Hebrew word · H1625

גֵּרָה

gerah

cud

Gerah means 'cud', the material an animal brings back up to chew again. The phrase 'bring up cud' describes behavior that can be seen.

Appears 11 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

cud

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 Leviticus 11:26

Range of meaning

Gerah means 'cud', the material an animal brings back up to chew again. The phrase 'bring up cud' describes behavior that can be seen.

Against the English

'Chew the cud' is a fair rendering. Readers should not, however, expect the modern zoological category 'ruminant'. Verses 5–6 say the hyrax and the hare 'bring up cud' because their jaws move as if they were chewing it.

How it drifted

Modern readers sometimes test this observational phrase against today's biology and then call the text 'wrong'. In fact it uses the everyday classification that ancient herders used.

Used elsewhere in the period

Leviticus 11:3–6; Deuteronomy 14:6–7. Cud-chewing was easy to see in ancient livestock (cattle, sheep, goats).

From the study of Leviticus 11:5

Range of meaning

'Cud': food brought back up from the stomach to be chewed again. It may be related to a root meaning 'drag, draw up' (גרר) and to גַּרְגֶּרֶת, 'throat'. Arabic has a related word, jirra, 'cud'. It is a different word from the homonym gerah (H1626), the smallest weight unit, one-twentieth of a shekel.

Against the English

'Cud' is accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Leviticus 11:3–7 and Deuteronomy 14:6–8 only. Later Hebrew uses it in discussions of the food laws (Mishnah and Talmud, Hullin).

Where it appears

Leviticus · 7

  1. Leviticus 11:3 גֵּרָ֖ה cud

    You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.

    Here: The food brought back up and chewed again. Together with the verb it is a set phrase ('bringer-up of cud') naming a trait anyone tending flocks could see: the steady sideways chewing of a resting cow or goat.

  2. Leviticus 11:4 הַגֵּרָ֔ה גֵרָ֜ה <of> the cud, <of> cud

    But of those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

  3. Leviticus 11:5 גֵרָה֙ <of> cud

    The rock badger, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

    Here: The cud, meaning food brought back up and chewed again. The word appears only in the food lists of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. With the verb before it, it makes the fixed phrase 'bringer-up of cud', which was the standard description of a grazing animal.

  4. Leviticus 11:6 גֵּרָה֙ <of> cud

    The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

  5. Leviticus 11:7 גֵּרָ֣ה cud

    And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.

  6. Leviticus 11:26 וְגֵרָה֙ and cud

    Every animal with hooves not completely divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. Whoever touches any of them will be unclean.

    Here: 'And cud': the food that some animals bring back up from the stomach to chew again. Like 'cleft', it is placed first for emphasis.

Deuteronomy · 4

  1. Deuteronomy 14:6 גֵּרָ֖ה <of> cud

    You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud.

  2. Deuteronomy 14:7 הַגֵּרָ֔ה גֵרָ֣ה <of> the cud, <of> cud

    But of those that chew the cud or have a completely divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: the camel, the rabbit, or the rock badger. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof. They are unclean for you,

  3. Deuteronomy 14:8 גֵרָ֔ה cud

    as well as the pig; though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat its meat or touch its carcass.

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