ן | vekhamon | and cumin | H3646 → | 3 times |
| יִזְרֹ֑ק | yizrok | does he sprinkle? | H2236 → | |
| וְשָׂ֨ם | vesam | and does he put? | H7760 → | 584 times |
| חִטָּ֤ה | chitah | wheat | H2406 → | |
| שׂוֹרָה֙ | sorah | a row | H7795 → | |
| וּשְׂעֹרָ֣ה | useorah | and barley | H8184 → | |
| נִסְמָ֔ן | nisman | an appointed [place] | H5567 → | |
| וְכֻסֶּ֖מֶת | vekhusemet | and spelt | H3698 → | |
| גְּבֻלָתֽוֹ׃ | gevulato | territory its | H1367 → |
הֲלוֹא֙¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
שִׁוָּ֣הhe has leveled
shivahH7737 →21 times
פָנֶ֔יהָsurface its
faneihaH6440 →2123 times
וְהֵפִ֥יץand does he scatter
vehefitzH6327 →67 times
קֶ֖צַחblack cumin
ketzachH7100 →3 times
וְכַמֹּ֣ןand cumin
vekhamonH3646 →3 times
יִזְרֹ֑קdoes he sprinkle?
yizrokH2236 →
וְשָׂ֨םand does he put?
vesamH7760 →584 times
חִטָּ֤הwheat
chitahH2406 →
שׂוֹרָה֙a row
sorahH7795 →
וּשְׂעֹרָ֣הand barley
useorahH8184 →
נִסְמָ֔ןan appointed [place]
nismanH5567 →
וְכֻסֶּ֖מֶתand spelt
vekhusemetH3698 →
גְּבֻלָתֽוֹ׃territory its
gevulatoH1367 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 23:23Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced…
it leads to
- Luke 11:42
Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.
- Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- Matthew 9:13
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
- Matthew 5:19–20
So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be…
- Luke 11:42
Through
Ezekiel 4:9But take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. This is what you are to eat during the 390 days you…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 4:13
Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.”
- Ezekiel 4:16
Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water…
- Ezekiel 4:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1626: “The Principal Wheat” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.