Hebrew word · H1643

גֶּ֫רֶשׂ

geres

crushed grain

Crushed or coarsely ground grain: groats, grits. It occurs only in Lev 2:14, 16. It is usually linked with the verb gāras, 'to be crushed, broken' (Ps 119:20; Lam 3:16, 'he has broken my teeth with gravel').

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

What it means

a crushing (that which is crushed), grain, grits, groats

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 2:14

Range of meaning

Crushed or coarsely ground grain: groats, grits. It occurs only in Lev 2:14, 16. It is usually linked with the verb gāras, 'to be crushed, broken' (Ps 119:20; Lam 3:16, 'he has broken my teeth with gravel').

Against the English

BSB/NIV 'crushed heads', WEB 'crushed', KJV 'beaten out'. NASB's 'grits' is closest to the product. Many readers imagine flour, but this is cracked kernels, a coarser and more rustic food.

Used elsewhere in the period

Biblical occurrences are limited to this passage. Rabbinic discussion (Mishnah and Talmud, Menachot) describes the omer barley being parched and then ground coarsely. The LXX renders the phrase with erikta, 'crushed, bruised'.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 2

  1. Leviticus 2:14 גֶּ֣רֶשׂ groats of

    If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, you shall offer crushed heads of new grain roasted on the fire.

    Here: Coarsely crushed kernels (groats or grits), not fine flour. The word occurs only here and in 2:16 and is linked to a verb meaning 'be crushed' (Ps 119:20; Lam 3:16).

  2. Leviticus 2:16 מִגִּרְשָׂהּ֙ some of groats its

    The priest shall then burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all its frankincense, as a food offering to the LORD.

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