Hebrew word · H1407

גַּד

gad

coriander

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum). It appears only in Exod 16:31 and Num 11:7, both times in the phrase 'like coriander seed'. It has the same spelling as, but is a different word from, gad 'fortune / the god Fortune' (Isa 65:11) and the tribal name Gad.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

coriander-a plant the seed of which resembles manna

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 16:31

Range of meaning

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum). It appears only in Exod 16:31 and Num 11:7, both times in the phrase 'like coriander seed'. It has the same spelling as, but is a different word from, gad 'fortune / the god Fortune' (Isa 65:11) and the tribal name Gad.

Against the English

Several modern versions (BSB, NIV, NLT) reorder the words as 'white like coriander seed', which implies coriander seed is white. The Hebrew order is 'like coriander seed, white', the order KJV, ESV, NASB and WEB keep. That order separates the shape comparison from the colour.

Used elsewhere in the period

Coriander was well known in Egypt: seeds were found in Tutankhamun's tomb and it is listed in Egyptian medical papyri. The Septuagint renders it koriou, Latin coriandri. Ancient Greek botanical writers are reported to give a Punic (Phoenician) name for coriander that resembles gad. Rashi already noted that coriander seed is not white and that the comparison is to its roundness (Rashi on Exod 16:31; compare b. Yoma 75a).

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 16:31 גַּד֙ coriander

    Now the house of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.

    Here: Coriander, the plant whose dried round 'seeds' (really tiny fruits, about 3–5 mm across) were a familiar spice in Egypt and the Levant. The word appears only here and in Numbers 11:7.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 11:7 גַּ֖ד coriander

    Now the manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of gum resin.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.